Do you have your hair coloured? Or are you happy to go grey?

[Swedes]

I found a few grey hairs today and I don't want to be grey, not yet.

I am only just coming to terms with keeping on top of a persistent single black hair that emerges from my chin every couple of weeks.

What are my options re the hair greying?

swedes- you really should invest in a colour at a good hairdressers. I only have mine done twice a year as she uses 3 colours- all various shades of honey/lighter blonde which tone in with my light brown/ was slightly strawberry blonde hair. it looks very natural and the regrowth is not visible. If I get a bit of sun in the summer it extends the life of the colour as well.

I agree that all -over solid colour looks aging and unnatural- especially if you do it at home as you can never get the subtle shades that the salon offers- but hairdressing has moved on so much from solid all over colour, that no -one needs to go grey in their 30 s or 40s, if they don't want to.

The other thing to watch is that your skin goes lighter as you get older, so whatever colour your hair was should go lighter too, in order not to look harsh.

Never try to go back to your original true colour!

Rustybear- do you wear make up? I just ask because all the mums I used to see at the school gate ( all DCS grown up now)who have gone grey never use make up either. some have good figures still, but their au naturelle look puts years on t hem and I would love to give them a make over.

I eally think it's a no brainer- unless you have fab bone structure and a really sharp hair cut, grey or salt and pepper looks drab- mainly because your underlying colour is fadng as well by the time you get grey hairs.

If you are very grey on top, like me, and your natural colour is fairly dark, you cannot go to the hairdressers twice a year. I would look hideous.

I need to go and get the roots done every six weeks (even stretching to seven puts me into a high state of anxiety now) and I get highlights done every fourth visit or so. Because textured colour looks so much nicer than one block which is why I stopped doing it at home a long long time ago.

I spend about £60 every six weeks but I stopped caring about that a long time ago too. When my income dropped to nil, I still could not give up the hairdresser.

No, I don't wear make up, I just don't like the feel of it.

My own hair colour hasn't faded at all, so maybe that makes a difference, it's always been very dark- the top picture on my profile shows what it looked like when DD was born 19 years ago; it's still much the same colour where it's not grey.

The thing is, as I was trying to say last night, I don't think my grey makes me look older than my actual age -I am 53 next month and if I look 53, that's fine. Hair colour & make up might make me look younger, but why would I want to look younger?

But if grey hair makes you look older than you are, or even if you just feel it does, then colour it -I'm not trying to persuade anyone not to.

Very short and grey and I LOVE it. I marvel at my shimering silver filigree and swim everyday in a fantastic pool (membership paid with what I save by not spending a fortune at the hairdressers!) without stressing about colour being ruined.

Rusty- it's not so much about looking younger, but about making the best of what you have! You are very lucky and possibly slightly rare if your hair colour and texture is the same as it was almost 20 years back, apart from a few stray grey hairs.

I am envious of anyone who can get away with not using make up, but I simply couldn't. I have what is called "transucent skin" which means it is mega pale, have purple under eye shadows due to skin tone, and without make up I resemble a corpse! Add to that, my light brown hair and I just blur into nothing.

I wouldn't be seen without foundation, mascara, blusher, eye pencil, concealer and lip gloss- anywhere.

Must admit, I do hate sitting in a hairdressers and I moan about wasting half a weekend day every six weekd.

Yes, I get that, MrsM, it's just that for me, 'making the best of myself' doesn't mean hair colour & make up. I like the way I look, especially now I'm 2 stone lighter than I was two years ago.

Being overweight did actually make me look older, though that's not why I lost weight; that was partly coming off the pill & partly lurking on the 10/10 threads inspiring me to eat more healthily - Franny & co can take most of the credit for my new size 12.....

Oh, and the picture I'm talking about is the 3rd on my profile, not the top one - I did not look like a South Park character when I gave birth to DD

rusty you've said some very sensible stuff on this thread.

My hair has been completely grey since my early 30s, I'm now 41 and I love my hair. I think it's pretty. Yes I agree it does age, because it's ingrained in us to associate grey with age, but I feel life is hard - I've been through alot, learned alot - I don't mind looking 41.

I think it can look really glam, too - I am careful to use products to give it shine.

I think grey hair is one of the last bastions we women have to crack - go grey happily girls and don't be sucked into the 'I must look younger!" thing....

I do think theres a difference between going gracefully grey at 53 and going grey due to stress at 26.

I'm going grey and only realised last year when i was admiring how blonde my hair had gone in the sun - then realised said blonde hair was actually a grey horse hair.

I've always had highlights and as am fair the grey seems to blend quite well.

I do think as well it makes a difference how you go grey - some women go a lovely shade of silvery grey and it does look nice. However with some its very patchy and not such a nice colour that does nothing for their skintone.

I'm definitely in they dye-it camp but thats because i've always doen it really.

Rusty _ I'm with you! Grey and proud of it, and no, I don't wear makeup either! These things just don't matter to me. I don't want to spend hours in the hairdressers every month and worrying about the colour growing out!
Sloew - think you are spot on - a friend of mine said she wasn't as brave as I was and couldn't not dye her hair at the moment - I just don't see it as brave!

Well I have grey hair but if leave it to grow out it looks so awful because my hair looks like a straw basket. It just looks terrible and I always feel really weighted down by it.

I have it dyed at a salon, redo the roots every 6 weeks which grow out darker than the rest (with lots of grey mixed in) because I have gone lighter for dying.

I used a home dye for a while but I have so little understanding of how it all works I ended up looking like Morticia Adams. A home hairdresser I used spent ages getting the right mix of colours for me .

We started with a mix of semi permanents which grew out naturally but as the grey increased I moved to a permanent colour. I don't get highlights done but I don't think the colour looks flat at the moment. The roots take about 1 to 1.5 hrs to do at a salon and a full head about 2 hrs tops which includes a cut and blow dry - That isn't much time but I agree highlights take ages.

That's where I draw the line Quattrocento, small things I can do at home or at the local salon that make me feel good.

I don't see that any of them are a step away from plastic surgery or botox, neither of which I'd ever consider in a million years. Having 32GG boobs I don't think they've been perky since I was 14 so I've left conquering gravity a little late although Bravissimo has helped!

I think those of you who don't dye due to time factors are over estimating the time it takes; I have my highlights done twice a year as my hair is quite fair already and regrowth is not noticeable. Yes, it takes about 3 hrs twice a year but that's nothing. In between I have it cut every 7-8 weeks and that takes 45 minutes.

Also, my full make up takes 10 minutes, and is so routine that I don't think about it.

I don't "feel" as if I have make up on my skin at all and can only assume that if you do, it means you are using the wrong sort which is making your skin feel taut or heavy as it's too thick or too drying.

Well, as the last time I wore any was over 20 years ago you may well be right - I just never felt the need to spend time & money experimenting to get something right that just wasn't necessary.

Maybe I should get DD to give me a makeover - I don't know where she learned her make-up skills, but she's very proficient!

Still won't be dyeing my hair though!

I started colouring my hair at 27 for greyness. Now I am 44 and I suspect about 80% grey. I am not ready to let it go.

My natural colour is very dark and I dyed it that colour until a few years ago, when I couldn't put up with the raccoon look after 3 weeks. Now I have loads of blonde bits in it and it distracts the eye from the white regrowth.

It is very expensive to maintain. I get the full month about every 18 months, and then a variety of half-heads and box sections every half-term.

I was reclining in dentist's chair, having a six monthly check up. She was rooting around in my mouth muttering 3, 2, 1 as dentists are wont to do, when all of a sudden, she said "I can do you some botox injections - it's the end of the month, I do reduced price injections at the end of the month. Can do them now if you want."

So obviously my face is crying out for botox, and it would take no extra time to have it done. But I just couldn't ...

really quattro?

I would have haggled and had a go I think

In fact, I'd say that six monthly botox injections would be rather less inconvenient than having to take half a day at a salon every two months ...

Fighting grey all the way- professionally done every 5 weeks - would do it myself but very thick curly longish hair.My mum at 61 is still also fighting back-her son my little brother aged 36 is completely grey.

Quatt- I'd be slightly concerned said dentist was looking at my skin instead of my teeth.... but hey...

I am wondering whether or not to start dyeing my hair now- I do care about how other women perceive me -for my children's sake
I am a fair bit younger than most of you on this thread though...

But- I cannot go to the hairdressers every 6 weeks- no way. Cost aside (not an issue for us thankfully, but sheesh so many other lovely things I'd rather spend it on!), the time is impossible to find, and I have a phobia of hairdressers... I probably manage to get there once every 2 or 3 years... seriously!

I have v good skin, and look younger than my age (when I have enough sleep, a lot younger) so I am not so worried about looking ancient with grey hair... but the only grey-haired people at the school gate are grannies and grandpas...

And I feel sad and a little ashamed that I care so much about that- it has never bothered me before- I am not in the least bit vain (well- you can't be when you're blessed with my looks, lol ), but I want my children to be proud of the way I look as well as the person I am... WHY?

Met some my ageish friends this afternoon. We were three brunettes (I have grey hairs) and a blonde. All three other ladies dyed. It was startlingly obvious on the brunettes, they'd stuck to their original colours which were a bit too dark for them now. Also they both had red halos. The blonde looked stunning. See - I think the hair colour you had originally really makes a difference on the dyeing decision.

I'm going to book an appointment this week. Colourist or Hairdresser - d'ya think? Do you think I'm going to become really high maintenance?

I really don't want a red halo. Damned blondes.