Grey hair...

[LillFilly]

I started going gray at about 25 or so. I'm 30 now and almost 40% gray. I should be lucky that nobody in my family has ever died bald!

I buy my own hair dye at Sally's Beauty; box colors from the store don't last as long for me and I can save $ and get more variety. The bottle of dye I can stretch into 2-3 uses and costs about $4. That's mixed in a 1-2 ratio with volumizer (number is based on how much you want the dye to soak-in) I've mixed colors to get a more pleasing shade; mostly dark brown with black cherry, so the hair is almost black, with a hint of auburn, but red highlights in the sun. Looks very professional and everyone loves the color. It helps that I have dark eyebrows so it matches, but I believe you can buy eyebrow dye. As my hair grows-out, I give it about 3-4 months, then re-dye the roots; I go as long as I can so I'm not constantly damaging my hair. I've gotten pretty good at it and have never managed to mess it up! I'm not ready to go gray yet, and that would mean letting the roots take over or cutting my hair short and starting again. I'm happy to stick to dye for now. I also use color-saving shampoo and conditioner to extend the life of the dye.

PS. If you're not sure about dying your hair, pick a temporary color and give it a go; if you're not happy, it washes out. That's how I found a color I liked, then stuck with it.

Funny, I LIKE gray hair on guys, and women with a full head of silver hair are beautiful; it's just that awkward time of getting to full gray that looks bad to me. But then, some people can pull-off the salt and pepper look. I can't.

[Food Lady]

When I got my hair cut last week...the amount of grey that came off was truly disturbing! Still, things could be much worse. Both of my younger brothers have not only more grey than I do...but in one case, his hair is receding. Er, did I mention that he just turned 30? Seems they both got hit with that recessive gene from my dad's side of the family. You know, the one that makes you go bald before you turn 40 Good thing then that I apparently got my hair from my mom's side of the family. Both mom and Grandma went grey in their 30s. However, her dad had a full head of thick (albeit grey) hair until the day he died at age 72. What's odd about all of this, is that except for the grey hair and my, uh, "spare tire," I've looked pretty much the same for the past 20 years or so. Not everyone can claim that

I can claim that, well, for 10 years, not 20. I have pictures to prove it.

[Divra]

My family has a long and proud history of receeding hairlines. I have long hair (as in, nearly-all-the-way-down-my-back), and my hair is the one vanity I allow myself. Needless to say, I have had huge issues with my hair loss, and dread the day when I've lost so much hair I'm going to have to amputate the rest.

My one great comfort in all of this is that my little brother has lost more hair than I have.

[Ree]

I started going grey at 16. (Thank you, genetics!)

When I was about 25, I started colouring it.

Recently, partly due to the fact that my nephew, who had been doing my hair for the past couple of years since he graduated hairdressing school, moved away, and partially because of a shortage of money. (He gave me the family rate. LOL)
I found I wasn't able to keep up with the maintenance on my hair, and the grey just went wild. I am probably 100% grey, but I still have a fair bit of colour to grow out and cut off.

I am still debating whether to just go full natural colour, or start over with colouring.

I get mixed advice from people.
Some are saying I should colour it because I'm too young to be so grey, and others say to leave it because it's actually a very pretty soft white, rather than salt and pepper grey. (It's difficult to take that advice seriously in the cases such as on the weekend with my 2 sisters, when the people telling me have their own hair coloured.)

Some tell me to just go and get the colour taken out and see if I like it full grey and then decide.

I'm still debating.

[Food Lady]

I won't go gray as long as I can help it. I am an autumn with a peach-yellow undertone. Grey would look terrible on me.

[kansasgal]

I colored my hair for a while, and then the upkeep just go to be too expensive, so I say just let it go. Besides, grey hair looks distinguished on men.

And buy Harley stock..it's supposed to split soon

[Jester]

But you are a magician. Once it sets in (as opposed to just strays here and there), you could incorporate it into your professional image.

That would probably work if I went for the suave, debonaire, sophisticated magician image.

I don't.

My act is all about making people laugh, and I am pretty much a goofball/smartass/fun guy. Grey wouldn't hurt my act, but it wouldn't help it either.

I'm also with the "go naturals". From your photo, I think both the salt-and-pepper-look and, eventually, the "silver fox"-look would look magnificient on you.

I'll take that as a compliment. I am guessing the silver fox would work very well with me, but the salt and pepper....not so sure. Especially since the grey hairs are coming in slowly, so it's more a smattering of grey than a true salt and pepper. Also, it is not confined to the temples, as many salt and peppers are. So...yeah.

The bottle of dye I can stretch into 2-3 uses and costs about $4. That's mixed in a 1-2 ratio with volumizer...

I don't know what volumizer is. If it means that it will give my hair more body, that is something I don't need, as my hair has plenty of that naturally. Volumizer (if it is what I think it is) would just give me far too much body. So, if I am correct in what I think volumizer is, what would you recommend for the dye if I don't use volumizer?

(And if I'm wrong, what IS volumizer?)

I believe you can buy eyebrow dye.

Not sure, but I think I touched on this earlier....my eyebrows are fine, haven't had a grey hair yet, and are wondering what all the fuss is north and south of them. But they are just fine, so eyebrow dye is not even close to necessary at this point.

I also use color-saving shampoo and conditioner to extend the life of the dye.

Excellent suggestion! One I would not have thought of, but it makes perfect sense.

PS. If you're not sure about dying your hair, pick a temporary color and give it a go; if you're not happy, it washes out. That's how I found a color I liked, then stuck with it.

Another good suggestion, though honestly, I plan on just sticking to my normal natural dark brown. Though of course what one hair dye company's opinion of "dark brown" is may differ considerably from another company's....

[Bella_Vixen]

Becks said the one time she used shampoo specifically for colored hair, the color disappeared faster than ever before.

[LillFilly]

Oh, sorry! The number on the volumzier (it's a cream you mix with the dye) dictates how much color it will deposit into your hair after it opens the hair shaft, which effects how long the color will last. Dark on dark you usually only need to use volumizer 20; that's what I do. Going lighter you want a lower number I believe. I have NO clue why it's called volumizer!

[Jester]

Oh, okay...but you understand why I thought it was something else, of course!

[Food Lady]

Volumizer generally is a product that adds body, but sometimes the term is used for what LillyFilly described. I've just usually heard it called developer. Generally available are 10 volume, 20 volume, 30 volume, and 40 volume. 10 is for temporary color, as it doesn't open the cuticle much, and 40 is on the other end. You'd use 40 if you were trying to lighten your hair about 2 to 3 levels. Developer (volumizer) is basically peroxide. Most boxed colors in the regular stores use 20 volume developer. Some have ammonia (which lifts some of your natural pigment out of your hair) and they will say "permanent". The colors without ammonia usually say "semi-permanent" or "no ammonia". They still color, but won't lighten your hair that half-shade the permanent colors do. Permanent is recommended for coloring grey, as grey is more coarse and the cutucle more resistant to opening. [/haircolor chemistry lesson].

[Jester]

Hmmm....if I went that direction, sounds like I'd have a bit of a dilemma, as I would want to kill the grey, but would not want to lighten my hair. I kinda like the boring dark brown I got going, to be honest.

[LillFilly]

I noticed my gray hair has a very different texture from the rest of my hair. Food Lady's right; it's coarser, seems thicker, and frizzes more than my other hair. It does take longer for the dye to penetrate them. Oh, the 'lightening' part means that the dye mixture lifts some of your actual color up, so it can deposit the new color. Unless you kept it right on the roots, you'd want to do the whole head, otherwise if you don't match the color perfectly it will be noticeable. Just pick a color that matches your natural color, do the whole head, and you'll end-up looking pretty much the same (maybe a shade darker until it grows-out), but with the gray gone. The dyes are nice now, they pretty much do the whole process for you. There are little gray hair touch up kits, but I think those take patience or something doing your hair for you; it's always hard to do the back of your head yourself.

[Food Lady]

Jester, just try a semi-permanent color. Any damage or lightening will be virtually unnoticeable. It does cover my couple of silvers, at least for a few weeks. I like Revlon Colorsilk because frankly, it's inexpensive, and Clairol still does animal testing (just something I care about). Colorsilk has a fairly wide range of colors.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I know how it is to go gray. Granted, my hair started going gray early. I got by getting my hair colored where I got my hair cut, but since I could get lazy about getting my hair cut, it sometimes went really long without getting recolored.

Finally, last summer, faced with the fact that my hair just kept getting grayer and thinner, I finally said "fuck it" and shaved my head. Been rockin' the dome ever since.

It works for me.