anyone wear grey hair?

[vinspired]

Here in Australia I have recently noticed a number of young girls/women dying their hair grey (colour similar of the previously posted Kelly Osbourne picture).
Before they used to bleach it white-blonde, now it is the grey.
My niece has informed me it is the 'thing' at the moment.

I would say for well over a century (+ more) having grey hair (natural or dyed) has come 'in and out' of fashion - I remember reading about it in a history of makeup/beauty book (the title of the book escapes me at the moment).

 

[vinspired]

I forgot to add - what are peoples thoughts on 'white' hair?
Is white hair considered part of the grey hair topic or a whole different thing?

My mum has pure white hair, I have commented (in passing) would she add grey highlights to her hair - to me white hair is a bit stark..

 

[crwritt]

I forgot to add - what are peoples thoughts on 'white' hair?
Is white hair considered part of the grey hair topic or a whole different thing?

My mum has pure white hair, I have commented (in passing) would she add grey highlights to her hair - to me white hair is a bit stark..

Pure white hair is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen.

 

[Land-O-LakesGal]

Pure white hair is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen.

I totally agree my mid wife had the most beautiful white hair ( i have know her for 10 years) since I have know her and she look lovely with it.

 

[cherry lips]

http://blondeandred.blogspot.com

 

[TimeWarpWife]

For 10 months my hair was my natural white-in-the-front, salt 'n pepper in the back. I liked it because coloring my hair was not only damaging to my hair, but it was so expensive ($150 for color & hi-lights every 6 weeks). But, my mom didn't like it, even though she has white hair herself. Every time she saw me she'd tell me I looked so much better with my hair colored. My dh said he didn't care what color my hair was because he didn't marry me for my hair color. Yet, when I asked him what color he liked my hair best, he said he honestly liked it brown with blonde hi-lights. So, I gave in and colored it again. Today we learned that our health insurance premiums are going up 40%! Seriously, there's no way I can now afford to pay $150 every 6 weeks to keep my hair colored. I really wish I had NOT gone back to coloring it.

 

[crwritt]

For 10 months my hair was my natural white-in-the-front, salt 'n pepper in the back. I liked it because coloring my hair was not only damaging to my hair, but it was so expensive ($150 for color & hi-lights every 6 weeks). But, my mom didn't like it, even though she has white hair herself. Every time she saw me she'd tell me I looked so much better with my hair colored. My dh said he didn't care what color my hair was because he didn't marry me for my hair color. Yet, when I asked him what color he liked my hair best, he said he honestly liked it brown with blonde hi-lights. So, I gave in and colored it again. Today we learned that our health insurance premiums are going up 40%! Seriously, there's no way I can now afford to pay $150 every 6 weeks to keep my hair colored. I really wish I had NOT gone back to coloring it.

I'm surprised you can go six weeks between colorings. When I quit a little more than a year ago my limit was three weeks or the white roots really showed. I admit to looking enviously at pictures of myself with chestnut brown hair. The Gal who used to do it
for me charged next to nothing, and did a beautiful job. After she retired, I just couldn't find anyone who would do it the same way.
One option is to look in to the local beauty school. Your results may vary a bit, but you will certainly save money.
I've been going there for trims, with good results, and If I ever decide to go back to coloring, I'll try them.

 

[kamikat]

I'm surprised you can go six weeks between colorings. When I quit a little more than a year ago my limit was three weeks or the white roots really showed. I admit to looking enviously at pictures of myself with chestnut brown hair. The Gal who used to do it
for me charged next to nothing, and did a beautiful job. After she retired, I just couldn't find anyone who would do it the same way.
One option is to look in to the local beauty school. Your results may vary a bit, but you will certainly save money.
I've been going there for trims, with good results, and If I ever decide to go back to coloring, I'll try them.

She mentioned brown with blond highlights. Highlighted hair can go longer between applications because it's a more natural look. There isn't a strict line of demarkation.

 

[crwritt]

She mentioned brown with blond highlights. Highlighted hair can go longer between applications because it's a more natural look. There isn't a strict line of demarkation.

I had that too, just as you describe, but the white roots still showed after three weeks.

 

[cherry lips]

Carmen Dell’Orefice

 

[cherry lips]

http://suicideblonde.tumblr.com

 

[Odalisque]

So, here's the thing-
I started getting grey hairs last year and gave up dying my hair. I think those little greys are so pretty I don't wanna cover them up.
However, after a years worth of no dying, my haircolor has reverted to that awful mousy drab state.
I'm wondering is there a haircolor that won't cover the grey as I'd like to keep them? I can name you fifty box colors that will claim to cover my grey but I guess I'm the one nutso out there who wants to color and keep the grey. So, ladies- any haircolor you can recommend that were just awful at covering grey hair?

 

[RichardH]

Carmen Dell’Orefice

Dye her hair black on one side; instant Cruella DeVille!

 

[McVolke]

I'm 35 and if I didn't dye my hair I would look like the bride of frankenstein. Except my hair is naturally mousy brown with red highlights. I use henna and as I gray I plan on using a mixture of henna and indigo, so that I don't end up with that construction cone orange color. If I could go gray all at once I wouldn't have so much of a problem, I really like the way silver/gray/white hair looks, especially long. My gray looks so mundane.

 

[lframe]

My hair is a mousy nasty gray with silver streaks that are gorgeous. I keep it close to my natural blonde (which was more white than blonde and too damaging). I so hope my hair will go completely silver. My Grandma had gorgeous salt and pepper hair that went to the most lovely shade of white.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Here's something that no one ever really talks about, and it's a key reason why I have decided firmly to not color my hair. Hair dye is toxic and linked to certain cancers! Also, I just read this:

A British mother who collapsed and stopped breathing minutes after applying a home hair dye kit was in a coma on Sunday night and has been given only an 8 percent chance of survival.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/woman-in-coma-after-using-hair-dye-1.1182556

Over 5,000 different chemicals are used in hair dye products, some of which are reported to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing) in animals (2, 3). Because so many people use hair dyes, scientists have tried to determine whether exposure to the chemicals in hair coloring products is associated with an increased risk of cancer in people.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/hair-dyes

If you read the cancer.gov page you'll notice that not enough testing has been done on this issue. I don't take comfort in the inconclusive findings.

Most everything has potential side-effects and I'm sure someone will tell me I'm more likely to die in a car wreck then from dying my hair, but it's not worth it to me. Even if it doesn't cause cancer, allergic reactions are real. I have VERY sensitive skin so I will be going gray all the way!

 

[sheeplady]

Most everything has potential side-effects and I'm sure someone will tell me I'm more likely to die in a car wreck then from dying my hair, but it's not worth it to me. Even if it doesn't cause cancer, allergic reactions are real. I have VERY sensitive skin so I will be going gray all the way!

In my mother's family, almost everyone who died their hair pitch black for a long period of time- we're talking decades- died relatively young of cancer- both people who were biologically related to my mother and those that married into the family. This was in the 1960s through the early 80s, so I have no idea what dyes were available then.

Now, of course, that's not conclusive evidence and my mother is probably overlooking a lot of women who do dye their hair and didn't get cancer. It spooked her enough that she decided to not dye her hair. And my mother's hair is lovely- gray or not- if I age as well as her I will be a lucky lady.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

In my mother's family, almost everyone who died their hair pitch black for a long period of time- we're talking decades- died relatively young of cancer- both people who were biologically related to my mother and those that married into the family. This was in the 1960s through the early 80s, so I have no idea what dyes were available then.

Now, of course, that's not conclusive evidence and my mother is probably overlooking a lot of women who do dye their hair and didn't get cancer. It spooked her enough that she decided to not dye her hair. And my mother's hair is lovely- gray or not- if I age as well as her I will be a lucky lady.

In my opinion aging well doesn't mean one can't look one's age. It's about looking good at any age....no? I think gray can be a part of that!

 

[Hellen Black]

Hello everyone! I'm new and haven't made a proper introduction, but I had to chime in on this.

If I'd known how dangerous hair color really is, I'd never have touched the stuff. The article about the woman in the UK made me so sad. There was also a 17 year old girl who died recently because of a reaction she had to hair color.

After coloring my hair every shade of the rainbow over the last 25 years I've developed a severe allergy to hair color. I won't go into the gory details, but I thought I had some horrible disease and was going to kick off. Turned out that it's the PPD in hair color. I had no idea that the stuff builds up in a body over time and the longer you color, the more likely you are to have a reaction. Very scary! That's why they say to do the patch test, but really, who does that? The only lines I could find that don't contain PPD are Framesi and Goldwell (though their permanent colors DO contain PPD) but they're way too expensive and hard to get. I'll miss my red hair, but gray it is then.

My hair started going gray when I was 16. I think it's about 80% white now judging by the roots. I've shaved it all off to go natural (it was colored black and I didn't want to fry it with color remover) 3 times now. I really don't want to do it again, it would just look weird at my age. I've hatched a plan for the transition that I think will work.

Today I ordered a short bob wig in about the same red as I have now. It'll just look like I've gotten a haircut. I plan to offer up my noggin at the beauty school to anyone who wants to practice a pixie cut and just keep it like that until all of the color has grown out. When the color is gone and it's gets to a length I'm happy with, I'll lose the wig. Ta da! Since it's cold out I can get away with a cloche over the wig. I don't really like wearing a wig without some accessory to anchor it to my head. Ever since my mom told me a story about watching a woman chase her wig down the street on a windy day I've been paranoid that will be me someday. I figure between a hat and scarves (ala Clara Bow or Louise Brooks) I'll make it through this very awkward hair stage with minimal damage done to my vanity.

The reason I wanted to share this is because it can be a rather perplexing problem as to how to go about the transition. Nobody wants to go around looking like a skunk and going cold turkey and hacking it all off is way too traumatic for some people. If it's because of an allergy, transitioning with highlights is not an option. I hope this helps anyone who is thinking about quitting the color.

The wig I got is Centerfold from Forever Young. I have another of their line and I like them very much. And it was on sale for around $20 to boot. I just looked at the JCPenney's website and they have some beautiful cloches on sale right now. I have scarves galore, so I think I'm all set!

I'll share pics periodically if anyone is interested in seeing the transition.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Hellen- please post pics!