I think I really need to do something about my grey hair.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

It is my "Homework Day" ( as I call it) for my therapy program. I look up stuff that might be useful for me and do the worksheets they give me.

Well, I was waiting to get into the Library ( my favorite place), when I was asked if I was going to the AARP meeting. Another person asked if it was my first time since they never saw me at the meeting before.

Yeah, something needs to be done.

I am 35 (going on 36), but being ask that...

[hollysmom]

1. wow, I just got grey hair the last few years

into my 60's. But when you are blonde, you can get away with it. genetics is an odd thing, my sister was all grey at 30, but it was a nice grey so she never colored it. My grand father did not turn grey until his 70's, my father's hair turned in late 50's. Mother's side is the early grey, dad's side much later.

Actually, if it is part grey, I prefer to use rinses, enough color stays in there , but the line at the scalp is less defined and you can let it go for a while, last year I color my hair like 4 times and that was enough, this year, I don't care, so you can grow it out as well. Permanent hair color takes constant maintenance.

note, as you age, be careful if your hair looks too good. I have had people come up flirting with me from the back and when I turn around and they see this old face, they are shocked.

edited to add family stuff.

[RebelOne]

21. I am 75 and have been coloring my hair since I was a teenager.

I am a natural blonde, and only have to use color about 3 or 4 times a year. I used to have to do it every month. Now the gray just blends in with the blonde, so it is not noticeable.

[LiberalEsto]

2. I started using henna 6 or 7 years ago and love it

My natural hair color is ash brown - was blond when younger - with some grey mixed in. It's long too, maybe a foot past the shoulders. With henna it's a warm brown with red highlights.

I buy henna at an Indian grocery store for less than $2 a package, mix it up according to instructions from a wonderful website, use about 1/3 of the mix and put the rest into a plastic bag in the freezer for two more colorings. I do my hair about every 3 or 4 months, so one package of henna lasts me nearly a year.

With $2 for the henna, plus some lemon juice I add to the mixture, plus a disposable plastic shower cap and rubber gloves, it's a huge saving over chemical dyes. Applying it can be messy, especially the first time you do it, but I feel it's worth the effort.

This website has everything you need to know about henna if you decide to try it.

http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/index.html

[Lady Freedom Returns]

3. There a couple of Indian stores here...

I may want to cheek it out.

[LiberalEsto]

4. If you try it, please read the website, because the packages don't have instructions.

At least not in English.

For one thing, you are better off getting pure henna and not something that's mixed with other ingredients. It needs to be mixed with boiling water and allowed to sit for as much as 12 hours before applying. You can add lemon juice, paprika and/or other ingredients -- the website has all kinds of recipes.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

5. Bookmarking the website!

Thanks!

[DFW]

6. I have two words for you

Emmylou Harris

In the words of my friend Stan (who is 91), "'nuff said!"

[Lady Freedom Returns]

8. Point taken.

[DFW]

11. I couldn't help it

I've always swooned over her for decades and her prematurely grey hair just made her look all the more spectacular.

[Scruffy Rumbler]

7. Go For IT!

The only time I colored my hair, I went completely different. I am a red head gone almost brown as I've aged. My landlord at the time was a beautician and had a salon in our home. He took me to the most brilliant blond and then as it grew out he would trim it so I ended up as auburn base with blond tips!

I have been thinking about doing a henna treatment to my goatee. it has gone from cinnamen to cinnamon and sugar to just sugar now!

[Lady Freedom Returns]

9. Yeah my red lock are not so red now.

I look a little like a Red Mrs. Munster.
I guess it may not be all that bad.
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[Scruffy Rumbler]

19. You know? You could do worse!

Lilly was a beautiful character! A nice cinnamon-sugar swirl hair-do would be fetching! Intensify the red and highlight the gray!

[fizzgig]

10. if it'll make you feel better about yourself, go for it

i'm a few years younger than you and i've found only a few grey hairs. my sister, who is a few years younger than me, started greying at 15 and has been coloring her hair since.

[blogslut]

12. Be careful when it comes to Henna

Henna deposits metals in the hair that remain as long as the treated part is on the head. This, in itself, is not a bad thing hair-healthwise. But, if you later want to have another process done such as a perm or regular color, the metals from the henna can result in discoloration and severe damage.

The easiest thing to do is buy a box of semi-permanent hair color, the kind where the box claims "Washes out in ___ shampoos." A common brand is: Clairol Natural Instincts. This kind of color isn't strong enough to strip the hair of all pigment and replace it with dye, like permanent hair color does. It's best to buy a shade that is similar to your pre-gray hair color. Semi-permanent color won't completely cover you grey it but will give it a nice tone without that all-one-solid-color harshness that permanent colors do.

EDIT ADD: When it comes to red hair color, it's notorious for fading into weird shades. I always used to blend red color with a brown shade (no ashes) to help keep the red from fading funny. So, it other words, buy two boxes of Natural Instincts - one red, one brown, both in the same level, pour one half each into a single bottle of developer, shake gently and go to town.

[LiberalEsto]

13. As far as I know, pure henna doesn't do that

but there are henna varieties with other materials added that do have metals.

The hennaforhair.com web site explains what to use and what to avoid:

"Compound henna often reacts badly with synthetic hair dyes and other chemical hair products! If you use compound henna soon after you have done your hair with para-phenylenediamine dyes, your hair may be brittle, trashed, and may turn frog butt green or offshore sewage outlet black. Compound hennas have metallic salts which react disasterously with the ammonia in synthetic hair dye. Problem is ... many pre-mixed henna powders do NOT have these ingredients listed!"

"Body art quality henna does not have metallic salts, and can be applied over synthetic dyes"

"Para-phenylenediamine, or a close chemical variant of para-phenylenediamine is in virtually every chemical hair dye, even most hair dyes which claim to be natural. There is now an epidemic of sensitization (allergic reaction) to this chemical because of over-exposure. The allergic reactions can be severe and require hospitalization. Long term effects of exposure to this chemical include lupus, asthma, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and there appear to also be links to breast, uterine and bladder cancer."

Disclaimer: I have no financial or other connection to any kind of henna or hair product. I stopped using chemical hair coloring some years back because what I was reading about its ingredients scared me.

[blogslut]

16. I suppose that's where a difficulty lies.

Locating pure Henna as opposed to compound Henna.

I'm not anti-Henna. I'm just advising Lady Freedom to be careful using it. If she can find pure Henna, that's awesome but I still advise caution.

Concerning aniline-derivative tints, it's not average clients that are in danger of over-exposure, it's the technicians. And frankly, as an ex-cosmetologist, it was the ammonia what killed me.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

14. I've read that some people respond well to copper supplements

Increasing your copper intake over time supposedly brings back some color in your hair, although it doesn't get rid of all of the gray.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

15. Well, if it helps with not being asked to AARP meetings...

I ask my Doc if I can take them with my meds.

[RebelOne]

17. Lady Clariol. I have been blonde all my life

and intend to stay that way until I die. I just turned 75 and have been coloring my hair since I was 18. If I have any grey hairs no one will never see them.

[laundry_queen]

18. My mom went grey prematurely and started using hair dye when I was 7 or so

She would've been 27. My friend had to start even earlier, she was 25. I'm super lucky that I take after my dad's side of the family. my grandmother only recently has more grey than brown and she's going on 88. My dad barely has any grey...he's in his early 60's. I've found a couple, and I'm 38. I can totally get away with not dyeing my hair, but I really like funky colors so I do use dye. I do my own.

There is a point where I won't use it anymore though. Probably when I'm a grandmother or something. My mom says she'll dye her hair until she's dead. I don't think I'll be like that. We'll see - maybe I'll be the grandmother with hot pink hair (one of my favorite hair colors that I've tried!)

[Bucky]

20. thread is useless w/o pictures

[Mr.Bill]

22. Own it and be proud of it!

[CherokeeDem]

23. Had my first gray hair at 18....

I have monthly meetings with my hairstylist.... chemicals are your friends...

No gray for me..... Now I'm too chicken to do it myself but I have lots of friends who do their own color. If you're brave enough... go for it!!!

[AngryAmish]

24. I don't get down here enough, but MFM was a thing for a bit?

That makes me sad.

[HipChick]

25. Henna..

enough said..