# Coloring Hair



## Pandee (Apr 7, 2020)

After years of coloring my hair I have decided enough already. It has grown out a couple inches . I am hoping to hang in there. A nice solution would be to cut it short and hurry the process along. Would love to hear anyone who has worked through this process.


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## PopsnTuff (Apr 7, 2020)

I'm doing the same thing right now Pandee....all my gray roots are shining thru but since Im going nowhere for awhile, am now curious how long I will let this continue....I dye, trim, and cut my own hair.....was thinking the same as you; maybe cut it really short or better yet, shave it off...
just kidding


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## Lee (Apr 7, 2020)

I can't help you as I am one of those gals who just keeps dying it when I see what I think is too much grey.

I do know someone with longer hair and since she is blonde the grey actually blended in quite nicely. She kept getting the ends cut and within a year she was a striking silver grey.


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## katlupe (Apr 7, 2020)

I started to grow mine out. I  had let my hair grow really long and it is thick so didn't color it. It already took two boxes to color it so I figured everyone else was letting their hair go gray. I started going to a hair salon when I moved here and got it cut (donated my cut hair to Cancer) but not real short. I tried to like it turning gray but didn't really like it. The reason is my natural color isn't really the color I like and not enough of it had turned gray. I have gone back to coloring it, I do it myself. Still using two boxes. I like it much better for myself. I see a lot of people who have gone gray and love it.


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## RadishRose (Apr 7, 2020)

I let mine grow out sometime last year. I actually like my gray. If or when I get bored with it, I'll just get a few blonde highlights.


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## Lee (Apr 7, 2020)

R.R. do like the idea of blonde highlights.

Just my opinion but I do think that grey hair that is a silver or white grey tones looks better than the yellow toned hair.


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## Pinky (Apr 7, 2020)

Complete gray drains my complexion, so I get lowlights.


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## Lee (Apr 7, 2020)

Pinky said:


> Complete gray drains my complexion, so I get lowlights.




Can someone explain to me the difference between highlights and lowlights?


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## Keesha (Apr 7, 2020)

After years of colouring my hair with henna, I stopped 5 years ago but since my hairs over 3 feet long, I still have a bit of henna on the ends so it looks like an ombré. I had to do my roots every 10 days  and anyone who has done henna before knows, it’s not a simple task. The great thing is that my natural colour is a light reddish brown but the outside layer is silver grey so there’s streaks through it that hold colours so well like pink , purple, blue , green etc. Here’s the blue, and pink.


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## Devi (Apr 7, 2020)

As my medium-to-dark brown hair started to show gray, I decided: enough with the chemicals. I'm letting it go gray. "Embracing the gray," as they say. The gray is fairly dark, though, so we'll see how this finally pans out -- whether it lightens up or whatever.

If I decide I don't like the color against my natural (aging) but pale skin tone, I won't color the hair. I'll likely just ... add makeup. -hey!- chemicals! But at least I don't have to wear makeup if I don't care to, and I can wash it off at any time.


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## Duster (Apr 7, 2020)

Love the braided hairdo Keesha!
Since I only have a little gray hair mixed with brown, I usually just dye it dark blond so that it looks streaked. I've let it grow out for a couple of months. Now it has silver highlights, rather than dark gold.


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## Gaer (Apr 7, 2020)

I'm chicken!  My hair is long.  (not as long as Keesha's) but thick and long.  I'm scared to let it go gray and I LOVE long hair.  I couldn't ever cut it short!  But, It stays dark almost always.  All I need is a little touch up from time to time. Gray and beige make my skin look sallow.  "Rage, RAGE against the dying of the light!"


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## Pandee (Apr 7, 2020)

PopsnTuff said:


> I'm doing the same thing right now Pandee....all my gray roots are shining thru but since Im going nowhere for awhile, am now curious how long I will let this continue....I dye, trim, and cut my own hair.....was thinking the same as you; maybe cut it really short or better yet, shave it off...
> just kidding


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## Pandee (Apr 7, 2020)

I know, cutting would be great but my hubs looked at me with those sad puppy dog eyes when I mentioned it.


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## fmdog44 (Apr 7, 2020)

Lee said:


> Can someone explain to me the difference between highlights and lowlights?


I know teacher! I know!! Highlights is for reading and low lights is for watching TV.


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## C'est Moi (Apr 7, 2020)

Here's a previous thread on going gray...   https://www.seniorforums.com/threads/color-the-gray-yes-or-no.33811/


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## Pinky (Apr 7, 2020)

Lee said:


> Can someone explain to me the difference between highlights and lowlights?


As I understand it, lowlights are a darker colour, and highlights are a lighter colour. 
I get brown lowlights put through the gray.


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## IrisSenior (Apr 7, 2020)

My hair is a mess now. Very fine and had highlights added before. Now I don't want to colour it anymore and I want to cut it short.
To heck what hubby says.
Can't wait until the hairdresser is back working again.


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## Em in Ohio (Apr 7, 2020)

At 89, my mother's hair was still basically brownish/blond.  At 70, mine is the same.  I had a couple grey hairs show up two years ago - but they fell out.  No idea why we don't grey, other than an over-abundance of melanin perhaps.


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## win231 (Apr 7, 2020)

I was bored, so I tried coloring my hair last night.  It didn't come out right:


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## Keesha (Apr 7, 2020)

Gaer said:


> I'm chicken!  My hair is long.  (not as long as Keesha's) but thick and long.  I'm scared to let it go gray and I LOVE long hair.  I couldn't ever cut it short!  But, It stays dark almost always.  All I need is a little touch up from time to time. Gray and beige make my skin look sallow.  "Rage, RAGE against the dying of the light!"


With adding highlights / low lights , right now is a perfect time to transition and keep your long hair. 
I had a horrible transition due to the natural colouring I used. Yours will be much easier.
I will stop over sharing. 
I will stop over sharing.


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## Keesha (Apr 7, 2020)

win231 said:


> I was bored, so I tried coloring my hair last night.  It didn't come out right:


I know it’s not you but I love it. 
I’ve got a hair fetish.


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## Suzy623 (Apr 7, 2020)

I'd put off getting my hair cut because of doctor appointments the first couple of months. Was able to take daddy for hair cuts but had a hard time having someone off work to stay with daddy so I've not had a haircut since mid December I guess. It's really driving me nuts! Now that it's almost totally gray, the body is gone. No more natural wavy hair. My hair won't even hold a curl if I roll it. Almost immediately falls flat. So all I can do with it is blow dry and spray, spray, spray. Maybe I'll think of shaving it if I can't leave home for another month.


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## Karmen1996 (Apr 28, 2020)

I let my natural gray grow out about 3 years ago, after dying it for 35 years.  Sure glad I did it now!  Apparently, hair dye is the next hysteria buy during the Covid pandemic.  First hand sanitizer, then toilet paper, now hair dye, since it's been over a month since hair places closed down, and all those gray roots are showing!!  Hair dye is totally picked over here in the stores in Maryland, and my daughter ordered it online on Amazon, and it was only 1 per customer.


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## Keesha (Apr 28, 2020)

There’s so many people botching their hair trying to do it themselves.   Maybe people don’t know when they will be able to get hair appointments and they are panicking and stocking up on hair dyes. 
Who knows?


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## Ruthanne (Apr 28, 2020)

My roots are growing out, too, but I have a golden blonde I'm going to cover the roots with when I get in the mood.  

It's up to you if you want to let it grow out.  My shade of hair now is brownish with some grey streaks but the color does nothing for me.  I think I look better in my original hair shade which is blonde.  I don't color it the blonde that I had when I was younger any longer but use the golden blonde now which has a bit of a reddish tint to it.  It seems to light up my face some which I like.


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## Wren (Apr 29, 2020)

I’ve always coloured my own hair, only visiting a hairdresser when it needs cutting, I have enough tubes of Henna cream to last until late autumn so, hopefully there will be no grey roots around here anytime soon .....


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## jujube (Apr 29, 2020)

I let my grey grow out one of the summers that we were on the road.  I wore a hat or a bandana and, besides, I wasn't ever going to see those people at Mt. Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge or Old Faithful again....LOL.  

When the grey got about 2" long, I stopped at a salon and said "start cutting and don't stop until it's all the same."  Then I looked like Zippy the Pinhead for a while, but at least I had lost the "Skunk Creature" look.  

All I can say is....thank goodness for hats and bandannas and people you'll never see again.


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## toffee (Apr 29, 2020)

No grey for me -- like my blonde hi=lites - never liked the colour grey -makes you look older than you are ..


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## Suzy623 (May 1, 2020)

jujube said:


> I let my grey grow out one of the summers that we were on the road.  I wore a hat or a bandana and, besides, I wasn't ever going to see those people at Mt. Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge or Old Faithful again....LOL.
> 
> When the grey got about 2" long, I stopped at a salon and said "start cutting and don't stop until it's all the same."  Then I looked like Zippy the Pinhead for a while, but at least I had lost the "Skunk Creature" look.
> 
> All I can say is....thank goodness for hats and bandannas and people you'll never see again.


Wearing a face mask helps me feel no one knows who I am.


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## Suzy623 (May 1, 2020)

My hair used to be medium-dark brown with tons of red high lights. In the sun it looked red, in artificial light it looked brown. I started coloring it red years ago but when the gray started coming in it got an orange hue about it because I was using the golden. So I switched to light ash blonde. It puts just enough blonde in my gray hair to take out the gray. Ordered some from the drug store...ordered ASH blonde and they sent NATURAL blonde. Afraid if I use it my hair will come out orangish again and can't exchange it without going into the store. Maybe I should go ahead and use it. That will guarantee all the stores will open up before the color fades!


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## KimIn Wis (Sep 6, 2020)

Keesha said:


> After years of colouring my hair with henna, I stopped 5 years ago but since my hairs over 3 feet long, I still have a bit of henna on the ends so it looks like an ombré. I had to do my roots every 10 days  and anyone who has done henna before knows, it’s not a simple task. The great thing is that my natural colour is a light reddish brown but the outside layer is silver grey so there’s streaks through it that hold colours so well like pink , purple, blue , green etc. Here’s the blue, and pink.
> View attachment 98421View attachment 98422


Your hair is gorgeous!


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## Keesha (Sep 6, 2020)

KimIn Wis said:


> Your hair is gorgeous!


Thank you


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## applecruncher (Sep 6, 2020)

jujube said:


> All I can say is....thank goodness for hats and bandannas and people you'll never see again.


And sweatbands!
I've never colored my hair, only a few strands of gray, but I sweat like a pig.  So I keep a supply of sweatbands.


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## asp3 (Sep 6, 2020)

My hair is rarely longer than 4-5 inches so there isn’t a lot to grow out.  I stopped coloring my hair when I didn’t have to go into the office anymore because of Covid.  I haven’t colored it since but my wife would like me to start again because seeing me with gray hair makes her feel older.  I’d rather wait until I know I have to go into the office again because once I start I have to color it about every 4 weeks.

Here’s a picture of me a little less than a month ago.  There’s still a little color at the end of some of the hair.

https://www.seniorforums.com/thread...es-of-yourself-if-you-wish.50419/post-1447055


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## fmdog44 (Oct 4, 2020)

I think it look ridiculous when old men die their hair to look like shiny paint with not not grey hair anywhere to be found. Then they die their beard to  the same extreme. We see many old TV preachers with that look.


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## hellomimi (Oct 4, 2020)

I find the natural salt n pepper look among senior men very appealing.


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## dobielvr (Oct 7, 2020)

Duster said:


> Love the braided hairdo Keesha!
> Since I only have a little gray hair mixed with brown, I usually just dye it dark blond so that it looks streaked. I've let it grow out for a couple of months. Now it has silver highlights, rather than dark gold.



My hair is the same way as yours, except I use Medium Blond for my color...Nice n Easy.


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