Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
On another subject I was tempted to buy one of those airbrush make up kits because that is the real problem. The face. not the hair. But there were so many negative reviews I didn't.
I grew up in an arty/hippie/counter-cultural social milieu and never wore make up. Now that I'm 65 I could probably really use the assist a little make-up could provide, especially when going out somewhere nice or having my picture taken, but the problem is I never learned how to do it right. The few times I've tried I end up looking like the same me but with weird junk on my face.
I colored my hair years ago when I was looking for a job. Prematurely silver that started at 16. I haven't for 15 years, and I won't because I am constantly told that my hair is beautiful. Nice ego boost. Male btw.
I'm 65 and have really long hair. I put "semi-permanent" do-it-yourself color in it every 3 to 6 months (varies, I'm not super religious about it.) It's the kind of color that's supposed to wash out after 20 shampoos or some number like that. It adds more like a tint to my hair than dramatically changing the color. Since it fades on its own I don't end up with any kind of line where new hair grows in at the roots. If I had to deal with that level of maintenance I would definitely not put color in my hair.
My hair is so many different colors already just on its own. It's dark brunette underneath, blond on the sun-exposed parts, some grey-ish, white-ish peppered into the blond hair. I'd have sort of one of those grey blazes if the sun-lightened hair wasn't already so blond... it's kind of hard to see the blaze even without hair color.
I'm not sure what I'll do with it in the long run. Right now I tend to like freshening up the color a bit even if it's just temporary color and only done a few times a year. It costs $6 and is easy to do.
Well, I can't speak for myself yet (55 and yes I color my hair). My mom is 75 and she colors her hair (well the salon does it). She has hair like you. In some places, it's still brunette. In other spots it's gray. It's just weird and, honestly, not a good look without something done. Prior to the hair change, she was a very, very dark brunette. She does not get her hair colored that way, although I think she looks good with dark hair. It's done in a medium brown with some highlights. It tends to lighten up more on it's own and then goes back to the patchy color look.
I encourage my mother to keep doing her hair. She likes it and it makes her look 100% better when it's done. She still has some vanity left so she cares about it.
I'm 66 and have never colored my hair. It's "salt and pepper" but with more salt than pepper in the beard. My only real issue was when I started to get an odd gray hair in my eyebrows. They stick out like a sore thumb. I prefer having a full head of mostly gray than a younger brother who is going bald. My Mom is 89, and still has dark brown hair, has never had to color it.
Wow, I never heard of anyone over 75 still having his or her natural dark hair! Your mom was lucky!
(Btw, interesting answers from everyone so far! Thanks!)
My wife has something put in her hair that "blends" the colors somehow. She has brown with streaks of silver and this stuff somehow makes the starkness of the difference less.
I'm doing a terrible job of explaining this and she's out playing Bridge so I can't ask her about it. Whatever it is it really looks great!
Wow, I never heard of anyone over 75 still having his or her natural dark hair! Your mom was lucky!
(Btw, interesting answers from everyone so far! Thanks!)
I don't remember either of my parents with dark hair. She was 40 and he was 44 when i was born and both started early. Which is why I found my first silver hair at 16. I asked my mother what i should do about it and she said, "Get used to it." lol
She has hair like you. In some places, it's still brunette. In other spots it's gray. It's just weird and, honestly, not a good look without something done.
LOL. Well, mine doesn't look weird at least. It looks like layered highlighting. People pay good money for this look. I'm just outdoors a lot and nature does it.
I did a 23&Me test last year. Of of the traits they identified is that my hair is likely prone to "photo-lightening". True, that.
I stopped coloring at 58. It doesn't look good on me, about 70% gray and the rest dark brown. But I was getting cheaper color (drug store box) and like your mom's, it didn't look natural anymore. I've tried salon color that costs about $80 including tip, and it's not any better than box.
The only way I'd color it again is if I could afford a high end colorist, and be able to go in as often as needed for touch ups. I understand that can cost 1500 or more per year, so I'd have to win the lottery to afford that.
My reasoning to stop coloring was, do I want it to look like I'm trying but look very fake? Or go natural and have it look just about the same kind of bad but at least people wouldn't feel sorry for me, thinking that poor old lady has no idea how pathetic her efforts to stay young are?
My dad dyed his hair until he got unto nursing home. After that he just had a very short hair. Peppery, not white.
I plan to keep doing the same thing. I don’t like the skunk look.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It looks like layered highlighting. People pay good money for this look. I'm just outdoors a lot and nature does it.
