Long hair with grey, style change

[Readymixedpaint]

Hi, I'm 42, have long dark hair with LOTS of long strands of silver hair running through it (around a 1/5? of my hair is silver). I have never been style conscious and always felt it was easiest to have it this way. However I'm feeling the need to maintain my appearance a bit more now (so I don't look like a hippy old bag lady)

So, a) is long hair generally thought of as ageing (think I've heard this somewhere) at my age, what length hair is generally a good idea?
b) dying (permanent or semi permanent), in a salon? Or at home? or highlighting? To get rid of the silver. Roughly what would the costs be? And how often would I need to maintain it?

I really am totally clueless about all this, I just don't do style. BUT I need to look smarter and more presentable.

Please help!

I empathise! I have curly highlighted hair and in the past couple of years it's gotten more and more impossible to cover the grey with highlights...I realised that it wasn't the grey itself that was bothering me, it was the grey combined with my longish hair - I couldn't put my go feet on it but it just didn't suit me anymore. So I took the scissors to the wispy ends and now have chin length (slightly uneven, if we're honest...) messy curls, which somehow look more modern.

I certainly don't think that everyone with long hair should cut it as thy get older, but for me, I think I'd passed the point where the length looked good or age-appropriate.

You hear all kinds of bollocks about how women should dress and wear their hair but the one about getting it cut once you're over 40 is possibly the most stupid one of all. We all suit different things. I've seen women twice your age look fabulous with long hair but equally on some women (and I'm one of them) it can drag the face down once gravity starts to hit. It also depends on what condition it's in?

I think whether or not to dye it is the bigger decision. If you get the haircut wrong, it can grow back but once you start dyeing hair, it can be very hard to stop as many threads on here will testify. It's also high maintenance. Salon costs are eye watering but home dyed hair doesn't always look too great. Besides if the grey hairs are coming through as silver, they sound lovely and could look amazing.

So it's hard to advise without seeing any pics and I understand why you might not want to (I wouldn't either). Do you know a good hairdresser or can anyone recommend one who would give an expert appraisal?