Yes, I'm a racist! I absolutely hate grays - on me, that is. I don't seem to mind them on other people and often find gray hair quite attractive, especially on men.

Do you color your hair to hide gray? Home or salon? How much do you pay and what do you have done and how often? For home products, what do you use? Do you touch-up in between and what do you use for that?

Hoping to find some great secrets to success from those of you who have reached this stage of life.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

The current at home products are almost foolproof. You note I said "almost" because we will be getting the people whose cousin's niece's hair turned green posting shortly.

That being said, I would start with a nonpermanent hair color so you try it out and see how well you do with it. Something like NICE AND EASY or those from other brands is the place to start. Go lighter rather than darker, make sure you cover all your hair..especially in the back. and around the front hair line. Follow the directions exactly. If you don't love it, it will wash out soon enough.

I would have my hair trimmed before starting in case you have really dry or split ends which will take the color differently

I think the difference between salon prices and a box of home hair color with a coupon is huge . I've done my hair myself since I was in high school.....many, many years ago

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Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.

E. Roosevelt

Wonderful topic! Suezz is right NEVER go darker it ages you. I have short hair and do it in the bathtub while I am reading a book.lol
Sometimes I add candles to the room to give the luxury feel while I am changing the color from grey to something more youthful. I just read that you are to wet the hair with tap water before you go in the pool to keep it from turning green as hair absorbes the first thing on itYou also want to vaselline you skin where you don't want the color in case it runs. I am not an expert but this was learned thru trial and error.

I would also suggest, until you know if you like doing this, to stick as close as possible to your own color. That way when it grows out, it won't be quite as obvious.

I had highlights done in a salon here in the St. Louis area and with cut and set it came to well over a hundred before tip, and this was several years ago. I can't afford that so I'm natural right now. I'm thinking about doing what you are, but just highlights. My problem is trying to convince my husband that he wants to spend an hour pulling hair through a cap with a crochet hook. lol.

If you just have a little gray at the temples, there's a product on the market that you can dab in to cover just a small area. I have no idea what it's called, I just know my hairdresser dabbed some on me one day and it hid my more prominent little gray streaks near my temples. It washed out the next time I shampooed.

Let us know what you decide and how it turns out. I've been chicken so far, so maybe if yours if a success, I will break down and buy a kit.

I have to color to fight the gray monster too! I always do it myself. My mom is a hair dresser, so I have picked up tips through the years.

I have natural brown hair. It is medium, I guess. I sometimes use a light golden brown fro sally's(sunlit brown). The word golden is the key. It comes out lighter on the gray hairs and looks like highlights.

When I want a little richer color, I use a medium golden brown(sunset brown), but it tends to come out a tad darker than I like, so I pull a few pieces through a frosting cap, lighten for about 3 minutes with heat using kalidecolors and put a red(coppertone) over it for beautiful reddish highlights.

I like this look a lot, but since the gray hairs come back so often, I don't do this every time. I start going back to the sunlit in between.

When I re-color, I put the color on the root area only, then I pull it down to the rest for about the last 5-7 minutes.

I get everything from sally's and I use clairol color.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Thought I would show the difference in the two colors I mentioned above. First pic. is sunlit, second is sunset with coppertone highlights. Excuse the fact that I have no make-up on. Did not mean to frighten you all!

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Any tips on how to make the gray actually get colored? I have tried the ones that swear they are "100% grey coverage!" and I still have tons of greys within one wash.

I have not had that problem. You might want to try getting your hair color from sally's and make sure you leave it at least 25 minutes. They do carry one that is made for that purpose. I think it is called second nature, but not sure. The girls at Sally's will know. It is by clairol.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I have colored my hair at home for the last year due to the cost. I use Natural Instincts - different colors every couple of months just cause I like the variety. It is always different shades of brown. I love the above tip about golden. I will do that next time. When I got my hair colored here in Colorado in a salon - it was $150 before tip. I am a SAHM so that was way expensive!!! I say try it!

I use permanent color--either Excellence or Preference by L'Oreal and I have never had the color "miss" the grey. I have always found that 100% grey coverage does just that

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Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.

E. Roosevelt

I have a serious gray problem - have since I was in my 20's. I kinda have this Lily Munster thing going on.

The only way that I have been able to get the most coverage for the longest time is having someone professionally do it. I have tried just about every home hair dye there is, and they just don't last very long for me.

It really depends on how fine/coarse your hair is. Sometimes it is worth it to pay to have it professionally done, and then have a touch up kit to get you some extra mileage on it....

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I'm the kind of woman when my feet hit the floor in each morning, the devil says "Oh crap, she's up."

Groovygirl-
I love your haircut! And the color/shade is perfect for you. Can't believe you do your own coloring.

I get my hair highlighted three times a year at a Beauty School nearby. I always ask for a senior and I have never been disappointed with the results. They charge $36.50 for the highlight (plus tip of course).

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Oh, thank you. I have a guy that cuts it, I call the Hair God...lol. I had lost him for a few years and found him again last year. I was beyond thrilled! $36.50 is a great deal btw!

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I have only put one application on my hair and was scared to death and only used half the bottle..The color came out okay I was happy but I do like that golden look...thanks for the pictures..

Two questions:

how often can you color? I did mine 5/30 and the gray is coming back already

The word ash in the color..is it a good thing or bad thing...I have heard different opinions..

Thanks everyone

Well, you can color every 4-6 weeks, but 6-8 is better. The gray will come back soon, because your hair grows about half an inch per month. I try and stretch to 6 week if possible. I only do roots most of the time, though.

Ash has a greenish cast to it and my mom always told me to stay away from it. I agree.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Thank you...I will try your golden light brown..I'm sure I can wait another 4 weeks and do it correctly this time with the whole bottle

Ah....I see some of you thought that I was just needing to start coloring my hair. Oh, how I wish that was true. I've been coloring myself for a long time - and had color and highlights done at a salon once - it was $150 + tips - I'm too cheap for that!! But it was the best color and the longest lasting, so there is an element of you get what you pay for, I guess.

I'm with whomever said that they have color-resistant gray....lately, it's getting worse and worse...and is very disappointing to have silvery color showing up right away.

Keep the ideas and info coming....like what brand of hair color do you prefer? Or do you find they're all pretty similar.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Omg do I hate those grey hairs not for me way too young 46 lol. I too have suffered from premature grey from the age of 23 I started. so at this point I do touch ups every 6 weeks I use a mixture of my natural light brown with some blond and red highlights. However I have been going to the salon for the past several years its 45 dollars so its not too bad... peace. Catherine

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in memory of my beloved beautiful brother Sonny who is now an angel in heaven

With my hair, it's getting harder and harder to cover the grays completely also. I've been coloring my hair at home for awhile now and overall I'm happy. I use Preference by Loreal. I've tried other otc but this one covers the best for me.

I've thought about trying Sally's. Groovey girl, how much does it cost and how would I know what to buy. I can pick a color but since I always buy a prepackaged box - I don't know what to buy exactly at Sally's. Is it cheaper to buy it thru Sally's? If it is a couple of big bottles of stuff, how do you know how many ounces of stuff to mix together? Help a little more, please!

Will I save money??? DH is getting losing his job at the end of this month and every penny counts in our household right now.

Thanks so much!!!

P.S. I love your cut, and the color makes your blue eyes show up nicely!

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Donna

Okay.....the color is about $4.00 or $5.00. I pay $5.00 a year for a sally's card, so it is cheaper for me. It is a 2oz. bottle and you just mix it with 2 oz. of 20 volume developer, which comes in different sized bottles(the one I buy lasts through many bottle of color) and costs a few bucks. I buy a little plastic bottle for under a buck to mix in.

As for the color, there are swatches and descriptions on the shelf, but there is a hair dresses in the store that can help if needed. I always look for a gold base, because I like the golden highlights it puts in. There are neutral based colors if you like a flat color.

The girls there are very helpful. My mom just taught me a lot, so I can do it on my own. It is professional color and does a better job than otc, although I have used otc before. I like clairol. I find the colors are more true and natural looking.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Thanks, Groovygirl. I will check this out more. My Sally's does not have professional people working in it at all so that is why I asked so many questions.
Thanks for your help!!!

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Donna

I use this
Clairol.com: Perfect 10, High Gloss Hair Color

It's only ten minutes it covers all the grays and leaves my hair soft and shiny.

FYI: I have done an experiment with the conditioner that comes with haircolor (many brands over the years) and I have discovered that the hair color fades faster when I use the weekly conditioner they put in the box. So now I use it once right away after the initial coloring and that's it. My color lasts two to three weeks longer.

Also if you only wash your hair every other day and just rinse well and condition on alternating days your color will last longer.

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Faith + Love = Happy

Yea that was me I can color and within two weeks at the most..usually one, I have greys popping up. And not roots, either. Full grown greys. My hair is almost waist long and it takes two bottles to do all of it. I just wish the grey would stay away just a little longer. It is the only reason I color at all. I have beautiful strawberry blonde hair, and I love the color. I just hate the greys...lol!!

My color from Sally's lasts until I have to touch up roots(because the ugly grays grow back out). The stuff that is otc will fade.

Oh, and for the light hair that you don't want to color, but only get rid of gray hair. If you go with a blond color that is lighter than your hair, or any color lighter than your natural, it will only deposit that color on the gray, looking like highlights. It WILL NOT color your other hair. You would have to bleach to lighten the other hair.

Color alone will not lift, only bleach.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Awesome! Thank you very much for that. Now I know what colors to get.

By the way, if there is a big lots near you they always have hair color for about 3.00 a box. Just check the exp date.

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Be careful what you wish for.....

See now I have the opposite problem, my dh is MORE than happy to stick me in the head for an hour with a crochet hook.

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Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together.

Oh, I pull my own hair through the cap, when I do the red highlights. It gets really easy after a few times.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

This is not true. Color can lift 2 shades, more if using a 30 or 40 volume developer. If you are just using a semi-permant color then it will not lighten just deposit color. I am a hairdresser and have had to fix many at home coloring mistakes. It is very costly usually to fix it and sometimes requires more than one step.

I have been using clairol products for a while now and have had great results. I use a medium blond or the 103b and get complements on my hair all the time. The smell is awful but I never have a problem with gray coverage.

Any advice for a natural light brunette with natural red in hair? I love to get blonde highlights but financially I can't do it. Most people do not see the red in my hair because it is in the underneath of my hair. Thanks

I wouldn't have a problem coloring my hair at home, but I have always been nervous about doing highlights. I would think it would be very difficult to get the highlights the same color as the ones I aready have, and if they came out a different shade it would look odd. More often that not when I get my highlights done at a salon they end up having to tone it down with a rinse after the highlights are done. I am not sure I would be brave enough to attempt it. Although I did color my hair at home for years, highlights are harder to match, since it isn't an all over process. But, I am getting tired of paying so much for salon highlights...

I would love to be able to find a class that taught how to color hair! It makes me cringe to think about how much I would have to spend to get my hair professionally done. I'd love to get to sort of a Jennifer Aniston medium/dark blonde with highlights. My sister had something similar done, cost her $150.00 before tip. I just don't want to do that every 6-8 weeks.

Right now I'm using L'Oreal Excellence Dark Beige Blonde. It's just as dark as when I was using dark auburn, but the tone is brown now instead of red. I'm sure I need to strip the color and start over, but I'm scared to do it!

My boss had her hairdresser teach her how to color her own hair. She paid good money for it, but she'll be able to do it herself now.

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It's not that hard. Hair dye is a two step process. The first few minutes it removes color then it deposits color. That's why if you are redoing a color you put it on the roots then wait a few minutes until the color changes in the bottle to put it on the rest of your hair. If the instructions say 10 minutes or 20 minutes don't leave it on a minute longer or you'll get an ugly burnt looking color. Just look at "orange" heads that were supposed to be a tone of red or auburn.

Ash if for certain tones of blond. Most people will look green with it.

This might help people pick a color
Hair Color 101: Choosing the correct hair color

Hair coloring tips
Hair Coloring Tips For Coloring Hair Like A Professional!

If you do it the correct way there is no need for anyone to know you did it yourself.

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Faith + Love = Happy

I use ash blonde or ash light brunette to avoid the red peeking through.

I was told that ash is better at covering gray than the golden tones. I use the Ion stuff at Sally's too, it's comparable to the Miss Clairol but it's cheaper.

I like the golden tones because it makes my gray look like gold highlights.

Also developer is perishable and does not last forever, so buying the big bargain bottle is no bargain unless you can share it with someone - does anyone know its shelf life?

I get the 16 oz. bottle and it lasts me 8 months to a year. My mom always said the shelf life is long, like at least 3 years or so.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I have done my own hair coloring for almost 40 years now ~ have made some boo-boos but learned from them~ almost consider myself a pro now~

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Smile and the world smiles with you!

Tami ~*~

Any advice for my hair. It is light brown -- I call it mousy brown. I was blonde as a little kid, but it darkened by the time I was in my teens.

Anyway, now I just have a tuft of grey, but it is front and center. Is there a way to color that hair, but not change the color of my hair overall? (I'm too chicken.) So, for example, could I use a semi-permanent in a lighter shade on just that tuft? Would it come out looking weird?

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jujubee2 - i'm not an expert by any means, but have you tried to color your entire head of hair its natural color?

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

No, I haven't. I'm too chicken. I thought if I just did a little bit it would be less scary, LOL!

I've been looking for some stuff called "hair mascara" but I can't find it anywhere.

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Support our Troops - Drive a fuel-efficient car

It might be less scary to do just a bit, but I think you're fooling yourself. The whole head application will probably give better results...there's an awful lot of people who have tried-and-trued this method. At least for me and my hair type, coloring adds more texture and thickness to my hair than it has on its own, too.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Hey, I forgot we could post pics here on MC forums! LOVE the pics!!

Say, you guys, I've got a question about gray hairs.... I'm turning 41 in Sept. I've noticed I've got quite a few sprouting from my temple areas! My hair is very long, at least 15 inches, and it's very straight. Some of those really long hairs are my natural brown halfway down and the other half isn't gray, its white! Now, that means that at least 8 inches of the hair is white, right? My question is this: Can the hair lose its color AFTER it has grown? I mean, I thought once a hair left the follicle, it was basically 'dead'---the same way our fingernail tips are dead. SO HOW did the hair get that gray color? It didn't start growing out of my head a white color. Does the hair itself just fade, or is there some chemical process going on after the hair has grown that changes its color from a dark lustrous brown to a white? And I mean WHITE!! LOL

I guess what I'm trying to get at is, does the hair start growing out of the follicle as white, or does it somehow 'fade' after a while? I've got a few strands that are nearly completely white from the scalp onward and I think what is happening is they are fading or losing their pigment. It would take THREE bottles of color to dye all of this hair. I've got very thick hair!