<p>I started going grey at 22 and was completely white by my early 30s (like my father before me). I stopped dying my hair at 37 because it was just too time consuming and annoying and I hated the chemicals. About five years ago I started putting in a pink streak across the front–for some color near my face, since I’m very pale (white (not grey) hair, blue eyes)–using vegetable dyes (I do it myself and refresh it once a week or so, it takes a few minutes). (About a year ago, the New York Times reported on how trendy this is.)</p>
<p>I pay a ridiculous amount of money for a good haircut every 7 weeks; I keep my hair very short because I hate spending time fussing with it. </p>
<p>"At what age do you think a woman should stop coloring her hair to hide the gray … 50, 60 never? "
-At the age when she get sick. I noticed that women who had chemo, stopped coloring…or maybe when she does not have enough of hair to color any more?</p>
<p>Man Bangs…had to laugh.
We went to see a local bluegrass band a few weeks ago.
The lead singer (50ish) had man bangs and was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.<br>
He looked like a cross between Don Ho and Dr. Spock</p>
<p>What exactly constitutes “old lady short hair”?<br>
My hair is very thick . I have a thin face. With even chin length hair I look like Cousin It fr. The Munsters…all hair. Short hair is my best option. I’ve never had really long hair so my graying short hair is no big change of life look!</p>
<p>I don’t color my hair, but I do highlight it. Much easier than coloring, there are no real “roots.” My mom did the same thing and it gradually mixed in with her gray and now she is a nice silver white. I think I will do the same thing. I have friends with naturally dark brown/black hair who color to get rid of a few grays and not it seems they are hooked. Can’t figure out how to get off that merry-go-round of coloring every 4 weeks so the roots don’t show</p>
<p>…I pay $25 (including tip) for my haircut every 10-12 weeks. I do not care much about length (my hair is short), when length changes, my style changes. I more or less do harcut out of habbit. I probably can survive easily cutting it myslef (which I used to do when I was younger). I am not a hairdresser, never had any training, but cutting my H’s hair never presented any challenge. He refuse to cut mine, I have asked many times. I color my hair myself, I am way too lazy to spend that much time at the salon, this became a major effort over time.</p>
<p>A piece of advice to those who are losing the hormone flows: Get those face hairs pemanently removed while you can arrange it all yourself, so you don’t have to beg someone to tweeze them out for you. My MIL looks terrible with her chin hairs and mustache, but is now demented enough that getting them taken care of can be risky as she doesn’t get it. So she has a hairy face. I think she spent a lot of time tweezing face hairs in her younger days. </p>
<p>But, yes, treat yours self to the eyebrows you want, get rid of that upper lip and chin hair and any other “peach fuzz” you might have on your face. There are laser treatments now days that can pretty much exterminate the hair. Pricey, but a good investment ifor a hair free (other than lashes and brows) face. </p>
<p>I agree that hair too dark, and I think my natural hair color (still) falls into that category it can look harsh and age you. But getting that right color is tough, and maintaining it can be even more difficult unless you are lucky. My hair has grayed and whitened in clumps, and in certain lighting or at a distance or in photos, it can look like I have some bald spots where the hair looks like scalp, so I have to fill in each time I wash. Funny, I can now miss a few times, because I think some of the color is just staying during the wash and rinse even though it is water washable. But I do a quick color run through as part of my hair drying routine.</p>
<p>I’m 62, and my hair has been graying since I was in my early 50s, which is not unusual. I went the natural route until just last month, and my hair had turned a sort of dull, steel gray all over.
I think my son’s impending wedding has led me to take a serious look at my appearance in a way I hadn’t done for years. I’ve always had a good haircut, my skin is still pretty young-looking and my weight is good, so I felt I could let the hair-color thing go. Also, I have BC and have been grateful to have hair at all these last two years with the treatments I’ve been taking, so coloring it wasn’t something I considered.</p>
<p>But with the wedding on the horizon, I talked to my stylist this month about coloring–a little apprehensively-- and she agreed that at this point I would benefit from some color, but nothing extreme. She did the most beautiful job! First, lowlights of a darker shade than my current color to cover some (but not all) of the gray, and then some lighter highlights to brighten my face.
All I can say is, " Wow. It’s me-- 10 years ago!" I left her shop looking ten years younger- seriously. I do still have some gray left- that’s what makes it look so natural and soft.
My husband wasn’t that thrilled with the idea of my coloring my hair, as he was concerned I’d come out with something too radical. When he first saw the result, his big smile told me that he was as pleased as I was. I’m going to keep it up.</p>
<p>“so you don’t have to beg someone to tweeze them out for you”
-this is sooo funny, I am holding not to LOL. I do not think I will worry tto much about my facial hair (invisible also, since it will be all white) when I cannot tweeze them out by myself. I would say that visiting a bathroom by myself would be a much higher priority along with about 20 others, and my head would not be able to hold all those 20 on the priority list, so there is no chance whatsoever for me to worry about my facial hair, this worry will not exist any more, again, just holding my best not to LOL.</p>
<p>My mother died at 75 and she still had blondish hair, very small amount of grey that looked like highlights. ( however, her hair was so pale in high school, they called her grandma)
My younger sister also has blond hair and her grey just blends in.</p>
<p>Im 55 and as far as I can tell, the only grey I have is a tiny bit at the temples, but it really just looks blonde.( rest of hair is strawberry blonde- I used to henna it so it was a tad deeper- Im also still having regular periods- :rolleyes: )</p>
<p>The hair cut makes a huge difference on my face. When I first noticed I had growout, I had my hair foiled to match, and it aged me ten years! I immediately colored it again but changed my hair cut & grew it out more around my face.
Then I had it lightened again to match roots & now it is all grown out. Looks much better.I keep it on the shortish side, because it is thinner on top and gets flat if it is longer than 5 or 6 inches. I like it cause I can blow it straight if I want or just put lotion on it to bring out the curl.
Since I am swimming 4 or 5 times a week, shorter hair makes it much easier to manage and since I cant stand swimming caps, Im sure chlorine on tinted hair would be a mess.</p>
<p>For those who are still coloring, Ive seen hair color wands for touch ups.</p>
<p>Grey doesnt have to be aging. I don’t like having to spend much time on my hair, so I empathize with those women who have long grey hair and obviously don’t do anything to it- but it is the hairstyle IMO ( & the fact that it is often dry & lifeless) that is so aging, not just the color. You can * be very low maintenance* without looking like you are oblivious to your appearance.</p>
<p>I hate grey / white hair, it might be stylish by others, but not by me. It cost me $1.50 to color mine and as long as I can/continue to care about it, I will. It also take almost no time, since I am free doing whatever at home while waiting for those 35 min. I do not enjoy this task, oh well, I do not enjoy spending time eating either, driving and many other activities, just something that I have to do in my life…</p>
<p>I think the key to coloring as one gets older is to get a good color; a bad dye job isn’t flattering no matter what your age, but it seems even worse on older women. I color my hair and will continue to do so. I might reconsider at some point, but right now, I’m happy with my hair. I have lightened my color considerably–it’s not blonde, but it isn’t as dark as it used to be when I was younger. I think the lighter color is more flattering. I’ve also got some highlights. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a beautiful gray like the tennis player’s mother or Glenn Close–who also has beautiful gray/blonde hair.</p>
<p>Bromfield, I think an inappropriate dye job looks worse on older women, just cause youth is so beautiful that young,women can get away with almost anything.( Attention -Lindsay Lohan I said * almost* anything.)
If your hair is too dark, then you need to wear * more makeup*, but then unless your application is perfect * that* can make you look even worse!</p>
<p>Which is why I decided to stick with my natural color, cause then I can get away with less stuff on my face.
So glad I work outside and not somewhere that I need to compete with those who can look well rested with 5 hrs of sleep.</p>
<p>I like being a woman, but I have to admit there are advantages to being a man. In most industries, men dont have to spend as much time on their appearance than women do.
My husband for instance still wears a ponytail. I am resigned to it now, but about 15 years ago when my hair was down to my shoulders, I told him I was going to cut it unless he let me cut his hair.
He does let me " trim" his ponytail, but he is getting thinner on top.
( then again- he still has a six-pack) :)</p>
<p>However, I guess I shouldn’t complain, cause he is happy with whatever I decide to do to myself, including staying a little overweight so that my face isnt too haggard.</p>
<p>Given that I know some couples where the man has pretty rigid expectations of how their wives should look, Im glad that some men " get" it.</p>
<p>The question for me is when to start dying my hair, and then when to stop. My father, in his 70’s, still has lots of very dark hair with a bit of gray. My mother is probably all gray. She’s been dying since her late 30’s. At 51 I have a few grays that are mostly concentrated in one area and well hidden most of the time. I’ve never dyed my hair. I’m hoping I have my father’s genetics here. </p>
<p>DH dyes his hair. He’s promised to let me know when it’s time for me to do so. </p>
<p>As a dark brunette I know my color choice will be critical if I don’t want the dark helmet head.</p>
<p>rrah- when you get a few more that you can’t hide as well, but you’re still generally ok with what you see, take a photo. Then, when you’re ready to color, you can tell your stylist to take you back to the future. ;)</p>
<p>I am 54 and I color my hair- golden brown with some highlights for summer. I definitely feel younger and and confident with the gray hidden. As I age into my 60’s I will gradually go gray, but ‘enhance’ the gray with some type of toner. I remember my mom brushing “smokey silver” through her temple area and it looked bluish purple. I think options for brightening up gray hair have improved.</p>
<p>My hairdresser does the color and highlights of many of his clients into their 80s and 90s. The color is almost always a few shades lighter than they were at one time and the newer products can look as natural as you can get, considering that it’s not natural! When you see a helmet of jet black hair on an 85 year old those are usually DIY or hack jobs. </p>
<p>@ greenbutton, I’m not sure why color is any more of a political statement than a great cut. By that logic why not just get your hair cut at the barber shop?</p>