Do you color your hair ?

[Moemg]

On our last cruise a few people had them .Mostly women in their 20's to 40's . I thought the red woven into dark hair looked the nicest .

 

[Katsmeow]

I do agree that age is not just shown by gray hair. I do change my hair and clothes with the times. Well -- except at work 1 day a week about 90% of the time I wear a T shirt with jeans, shorts or workout pants depending on where I'm going.

Nonetheless, it is clear cut to me that no matter how attractive gray hair is that people see it and add years to someone's age.

I remember some years ago I had some dealings with a woman who was clearly not young. However, she was very well dressed, trim, well made up and wore clothes that were professional but could easily have been worn by someone in mid-career. Her hair was simple, a little more than chin length and a light brown. I thought she was in her 50s. However, I later found out that she was in her mid-70s! She easily looked 20 years younger than her age.

Obviously it wasn't just the hair. However, if her hair had been gray I think I would have thought she was mid-60s.

There is no doubt to me that with my gray hair, I don't look objectively bad. But, I do look older. People used to always think I looked several years younger than I really am, partly because I don't go out in the sun much so don't have a lot of wrinkles. Now, they don't think that.

 

[Katsmeow]

I doubt I'd color my hair--but I do have these awesome feathers! Have y'all heard about them? The hoop community has been all over them. They are clamped onto a few strands of your own hair and are long colored feathers that hang down like your own hair (attached right at the scalp). I've had these in for about 2 months now. You can just sort of see them flash when I move my hair--I've got purple, orange, blue/white stripe, and a little bit of white. I love them! Just enough hippie but not overboard! And you can wash and brush your hair same as always. Pretty cool!

I love the idea of the feathers. Alas, I do still go to the office once or twice a week and they would have a cow if I did something like that.

 

[bbbamI]

Feathers sound kind of cool...but what about the bald birds?

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'm not exactly sure, but I suspect these birds have no more need for their feathers...eeek! Although knowing the hippie hooping community, maybe there is some place you can get eco-harvested feathers naturally shed by free range jewel colored designer chickens!

 

[Dreamer]

Well, I am back from getting my hair trimmed and colored. I don't know if it makes me look younger to the world, but I like it and it makes me feel good. I would like to go grey some day, but I don't think that I am quite old enough (in my mind) yet. My DH is not ready for me to go grey yet either. I showed him the picture of a very pretty lady with silver hair on the site that DangerMouse linked us to and asked him what he thought about me having my hair like hers. He doesn't usually say much, but he looked appalled and said no way. I will probably revisit the idea in 5-10 years. I do a fair job of staying in shape (could do a little better though), but feel I am most lacking in stylish clothes. I have just started buying some tops that are size small rather than the medium I usually buy. My weight fluctuates from 111-114 lbs usually. I saw myself in a picture where I had a bigger top on and it made me look heavier than when I was wearing a smaller top that my DD had bought me.

 

[Khan]

No, I never have colored it, not through a principled decision at all, but just because it never occurred to me. But having read previous discussion in this thread, now I'm thinking about it. It sounds like fun. I just asked my wife about it, and she said, no, because it will turn orange here in Hawaii, due to the sun. She referred to the color as "Ronald Reagan orange" or the "Howdy Doody look". So I appeal to your expertise -- can orange be easily and economically avoided?

AKA: Change-of-life red.

 

[Mulligan]

Personally, I think grey hair on ladies is very attractive especially the salt and pepper look. My GF is still too vain and pulls them out when they pop up. As she gets older, I hope she comes up with a different plan otherwise she will be bald!

 

[Amethyst]

You may want to talk to a hair stylist who specializes in color. Men have less/shorter hair, so the effect of hair color is probably different for them. Even for women, I'm told, blonde is the easiest color to enforce on white/nearly all white hair, and the least likely to turn some unearthly color when the sun shines through.

AKA: Change-of-life red.

Amethyst

 

[ls99]

Hair color, at birth brown, then it all fell out. Then blonde, later tuned near brown, now genuine silver. Some platinum blondes are jealous.

 

[MBAustin]

My mother is now 80, went gray in her 40s, never dyed her hair (although she lost most of it in her late 60s due to undiagnosed thyroid deficiency and it is now still growing back - some of it dark brown!).

My husband had more gray hair at 45 than my father did at 70; unfortunately my father is no longer around for the comparisons.

My (younger) sister convinced me to try out home color several years ago. I've done it every 3 months since then - even my hair stylist approves (although she would make a lot more $$ doing it herself). Funny thing - the shade I use is no longer available in the stores here in central TX, but is available in PA (where sister lives) and also by mail (drugstore.com). So I order 4 boxes at a time for a one-year supply.

Although it does cover the gray, it also brightens up my natural mousy brown with some reddish highlights, and improves the body of my very fine hair. Worth $25/year

 

[Glo]

I stopped coloring when I retired at age 59. Now I'm 64 and have gray mostly around my face. My girlfriends say I should color but I'm done with all that bother. I do get a good hair cut every 6-8 weeks and get lots of compliments on my hair.

 

[yakers]

DW colors her hair---purple. No kidding. Looks great. And at Burning Man various colors are applied each day.

 

[Isadora]

A poll was recently requested on this subject so I thought I would start it . I do color my hair mostly because my older sister colors hers and no way do I want to look older than her .

Had nothing to do with my age - was barely 18 at the time Viva Las Vegas was made. I loved Elvis, and Ann Margret was dancing with him...sooo, hair color and dancing lesson. Never went to a live concert of Elvis but the haircolor became my own and it is still with me...unlike Elvis.

 

[Sarah in SC]

yakers, does she do feathers? You should get her some! In a contrasting color would be so cool with the purple.

 

[Orchidflower]

One of my girlfriends who was the loudest about me cutting my long hair (worn in a ponytail always) was thrilled I got it cut altho she has yet to see it. But her very next statement was: "Now we got to get you to dye it."
Sigh...I cannot win.

Does everyone realize how hard it is to dye silver/white hair? It just does not take the dye like hair that hasn't turned grey yet does. Maybe that's why Liz Taylor did that gawdawful yellow hair her last years on earth? It looked horrid, and if my hair has to look like that I would rather stay silver.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Stay silver, girl! I do think that shorter hair looks better as we get older.

 

[Khan]

I don't cut it, color it, or curl it.

 

[Isadora]

Unfortunately, yes - gray hair is dead and does not absorb color as do the "live" neighbors and I read one of you colors once every THREE months Try root touch up every two weeks. With the ghastly colors available in Hungary I do have to bring mine from the US - that's a lot of hair color along with my Starbucks Verona beans. Anybody coming my way?

 

[Adventuregirl]

I do color my hair, those of us with dark hair in my family gray early (the red heads, they've gotten no gray so far)....and since I'm 43 with a 3 year old and do not wish to mistaken for his Grandma, I color.
I also look better with dark hair, I did not color during my pregnancy and nursing and the at least 50% gray color was not particularly flattering on me. Gave me a "washed out" look.....

 

[sn2792]

I go for a haircut and color every 5 weeks. I have no wrinkles yet, so I am keeping up the color.

 

[Moscyn]

I don't think I can let myself go silver. I have jet black hair and I'll look pre-maturely old and wierd if I try to grow out my white hair. I find that I need to do root touch up more frequent - used to be once a month, now may need to do once in 3 weeks. The hair dye fades away faster after each golf session. I have recently been using a hair color touch up wand - it comes with an applicator to touch up the roots. The color goes once you wash your hair. I can prolong the need to do root touch up for another week with this applicator. I found out that a lot of my friends use it too. Problem is I wash my hair every day which means it is a real pain to touch up every day.

 

[Moemg]

- used to be once a month, now may need to do once in 3 weeks. The hair dye fades away faster after each golf session. I have recently been using a hair color touch up wand - it comes with an applicator to touch up the roots. The color goes once you wash your hair. I can prolong the need to do root touch up for another week with this applicator. I found out that a lot of my friends use it too. Problem is I wash my hair every day which means it is a real pain to touch up every day.

My hairdresser used to mix up a bottle of shampoo with some color in it . This helped me lengthen the time between color touch ups.

 

[rescueme]

As a 63 old male, I don't care what my color is, as long as I have hair to show it off ...

And I do...

 

[easysurfer]

My hair colors itself. Notice a little more gray each time I get a haircut