Tuesday 2 September 2014

Inner hair dye battle...

I have had this inner argument with myself for a while now...each time I purchase a new hair dye to colour my grey/white roots.

Choosing to go natural grey or not?  When I say grey, what I really mean is white.  The thing is I have seen some amazing looking women with natural white hair and it does look stunning but...it doesn't just go straight to snowy white - the in between stage is salt and pepper grey and in my mind grey hair has always made me feel old and I know it shouldn't.

I have been dying my hair since I was a teenager and I have had pretty much every colour of the rainbow including khaki green (by mistake).

I stopped using permanent dye a couple of years ago.  My hair grows really quickly and as I was dying my hair dark brown/red I would get 'roots' showing very quickly.  I am not really sure what my natural hair colour is...it has been such a long time but it is somewhere in the 'mousy brown' region.

Using semi permanent dye works for me as I don't get the 're-growth line' and it has allowed more of my natural colour...and the white to show as it gradually washes out.  Then before I know it I have huge chunks of white in my fringe and dash out to purchase another box of dye.

Last time in the hairdressers (just for a cut) he said to me that I should grow out the colour and go natural.

I colour my hair quite a few shades lighter these days, more of a dark blonde and with using the semi permanent dye it would actually be really easy to just let the white shine through...but do I?

Society and the media put so much pressure on looks it's hard to escape from the idea that only 90 year old grannies have grey or white hair.  Maybe it is the idea in my head that the Crone has white hair and I don't feel I am any where near that stage yet, Matriarch maybe but not the Crone (I am 45).

And then there is the whole chemical thing - on my hair, down the sink, into the water systems...not good.  Yes I have dabbled with henna...but it was waaaaay too messy and long winded for my level of patience!

I am due a root colour now...I even have the box of hair dye sitting in the bathroom but something is holding me back.

This article has appeared in my facebook feed a few times this week, maybe it is a sign?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-korth/hair-turning-gray-_b_5690996.html?utm_hp_ref=tw


6 comments:

  1. I stopped dyeing my hair 1 year and 3 months ago. I am really glad I did. My natural color (hadn't seen that since I was 16) is a really silvery ash blonde with some red undertones. I am just a touch over 50 and I am ready to (and wishing for) some more silvery locks to go with my still fairly unlined face. The art of ageing gracefully is not easy but I think it is totally worth it.

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  2. I have been worrying about exactly the same problem . . . I even asked at the local college where I was having a semi-perm colour put on if I could actually dye my hair grey/white but they looked at me as though I must be totally mad! (Apparently you can't!) My hair doesn't seem to be grey enough at the roots to let myself go grey without getting downhearted about it but I would have thought if you've got white blocks coming through then you may already be heading for that lovely grey/white look - especially if your hairdresser suggested that you let it go natural. Why don't you give it a go and see what happens? I stupidly grabbed a dark brown hair dye at the chemists a couple of weeks ago and am now regretting putting it on my hair - not sure what I'll do - I'm 48 now but what remains of my natural colour has gone a very offputting dull brown mixed with a few greys. I really want to embrace a more natural look now though . . .

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  3. you ladies make me laugh in your 40s and talking about getting old. Don't forget our government expect you to work till your about 90 lol . so you still have a lot of time left , they need your money lol

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  4. I too have spent my life colouring my hair, a particular low point was a shade of brassy tart blonde ( think Lilo Lill in Bread) a recent venture in to red resulted in a shade that could be seen from space! But at 51 the final step into greyness us a step too far even though it mean a colouring session at least once a month. My current favourite is light golden brow, well that's what it says on the box...

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  5. I was always hounded by my older brother, he would ask..."When are you gonna dye your hair?" I tried once when I was 31 but it was a wash out, and I was left with lavender streaks where the gray had been, which was cool, but right then I decided I was going to be the natural woman I was. I am 59 years old and have not colored my hair since. I am stopped by women all the time and complemented on my hair, why would I want to conceal it? It's a personal choice, but I always say "be natural".

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  6. i have a similar debate in my head, and in that weird place of managing highlights along with the grey. i struggle so much with the chemical aspect too, but the mousey blonde/brown colour has always made me feel drab. i just recently met a beautiful woman with grey hair, and it made me feel better about making that transition. and fwiw, my mum has dyed her hair white since she was 17! she bleaches it all out and then tones it with manic panic's virgin snow (she used to uses a clairol toner but it was discontinued). she gets complimented everywhere we go - it's a true white and hip and timeless!

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