Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the third day of the month is "Direction."
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For many years, I kept my hair chin length with a pop of color in it to cover up my boring blah brown with grey hair color. This is from November 2019.
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But the pandemic hit and I didn't get my hair done for years and then it grew out and now it's shoulder length and *egads* my natural color. That color is salt and pepper, my friends.
I went to get a cut yesterday and my stylist was laughing that she has a client who wants my exact shade of blah and she can't quite get her there. I laughed and told her that I'm at a crossroads in my hair life. I actually like that I don't get it colored every eight weeks and the low-maintenance aspect of longer hair sort of pleases me. I can just throw it into a ponytail if it's greasy or if the blowout doesn't go well. But I really think the color ages me and gives me the sads. So what direction do I go?
For now, I'm just getting it cut regularly - I go every eight weeks. But since I don't have a job and money is tight, I can't justify coloring regularly. But should I go back to shorter hair? Bangs? (No. Bangs are never the answer.)
Eh. Here's to aging gracefully, however you manage to do that.
I will never, ever (and I don't use that n-word lightly) colour my hair. Never have, never will. I completely understand why many, many people do. In my case it's a combination of being a very slow greyer and knowing my propensity for Sloth. Maintaining colour is way worky, and that is anathema to me.
ReplyDeleteI have almost black hair, and my silver is coming in gently, gradually--except for a mildly dramatic Lily Munster-esque streak on my left side. I do have bangs, and they are silver-free.
Why not get some layers and see if that satisfies you? It will add some interest and some movement, and hair always grows out.
Oh, I have layers. My stylist does a really nice job with the cut, but the color is very blah and aging. I know plenty of people who have never colored their hair, but my hair color makes me self-conscious, so who knows what I'll end up doing?
DeleteI did a few box colours and they were horrible after the fact. I have debated getting colour many times since (professionally), but it requires so much upkeep. So my hair is a "dirty" blonde/brown and likely will stay that way for the forseeable future.
ReplyDeleteMy hair is a very weird texture - wavy and frizzy and just a nuisance to deal with. I LOVE the look of bangs, but they are horrible for me because they never stay straight and just look like a frizzy, wavy mess. I love the look of my hair in a bob, but it requires me to stay on top of blow drying/styling it. So longer hair is easier, but then I just throw it up into a messy bun (but not those chic messy buns that so many people seem to manage; I CANNOT perfect the messy bun?! It's messy?! How can I keep screwing this up?!).
My hair is too thin for "messy" anything. I can't do a messy bun or messy pony at all. I have a friend who used to use pencils to hold her bun in place because her hair is so thick and that seemed magical to me! *sigh* I'll join you in easier, but less good-looking hair!
DeleteI always remind myself that hair grows (especially when considering going shorter) but, bangs take forever to grow out and require upkeep that I'm just not willing to keep up with haha!
ReplyDeleteBangs are always and forever in my eyes and they drive me batty! I've learned this over the years.
DeleteTrue words of wisdom "bangs are never the answer".
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, my plan was to start dyeing my hair as soon as I got my first gray. I used to joke "when I go gray then I'll go red". Fast forward to today and I just have a little "salt" that hardly seems worth getting bothered about and also I'm terrible about maintaining things and have the feeling that I wouldn't do well with dye. And now I have no reason to because gray is in! One of my SILs stopped dyeing her hair a few years ago. She's fully gray and it looks fantastic.
But also...I really love the streaks of pink so there's no wrong answer. Hair grows back!
Yes, the streaks of color are an option. I'll reconsider the cost issue when I get a job.
DeleteThere are women who look FABULOUS with all grey hair. If my hair looked like Emmylou Harris's hair, this would NOT even be a consideration for me. Ha!
The pandemic was tough on Sue’s coiff for sure. When life began to return to normal, it took several cuttings for her hairdresser to get it back to where he and she wanted it to be. She now has a modicum of grayishness added rather than the blond like before. There is less needed, so that part is less expensive. I wonder if I have ‘said’ this correctly. 😀
ReplyDeleteIt's tough for us inbetweeners - not entirely grey yet. It can be a tough balance to strike.
DeleteI have many thoughts.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I was always a professional colour every six weeks kind of girl until the pandemic, and then I just could NOT. My hair is 100% grey/ white, and the roots growing in...no. So I started colouring my hair at home (Garnier makes a great product) and I have never regretted it. I love longer hair for exactly the reason that it's low maintenance - I can bun it up whenever I want. I love colouring my own hair because I can do it whenever.
Here's the thing though: my roots start to really show up around 3 weeks, so I usually colour every four. I think that letting my hair go natural would really age me in a way I'm not ready for. I have friends that are fully grey and they look gorgeous. But I don't think it suits me at this time.
Anyway, what I'm saying is, maybe try a temporary, at home hair colour. Just make sure it's temporary or it will take forever to grow out. I think grey hair can look absolutely fantastic, but hair colour is fun too. There are so many great brands out there!
I've found home color to be incredibly destructive on my thin, weak hair, so I'm really nervous to do those, even the temp ones. I used to them a fair amount when I was in high school and college, but I honestly think they'd make my hair fall out at this point!
DeleteFor now, I'm going to keep on keeping on and we'll see how the grey comes in.
I love that pop of colour! I've always wanted to dye my hair a fun colour, but I don't think I could do that without bleaching my dark Asian hair, which I'm not crazy about doing.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of upkeep is the main reason I don't colour my hair. It is definitely going grey and streaky and I'm just going to live with it. I like keeping it short, but I also procrastinate on getting it cut. So once a year, I get it cut into a pixie cut and then just let it go for a while. I feel like the grey is not as ageing when my hair is super short. I often get my hair cut the week before I start a show, but I haven't really kept up with it this past year because I have a guy and I adore him, but he is expensive.
I do love me some bangs, however. I know... not for everyone.
I wish I could be on the bangs train. Unfortunately, they drive me insane and I'm forever mad at myself for getting them. I'm jealous of your bangs!
DeleteTHERE ARE NO GOOD SOLUTIONS. I don't .like my grays as they are coming in (very blah and not the chic silver hair of my gray dreams). SO. I went back to coloring with a high and low light. I think it's... fine. VERY EXPENSIVE and VERY TIME CONSUMING. But it generally looks better. I did an all-over dark at the salon a few years ago, and it thinned my hair a ton and left it very smooth and lifeless, so I DO like some bleach for texture and the appearance of thick hair. What I am worried about, though, is that will naturally get blonder and blonder as I keep going for highlights, and eventually I will have that weird caramel/amber colored hair that older ladies who are gray and used to be brown tend to get. (I used Madison Reed at home during COVID and did not hate it. It really trashed my hair, though.) ANYWAY-- NO GOOD SOLUTIONS.
ReplyDeleteYes! I have fine and thin hair and not much of it. If you do highlights, you can also have your stylist do lowlights to avoid the dullness and/or single color thing. But! It IS so much work. So high-maintenance. *sigh* There are no good solutions INDEED!
DeleteI've never had fun with my hair- it's always just been medium or long and I just get it cut once a year. When the pandemic first started I used a semi-permanent purple at home and loved how fun it was! I'm always inspired by people who have fun hair or a mermaid look. It's so pretty! But I agree- bangs are never the answer.
ReplyDeleteOnce a year?! If I only cut my hair once a year, it would just be split ends all over the place. I'm jealous you can get away with that.
DeleteOoh that flashback hairstyle is very fun! I color my hair but I only do it 2-3 times/year. My hair person knows this so she picks a color that is close to my natural color so I don't get terrible roots. And now we added in a money piece, which is kind of highlights around the crown of my head which will hopefully help disguise my gray. I am not ready to go gray, though. My kids are still so young so I want to look like I'm a young mom even though I clearly am not! But I feel like I've found the happy medium of not going very often/not spending all that much!
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm so glad you've found a solution that works for you. It can be hard to find the right stylist to work with you for what exactly you want.
DeleteI'm the most boring hair person in the world- I've always had long hair, no bangs. In recent years I've started having it cut a little shorter, just because if it's too long it starts to annoy me now. I noticed my first gray hair when I was 30, but my hair is still primarily brown with gray (or, I like to say "silver") hairs sprinkled in. My daughter is making up for my boring-ness though. She has thick, curly hair (so lucky! I'm envious) and she's had it long, short, now she has a bob and has started coloring it (currently red.) I say- do whatever makes you feel good, attractive, and doesn't require a lot of work. But I'm clearly not qualified to give good hair advice!
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I both started going grey in high school. She had a dramatic grey streak, though, and mine has just been sporadic. I think because of the premature grey, we're both really sensitive about it. Oh, well. I'll just let it go for now and see what happens.
DeleteAlly Bean sent me! O my, the hair, an ongoing pain in the butt - sorry, head. Nice pic of you and dog. I'm au naturel for a few years already. A good cut makes all the difference.
ReplyDeleteWelcome! A good cut does make a difference and my stylist is amazing, but it can't do anything for the blahness of the color!
Delete"My hair is too thin for messy-anything"... gah, I hear you! I hate my thin hair, I want thick, wavy hair! Sigh. Having said that - I pretty much always wore my hair below shoulder-length. I hadn't colored my hair at home in quite a while, but when I have, I usually just get a shade a little darker than my own and use a semi-permanent color. It works well for me.
ReplyDeleteDoes the color ever damage your hair? I'm really nervous about home color because of how thin and brittle my hair already is...
DeleteI have thin, fine hair also and mine always does better with a little color (gives it some oomph) and on the shorter side/bob. Have you ever tried Semi-Permanent color? It's low ammonia and not nearly as damaging as other hair colors.
ReplyDeleteHm. I'll have to look more into home color. There's probably something out there that won't make all my hair fall out!
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