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I am not pretending to be 20. I want to look maintained and groomed. When I was 20, I could look all shaggy and uncombed (early 90s grunge days) and still be cute. Those days are not coming back, so I take my hair in for regular maintenance. To extend the car metaphor, now that I am getting up there in mileage, more regular maintenance is needed! Also, it avoids embarrassing my children or scaring the horses.
I'm 25, and people in my family don't grey until late, but I know when the time comes, I'll have to dye. My natural hair color is jet black (my Middle Eastern side took over my hair), so when I do start greying, it's not going to blend in nicely or go a snowy pretty white. So I will have to dye.
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Originally Posted by Bayarea4
I agree with the OP that overly bright, dark or weird shades are not attractive, especially on older women. I also don't like really obvious highlights that look like tiger stripes. Some women do look fine with grey hair. Others, not so much. If the gray comes in unevenly it can look strange, with a shock of white hair in the front and darker hair in the back. Or if the woman's complexion is very fair, as mine is, any shade of grey drains all the color out of her face. I would look embalmed! So I have it colored a dark blonde that is much more flattering, and I don't think it looks fake. Judge for yourself. This was taken the day after my 66th birthday:
I am late 50's and going gray from dark brown. Never have dyed my hair, never will. There is fine line between "Oh you look great" and "Mutton dressed as lamb." In other words, at some point between 50 and 80 your dyed hair will look pretty ridiculous, and how do you know when that will be?
I used to work with a lady in her 80's with jet black (dyed) hair. Looked like a fake fur coat..
I am late 50's and going gray from dark brown. Never have dyed my hair, never will. There is fine line between "Oh you look great" and "Mutton dressed as lamb." In other words, at some point between 50 and 80 your dyed hair will look pretty ridiculous, and how do you know when that will be?
I used to work with a lady in her 80's with jet black (dyed) hair. Looked like a fake fur coat..
I agree with you there. My MIL is 75 and still dyes her hair. She is Latina, and although she dyes her hair jet black, having nary a grey hair on a woman that age looks totally fake. As soon as a wisp of grey appears, she dyes it again, and it just looks odd. My wife, who is 51, dyes, as do I (I'm 38). We both dye our hair jet black, and I think it looks both sexier and more natural when a few greys start coming in. But just a few
I am late 50's and going gray from dark brown. Never have dyed my hair, never will. There is fine line between "Oh you look great" and "Mutton dressed as lamb." In other words, at some point between 50 and 80 your dyed hair will look pretty ridiculous, and how do you know when that will be?
I used to work with a lady in her 80's with jet black (dyed) hair. Looked like a fake fur coat..
I work in nursing homes, and the ladies who get their hair colored a natural color look great. It only looks fake if you go for an odd color (black is almost impossible to get to look natural regardless of age if it's not your natural color). We have ladies in their 90's with dyed hair who look awesome. It can actually help thinning hair look thicker and adds a little more texture, a problem many older women have problems with.
My mom who is 83 stopped coloring her hair but I wish she would go back to it. I think you feel better when you look better, too.
I'm 53. Today, I bought a $10 bottle of hair dye at the drug store. I dyed my hair - not to fool anyone, but because I prefer my hair dyed rather than suffering through the currently naturally weird mixture of auburn, white, and brown that is growing in uneven patches and strange patterns on my head.
Here's the color. I don't care if other people don't like it. I love it. And I don't think it looks strange or makes me look older, or younger, or anything other than what and who I am - a healthy, 53 year old woman with a full and interesting life.
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 02-07-2020 at 07:16 AM..
Something lighter than our natural pre-gray colors can match our complexions better than the original shades, as we age, as long as we don't choose platinum or something else extreme. I know my current natural patchwork of dark brown and white would not look at all flattering at my current age of 45 or at any point in the future. My light brown hair and blond "streaks," as my mother calls them, look much better.
Middle-aged women aren't dyeing our hair to look young - we just don't want to look unkempt, washed out, and ill.
Something lighter than our natural pre-gray colors can match our complexions better than the original shades, as we age, as long as we don't choose platinum or something else extreme. I know my current natural patchwork of dark brown and white would not look at all flattering at my current age of 45 or at any point in the future. My light brown hair and blond "streaks," as my mother calls them, look much better.
Middle-aged women aren't dyeing our hair to look young - we just don't want to look unkempt, washed out, and ill.
Thank you.
Yes, I am going a little lighter than my former natural color of dark auburn. Auburns are tricky with gray hair. This color is supposed to be a neutral medium brown, but as you can see, the red insists on making it's way to the forefront. What's left of it, anyway - LOL.
What I don't want to end up with is that beigey, light brownish color. This (above picture) is absolutely the lightest I want to go - because I have dark eyes and very light skin. Lightish hair looks pretty awful on me - it makes my skin seem pasty and my eyes to look like dark caverns. So white, or blonde, or light brown all look pretty bad on me. I can't even imagine gray. BLECH. I need rich color.
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So I have it colored a dark blonde that is much more flattering, and I don't think it looks fake. Judge for yourself. This was taken the day after my 66th birthday:
