4/19/2012

On my way to gray.

I'm 38 years old.

My hair is (probably) 80-90% gray.

See my roots?  See 'em?



I say "probably" because I've been dyeing my hair since... um... high school or so.

That's 20 years of dyeing my hair every four to six weeks.  And every single time, approximately 5.698 seconds after I'm done, my roots begin to show.

And now, as you can see, it's quite... noticeable.

So, for the first time ever, I'm actually considering... yes, it's true, I'm really thinking about...

LETTING IT GO GRAY.

Gasp.

I know, crazy, right?

I mean, I'm only 38.  Just a spring chicken, really.  Where by "spring" I mean "old" and by "chicken" I mean "destined for the soup pot," but I've always said you're only as old as you feel, and most days I feel about 108.

Ahem.  Anyway, there are a couple things holding me back.

Thing one: it will age me.  Really, I'm ok with this one, up to a point.  I've always looked younger than my age, and still regularly get carded when buying beer and whatnot, so I'm ok with looking a few years older.  What I would NOT be ok with is looking like my kiddos' Grandma, or being mistaken for RJ's mother.

Thing two: the grow out.  Oh, god, the grow out.  There's just no good way to do it.  I could cut my hair really, really short, I guess, and look like a little fat boy with big boobs for a while, or I could use temporary dye like I did when I was pregnant and all concerned about chemicals and such leeching into the boys' brains, but those aren't actually "temporary" so much as "pink" and I'm afraid my fluorescent colored hair days were over sometime in my 20's.

So, I've been thinking about this.  And right now, I'm still thinking.  I'm not sure I'm really ready to go for it just yet, but I'm close.  I'm oh, so close.

I even Photoshopped a pic of myself to try it out.


It's startling, I guess, but really not scary bad.  Right?  Right?

So, I'm thinking about letting my hair go gray.

Any thoughts or advice from the internet would would be greatly appreciated, and of course, taken with a grain of salt.


14 comments:

  1. I'll be getting my hair cut Sunday afternoon and I'll show this post to my stylist, who is a much-sought-after colorist, and get her advice. Don't do anything drastic yet.

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    1. Oh, that would be FABULOUS! I've just been kind of ignoring my hair for a while, and the roots get more and more noticeable... Anyway, do you have exciting hair plans yourself?

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  2. I say go for it! If you don't like the gray you can always fix it right?

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    1. Well, yes, but I'm looking at a year or so commitment of being half-colored to grow it out. I want to decide for real, ya know?

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  3. I vote NO. This coming from a woman who has almost as much gray as you.

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    1. Is it just because of how it looks when it's gray, I'm just SO GRUMPY about always having my roots show...

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  4. There is absolutely no way you will be able to "grow it out" without going totally crazy!!

    The grey doesn't look bad at all!

    Spend the money one time to have pro match your roots, you can thank me later:)!

    my 2 cents!!
    -Janet (stupid computer)

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    Replies
    1. Can you really do that?!?!? Walk into a salon and have them dye your hair gray?!?!?! And you won't be committed?!?!?!? Wow. I actually never even thought about that. That's brilliant. But will it cost me my firstborn, I wonder?

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  5. I don't see why not!
    They can work magic!!
    I went to my first ever pro a week ago and I am now hooked!

    She matched my roots exactly and then put fun highlights in that wont show "grow out" unless I part my hair a different way :)

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  6. I just did the cut-off-all-my-hair-at-the-natural-color deal in October. I still hate my hair and can't wait for it to be cute again. And also, dying my hair is so much fun that when it is long enough to be cute, I'll probably go blonde again. Hair is FUN!!!

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  7. That was me!! I'm the unknown hair chopper offer. What happened to my profile. I'll get to the bottom of this.

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    1. Girl, hair is NOT fun. Not if you're me, anyway... Where've you been, by the way? I keep stalking your blog, but nada. Zip. Zilch :-)

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  8. OK, my stylist who has been rumored to have super powers when it comes to coloring, says to go with an ash tone if you want to keep coloring it and your roots won't show as much. And to use a "gray blending color" as you let it grow out if you decide to go that way - it will look more natural.

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    Replies
    1. Ok, "gray blending color." Googling it right now :-) Thanks for the info!

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