Grey hair

I just love that name Parsleywin.

Good hairdressers don't need to tout for business because they're already busy enough.

I've been with my current hairdresser for about 15 years. She's had three children in that time and I even followed her when she changed salons. I always have my next 2 appointments booked and she's very good at making sure I don't do anything too rash. I trust her opinions and many's a time I've had ideas for my hair that wouldn't suit me and we've talked about it to find a happy medium!

I know my Mum feels the same about her hairdresser, but the weird thing is neither of us like the way our hairdressers blowdry our hair. It's all about the cut and colour.

Hairdressers touting for business Synonymous ?

A bit harsh - my hairdresser has often saved me a lot of money but gently curbing my wild ideas and my hair has never looked better. Working with subtle half head highlights to make sure the pepper and salt all blends. Giving a great OAP discount too. Hoping to have a full and thick pure white head of hair in due course. Maybe a blue rinse occasionally like her then !

My Mum is 75 and was dyed blonde for many years, colouring it herself. Now her hairdresser does her 'colour' which is basically 3 shades of light blonde applied as fine highlights. The result is lovely, not grey, but not blonde either and very attractive on an older woman. She does have a problem with thinning hair and her hairdresser recommended trying Nioxin shampoo and conditioner. It's not cheap, but the results have been amazing and now she won't use any other shampoo and conditioner.

The combination of the highlights and thickener has given her back her confidence. Her Mum (my Granny) had very thin hair when she was older and had the typical old ladies perm, but you could still see her very pink scalp. My Mum was dreading this happening to her and is so grateful to her hairdresser for giving her other options.

A good hairdresser makes all the difference.

loopyloo, I'd suggest having a really good cut first, maybe with a different hairdresser. A new style might be enough to make you feel better about your hair, and save going back to all the high-maintenance palaver that is colouring!

I am 70 and my hair is silvery white and I am seriously thinking of colouring it again as I feel it makes me look really old. What do you guys think?

I wish I'd got a Mr P phoenix DH leaves me to do it myself and then goes round the bathroom looking for splashes of dye!

Hello kadeks, my hair is silver grey and also gets quite dry - I use pure Moroccan Argan oil, just three sprays from the bottle on my face as a moisturiser then run my fingers through my hair to use up the residue on my hands. This oil is wonderful and does not leave an oily feel, just very soft hair and hands. My hair is very fine and has definitely grown thicker since I stopped colouring it about six years ago. I buy the oil online from a small company called handmadenaturals.co.uk who are very good and have lots of other lovely cosmetics as well. I have bought from them for years. I use Dr Organics Argan oil shampoo which is lovely as well. Hope the foregoing is helpful for you.

Sorry to say I relented yesterday, and have coloured again.

I was reasonably happy to progress with the growing out process, with the thought that next time I was at the salon I could talk to the hairdresser about the best way forward, but Mr P said "shall we go to Morrison's, you can buy a hair colour and I'll put it on for you"

I suppose he meant well, and as I've said before, he has to look at it more than I do.

Platinum blonde surely Galen

Mines not White *ITS SILVER^!

I've dyed my hair for years but about nine months ago I stopped as my scalp was just getting itchier and itchier and I thought 'why am I doing this?' I've now got about three inches of natural dark grey at the roots and the rest is blonde so, you've guessed it, it looks awful. However, I'm not giving up as the itchy scalp has gone and I can wear black tops again - hurrah! On top of that, I don't have to spend hours sitting in the salon and I'm saving a lot of money. I have an appointment on Wednesday to have a couple of inches chopped off, so I'm getting there. Oh, and I've also made the decision not to use the straighteners any more (so bad for the hair) - I just let my curlyish hair dry naturally which gives me at least an extra half hour in the day. Ok, I may not look as good but I'm happy.

Mine is silver at the front but still pepper and salt at the back. I use Aveda Blue Malva shampoo to prevent my hairdeveloping the yellowish tinge that some white hair gets. It's quite pricey, but I buy a litre which I decant into a smaller bottle. I only need to order it once a year.

I was that nice shiny white colour for years, but my hair is curly and within an hour of sleek blow drying my chic cut would spring back up into something looking like an old lady perm.

Now I am back to studying the hair dye boxes and the diy colouring. I have been told I look younger with the colour back but friends can lie to be kind, bless 'em.

I would put a smiley face here if I could work out how to do it.

Content with my silver hair, just have it cut occasionally!
Some years ago a friend a year younger than I am asked me not to tell people we were at school at the same time as I looked 'so much older' with my silver hair. She had her hair coloured but no longer does, I think her scalp began to react to the chemicals used.

Mamar2 - I used to get my hair highlighted at our local training college - so much cheaper but took a whole morning! When I had short hair, they used a kind of wide plastic spatula at the short back - with teeth like a comb - which lifted some of the very short hair, and then painted on the highlights. Clever eh! You could ask your stylist if she has something similar.

I stopped colouring a few years ago after a mishap (sadly at the College) when it went too dark, and I feared any more colour as it could have gone sludgy khaki green. Now I have it longer and naturally curly, and the top layers are still dark, so they cover most of the grey underneath! Have white streaks either side of my face.

The secret to grey hair is definitely a good cut. Thick, shiny well cut hair always looks good and people hardly notice the colour. Mine would need to have an awful lot more grey in it for me to take the plunge. I suppose I should really start going for a more natural colour - but where's the fun in that?

That's the trouble with dark hair (welcome, missbox), it's so much harder to ignore or disguise the encroaching grey.

A colleague of mine told me she coloured her hair, but it wasn't until she bent down one day and I saw the half inch of grey roots that I realised she was really grey, and only in her forties.

I am 62 & English/Bangladeshi mix so have very dark brown/black hair with lots of grey at hairline, top of the head but only spattering everywhere else. Been colouring hair myself every2/3 weeks since my twenties. My sister aged 60, has let hers go grey and although it looks ok it is ageing but she doesn't seem to mind but I would! Not really much choice for colour for black/brunette hair and now the population is becoming more mixed race, we need to be provided for in hair and make-up. Don't get me started on find a foundation.....

I think I must have my maternal grandmother's genes, her hair colour just gently faded and she never actually 'went grey'.

At 64 my hair is stubbornly refusing to go grey and is still mid-brown. I do have a few greys at the temples but they're covered by the top layer!

I'm surprised because it's had to survive chemotherapy, bereavement and other sundry unwanted life changes, but at least I don't have to bother about it - just wash and go!

BTW Alea your hair looks really great now

Most women I see nowadays have dyed, sorry, coloured hair and I think it's practically always obvious so I don't get the "it looks natural claim". I think it's a bit like lipstick: wear it if you want (e.g. if it makes you feel better) but don't kid yourself it looks natural. Same with hair dye.

I've noticed recently that more men seem to be dying their hair nowadays too.

I was blonde until my mid twenties when it started to darken. I lifted the colour back to my original hue using Preference and have been using it ever since. It takes 30 mins and gives a multi tone effect which is so natural. I use half a box on the roots about every 5 weeks so it works out at 70p per week £36 per year. I have always believed that hairdressers tend to strip your colour completely before applying the new shade and this gives a monotone finish which is unnatural. Of course they can then add highlights to give a more natural look, then lowlights, then in a few weeks the roots need touched up, then the ends need cut as the bleach they use leaves hair in poor condition. It seems never ending and VERY expensive.
Once I have turned silver white completely I shall probably give up colouring it but salt and pepper doesn't suit me so I'll continue as a very natural looking blonde in the meantime.

Yeah, I'm really fed up with colouring my brunette hair. I did my own for a while and ended up with a horrible brassy red/brown and a distinct line where my new hair came through. The re-growth was predominantly brunette with grey highlights. Three colours! It looked awful. I spoke to my hairdresser and she is now putting a semi-perm colour on it with a few lighter highlights. Thus the line does not show any longer and the greys blend in when they start to come through. Eventually I will just let the colour wash out and see what I get! This will take a while though as my hair is all one length and above my shoulders. I'm quite looking forward to not having to colour my hair again though did think I might have a purpley rinse when I eventually let the current colour go.

I've been really lucky - I brightened my fair hair with a colour or with highlights for years, and when I let it go natural a couple of years ago I was amazed to find it was a really good colour with only the odd grey hair. It is now lighter with what appear to be highlights but these are white streaks, and it looks great, no 'pepper and salt' which I don't like, and I can only hope it stays this way for as long as possible. My age-defying move is to have my smooth long bob cut to something shorter and sharper next week, I'm trusting that my hairdresser will be skilled enough to know what will be most effective.