<p>I dont understand why people wear all black, all the time.
I know that it is easy, but I cant think of anyone that it flatters.</p>
<p>I have done highlights off and on forever, but finally used dye when my hair started getting really mousy looking. I always did it myself until I recently decided to add highlights to the color. I definitely love the effect- it looks very natural with very subtle highlights. HOwever, it is expensive and I hate sitting in a chair for 2 hours to have it done. My hair now has a lot of gray in the front and it is not a nice shade of gray. My mom has beautiful, thick white hair, but I think mine is going to go the route of gray instead of white. I think I am going to quit doing the highlights and go back to home dye jobs for now. I see others with gray and some look just stunning- I’m always a little jealous that they have the guts to go for it. I rarely really think about it one way or the other- everyone should do what works for them. I do have one friend who is probably mid-40’s and had long, gray hair. She had never dyed it and I do think it made her look much older. When she finally colored it, it easily took 10 years off of her. But it really is a personal choice and not a big deal to me. </p>
<p>My D loves watching “What not to wear”, and I occasionally will watch it for a few minutes when she is watching. I have to say that some of the women they make-over are pretty extreme and I wonder how some of them were able to get the jobs that they have. I was pleasantly surprised one day when my 17-yo S walked thru when it was on one day, stopped, and went on a rant about how much he hates that they take people who are very unique and individual, and tell them that their style is wrong. He is always well-groomed, but I felt good that he seems to judge others by more than just looks!</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to the gray. Right now my formerly blond hair is getting darker and darker and darker and not in a good way. The dark roots really don’t look good, but gray would blend right in.</p>
<p>Takeitallin–good for your son! :)</p>
<p>Emerald- I’m with you! I rarely wear black (maybe trousers or a skirt, but always with some bright other color) except for my black blazer. I have too many pets for one thing- black winds up looking like one of the animals. I really like color.</p>
<p>My hair maintenance consists of 90 minutes at the salon (really cool independent salon with a girl I enjoy and I get a glass of wine, too) every 6 weeks. It isn’t boring or burdensome at all, but a way to relax after work. It costs about $100, which is much less than I paid in Dallas. (cut was more there) That’s for cut and color. I never notice a chemical smell at this salon and my hair texture seems better after the color, actually.</p>
<p>Many of you are saying you don’t have “good grey” but instead some unattractive shade of gray. Might I suggest that there are grey dyes as well as other shades? Alternatively, try a color rinse to subtly alter the grey. The purple-tint shampoos do a wonderful job of removing the yellow from grey hair. (My father, who was known for his lovely white hair (like me, he went grey in his early thirties), used bluing on his hair.)</p>
<p>But then it wouldn’t be an “authentic” gray!</p>
<p>MWD^^^^ I want to go to your salon!! Mine always takes at least 2 hours and is way more expensive - and no wine! Maybe I need to look around for a different salon</p>
<p>I’ll be 59 in August and still get by with highlighting because my hair is brownish, blondish, reddish so the grayish sort of blended in for a long time and was barely noticeable. It has become very noticeable around my temples though and is not flattering. In my last visit to my stylist, she added in some solid color around the temples and then the highlights. My hair is still pretty much its natural color with some highlights to brighten it up. I’ll continue to do that for a long time I think. I think gray is very aging so I’m not a fan.</p>
<p>Should have been MWC</p>
<p>My salon is quite enjoyable too & I adore my stylist. I walked in 10 years ago, told him he could do what he wanted but it could only take me 5 minutes after washing for me to walk out the door. He still LOLs at that but it’s true. He goes to hair shows in NYC & Chicago, & he’s a great colorist. Good selection of wine & coffee too ;)</p>
<p>My minimal contribution …</p>
<p>I look young. My hair was reddish brown and it bleached/changed over time to a blondish white. If I let it grow out, I kind of looked surfer-like. People asked if I colored my hair blonde and we had a few uncomfortable interactions where people thought I was my wife’s son. So I colored my hair dark to look less like I was coloring it blonde. </p>
<p>It got to be a pain because years passed and my skin tone changed - you know, that more translucent tone - and darker hair color doesn’t match your face. (Note how odd an actor looks without the makeup or bronzer to make the skin tone work with the hair.) I stopped when the phlebotomist told me I should do what she does and color my hair silver. Turned out my hair was now white enough to be more obviously white than blonde. I don’t even it out or anything now.</p>
<p>So my 2 cents is it really depends on who you’re fooling and who you want to fool. If I wasn’t fooling the person drawing my blood - who I have to add is a stereotypically Russian busy-body - then who am I fooling? I’m not dating. I’m not compensating for being out of shape by having younger looking hair. That last is important: hair color is a way of dealing with yourself and with others so you have to ask yourself who you want to fool. In other words, if I wasn’t trim, I might color my hair. But being trim, I’m more inclined to look at myself as directly as possible. And if I were dating, I’d seriously consider it because a professional coloring - one that really matches your skin tone - shows you’re in the market and that you’re investing in your “assets”.</p>
<p>I worked at a salon that served champagne & strawberries on Fridays.
It was quite a nice place to work, huge view windows, antique armoires for work stations & good music.
Only the stylists partook as well, you don’t want someone giving you a perm that just had a couple glasses with lunch!</p>
<p>^or holding sharp scissors near your face…</p>
<p>I have paid a lot more for haircuts in the past. I have really curly hair (and short) and it can be tricky to cut once I got past wearing it like a 'fro (in my 40s). Miraculously, the young woman who cuts/colors my hair now is NOT at an expensive salon (my previous choice), is independent and priced accordingly. I lucked out this time. I’m willing to pay for a good cut/color. I think you can do color yourself IF it is single process and IF it is not blond. I don’t think you can do single-tone blond (it almost always requires some highlights and lowlights) and have it look good. I went blond when the gray started because it just blends a lot better and I can go longer between appointments.</p>
<p>It was also expensive. A haircut was $40 and this was in the late 70’s. It was in Bellevue though and we didn’t have much trouble staying busy.</p>
<p>I now cut a young woman’s hair who has special needs and while she has known me since she was 5, she is quite a challenge. She often turns her head or moves without warning.
She also has baby fine, very blond hair that shows every single cut, so she would be tricky anyway. So far no injuries- knock on wood.;)</p>
<p>MYMomof2, when i turned 40 or so i switched a dark blonde semi-permanent dye to “color” my grays instead of permanent dye to cover them up, it was not so severe and the hairs looked like natural highlights plus you never get the gray root syndrome thing. My natural haircolor is a chestnut red/brown/blonde/dark brown mix that one of my kids inherited so it always looks sun streaked to some degree. Once I had enough gray that is when I stopped the dye. My hairdresser did tell me alittle something that I do use. If I feel like my hair isn’t shiny enough there is clear dye - no color - and it flattens the shaft of the hairs just like dye does and keeps the grays from frizz and makes it shine. You can find it anywhere that carries do it yourself hair dye. I don’t do that very often but there are times of the year where I just think my hair looks better with slightly more shine or it’s a special occasion type deal. Most days I spritz hair shine just to beef up the shine which is what makes old hair different from young person hair…the shine. Hair shine and a great cut is all I need these days to make me happy and an occasional clear dye home job.</p>
<p>Never heard clear dye. Maybe I’ll give it a try on my dark/with silver streaks sometime when I’m feeling adventurous. I have short thick hair. I switched to a non-sulfate shampoo/conditioner, a L’Oreal product. It’s really smooths my hair out. Flat iron it in a few strategic spots and I’m ready to go. The great part about using a flat iron on really short hair is that when I wake up in the morning,my hair looks exactly the way it did when I went to bed…still smooth and shiny. I love low maintenance.</p>
<p>^^My hairdresser doesn’t want me to color anymore. She happens to like my hair the way it is (and so do I) and puts me in the “lucky” category in terms of how my gray came in, but I was moaning the fact that my once really, really shiny hair just wasn’t shiny all the time so she was the one that got me going on the clear. That is 5 years ago, now there are glazes, as well as spritzes and everyday use products that can make your hair shiny. The gradual lack of shine is what I think sometimes makes people look like they have “old” hair but it took me a while to put my finger on what it was that was bothering me when everyone around me “liked” my hair natural. Now it shines when I want it to and I’m happy, too.</p>
<p>Having my hair done/straightened/styled/high/low-lighted/roots done is my treat to myself. There are far worse vices out there.</p>