

There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must decide what to do about grey hair.  It is inevitable, and it is ugly.  Or is it?  Ugly, I mean.  I’ve been doing a little surfing to try to decide for myself, and I came across the following article  Gorgeous Grey Hairstyles on “The Right Hairstyles”.  

This is a beautiful site; give it a look if you want some ideas.  These ladies look stunning, don’t they?, but the question for me, and for many like me, is, am I ready?  

Do we resign ourselves to the inevitable, or do we fight it every step of the way, and if so, for how long?  The alternatives can be time-consuming and costly.  I did some research and came up with the top four alternatives to letting your hair grey naturally, and their pros and cons.

  1. Dye your entire head of hair the same colour.  Pros:  This can be done inexpensively with drugstore-style dyes, and can be done yourself.  It also doesn’t take very long to do, even in a salon.  Cons:  Depending upon the amount of grey you have, you could end up looking like a racoon with a white strip down the middle of your head in as little as four to six weeks!.  This would result in the necessity for frequent re-dying, which could get expensive especially if you’re not a do-it-yourselfer.
  2. Highlights (adding colour to random but consistent strands of hair in a colour lighter than your natural or predominant colour).  Pros:  If you are just beginning to go noticeably grey, adding highlights will simply make the grey you have blend in with the highlights, so you could get away with not having to redo the highlights for a while, which in the long run, would save money.  Cons:  If you have a lot of grey, salons will generally suggest that your hair be coloured all in one colour first, and then the highlights be added after, which is time-consuming and expensive.
  3. Lowlights (adding colour to random but consistent strands of hair in a colour darker than your natural or predominant colour).  Pros:  If you have a large amount of grey, but are not fully white, this result will make your hair slightly darker and give it the appearance of not having as much grey.  Cons:  This process is time-consuming and costly as well, and due to Mr. Raccoon will need to be repeated after a few months (it is still better than doing your entire head of hair though).
  4. Gradual blondeing (for brunettes).  Pros:  Once the process is finished, newly grown grey hair will not show up as much because of the new blonde colour, and like lowlights, you will only have to re-dye every few months, even if you have a lot of grey.  Cons:  The process must be done gradually, so this may involve multiple expensive trips to a salon.  It can also be very damaging to the hair, because if your hair has been previously coloured or if you still have a lot of your natural colour, bleach must be applied first to strip the old colour in order to put the new colour over top.

Another alternative, which is becoming popular with the boomer crowd (and of course with the youngun’s), is the addition of pastel colour.  However, again, if you have a lot of brunette still in your hair, the area that is chosen to receive this colour must be bleached first, so it is a process, but I have to say, I’ve seen some beautiful old ladies rocking this look!


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