I color my hair but hate doing it--hate the expense, hate the chemicals. hate the time involved. I wish I had the courage to do what you are doing. I would never tell someone they need to color their hair. It's a personal choice. Your hair might look really nice when it's all grown out and natural. It's a difficult time when it's growing out though, but you don't seem to be too bothered by it, just your co-workers. It's their problem, right?

Now if it were me, I'd color as close to the root color as I could get and then let it all grow out..I don't like "root growth"..I don't mind gray/white hair..and when mine decides to be more gray/white than anything..I'll let it be natural.

My hair lightens on it's own in the spring/summer. My hair is natural dark brown with reddish highlights. I often take it more auburn than brown. In the summer my edges are very blond.

My "grays" are white. And now that I have my hair colored to where my grow out doesn't have "roots"...I do stick on a root color box, every month or so to put the little white guys away. Because they STICK up. LOL

But if your roots don't bother you..then who's business is it?

I have never colored my hair. Never wanted to get into the expense and upkeep. I am a wash and go kinda girl. tee hee.

BUT my hair is coming in nice. Silver gray not yellow gray. My mom had the prettiest gray hair and I hope mine is too. It is salt and pepper with some areas of salt bigger than the pepper. Depends on which way the wind blows it. But I don't mind it. My daughter colors her hair. She is 25 and has for years. She was born with strawberry blond hair. So pretty but as she has aged it is going mousy brown. So she goes all different shades of red. I don't like the deep burgundy red she likes, but it is her hair. She is in need of color too. So for her birthday in Feb, after it grows out some more. I am treating her to a good color job. She usually does it herself and she wants all the layers of color. She was excited when I offered the gift. But then, that is my daughter and I can tell her when she needs to color her hair. hahahahah. I would NEVER tell anyone else.

Yes, I do color my hair.

"Does it bother you to have grey hair? If so, WHY"

It doesn't bother me at all. As a matter of fact, I'd love to leave it gray, but it bothers my husband so I color it for him. He hasn't learned how to accept aging gracefully yet. LOL

I color mine only because nobody does perms anymore. I need the damage to my hair so I can get it to curl and lay right. My complaint is that it gets too blond. I'd prefer a few more darker streaks.

Yep! I quit coloring my hair for about 2 years and it's naturally almost white, so I started just bleaching the roots - works for me.

If you do not want to continue colorizing your hair great, totally your choice, but the half and half look is going to get comments. Either think of a witty come back as you let it grow out or do as suggested and deal with the stripe. I have seen this look and live in fear of being caught looking like that. I color my hair to the color it was the first 40 years of my life. $6.00 every 6-8 weeks and the half hour it takes is well worth the end result. The one thing that makes a HUGE difference in the age I look, my over all attractiveness is my hair color. If I had the beautiful WHITE or silver hair, some people get, I would let it grow in once I am 65+, but I do not. Red heads do not gray well. I am honest about it when asked "Is that your real color?" I ALWAYS say "It was!"

I put a rinse on my hair when I was 16--and it turned orange. I promised myself that I wouldn't ever color my hair again. I have a few gray strands, but that's all...so far. Everyone told me I would probably go gray by 60, but it didn't happen. If it someday turns an ugly gray, I might consider coloring it, but that is doubtful.

My theory is that God is the best judge of what hair color looks best on me!

I color because I it is the only girly thing I play with. I let my hairdresser streak it,highlight it and lowlight it. She uses different toners for different seasons. Other than color I don't fuss with my hair. I've been known to leave the house just finger combing it. LOL

Now IF my hair were a really nice gray that I see on some women and IF light hair was becoming on me I would go gray in a nanosecond. But alas I have brillo pad gray and silver and it is springy to boot. So I color.

Who cares what other women say. If they make the comment just say you're growing it out.

I am 62 years old. The natural color of my thin, baby-fine hair is mouse-blonde. I have only about seven silver hairs, so I am still mouse-blonde, with a few silver hairs. I get my hair highlighted to emphasize the blonde end of the mousy-blonde spectrum. I get it done professionally...no way am I going to try to tackle that one, or trust a friend to help! I think it is kinda like surgery...sometimes you just have to call in the specialists!

I wasn't very nice to the second person who told me I needed to colour my hair. I don't think she will ever tell anyone to colour their hair again. LOL

A friend of mine has never coloured her hair. She's six years younger and pretty much completely grey. When she was in her mid 30's, a customer said to her, "you have grey hair!"

She replied with, "yup, I do."

He said, "Does it bother you?"

She said, "No, it doesn't. But apparently it really bothers you!"

The colour of the hair that still has colouring in it, is very light brown. So it's not *too* obvious. I'll have to take a picture and post it later.

My mom had beautiful auburn hair when she passed away at 83, her mom had beautiful silver gray hair for many years. I have a blondish hair color with some grey/white but it seems to blend in ok. I seem to have some reddish tinge in the sun, so do have to be careful that it won't turn orange like it did once.

I've been getting partial foilings for a few years now.
11 years ago, after chemo, when my new hair was
growing in, it came back as white.
White! lol
so I get a partial foil, not an all over color.
This last time, I asked the stylist, what percentage
of my hair was white? I was thinking maybe 45 or 50%.
But I said, is it 75 yet? And she laughed and said it
was a LOT closer to 100% white! YIKES! I had no
idea! LOL When I was looking for a wig, (never had
to wear one), I tried on blonde, and it was AWFUL for
my coloring. too light with this white face. I'm
not ready to look 20 years older than I am! LOL
not yet!
But
But I am thinking of going natural, with the lyphoma and
all I probably shouldn't be fooling around with dye!

Kept mine colored for many years, and then my hairdresser told me to let it go.

I did and couldn't be any happier.

I'm all white and proud of it.

NOW I am asked what do I put on it to make it so white, lol

I have colored my hair for years~~~I do it because the grey is so fizzy it looked yuk coloring it gives it great body I always get compliments on my hair. I do it myself the only problem now is I have to do it every 3-4 wks my hair grows very fast, is medium short, curly in the back and a wave on each front side straight in the middle~~not good. I am like Wildchild I do not fuss I finger comb it.

I am trying a new cleanser/conditioner 'WEN' that I saw on QVC if it tames the fizz I just may grow it out. But I am like Arcy it may make a big difference in the age I look like with the grey~~not sure I want to go there.

As for the skunky strip the original poster talked about I do not like that and as a coworker may have said something to you also~~~I have worked with gals like that and it is not a nice look~~~I would have smiled and said bare with me I am growing it out not snipe at them:( I do not think anyone said it to be mean. They complimented your new cut and maybe were wondering if you were going to pep up your color to go with it.

My hair is still brown, with some gray. I frost mine about every 6 months. If your wanting to get rid of the roots just frost it and it will blend in till it can grow out.

Nope...don't colour here. Many many years ago I was an apprentice hairdresser in England...Learned lots about all those chemicals etc. so it is something I have never done. I seldom even go to a hairdresser. I let my hair grow long enough to be donated to locks of love and then cut it and re-grow it again for a few years. Yes I have brown hair with silver streaks, but then I should at my age. Just the way I am I guess.

It's a personal thing. I have the darkest blonde now. I have cut back on colouring my hair the various shades of blonde. Last summer I had professional foil colour done and loved it. I wanted it highlighted for the summer. It really perked me up a lot. In the winter I more or less just let it all grow out (I keep my hair on the short side). I don't plan my hair - it's usually a mood thing. I am hoping to go grey/white gracefully to show off my baby blues.

If it makes you happy that is all that matters.

And I was all set to dig out my 'crayons' - I thought we were going to colour. Rats!

LOL
Peggy

I've colored my hair for over 45 years. I've had some disasters, but also had great results. It's much better when I don't do it myself.

I haven't colored my hair for at least 15 years.
I am soon to be 71 but my hair is still mostly brunette with some gray in it.
I get lots of compliments on my natural hair color and it will stay natural.
My mom had beautiful salt and pepper hair and my sister has the same pretty coloring and hair as my mom did.
So I thank my genetics.

I color mine and I do it because I like it that way. I look older with the gray and I don't have a nice gray color. I think mine is very mousy looking and I don't like it so I color........simple as that

It's not that expensive for me. I do it myself with a shampoo in and I only do it when it starts to look bad about every 6 or 8 weeks.......

I'm with arcy, if I had a nice white or gray head of hair, I would not color it but I'm not going to quit until the gray looks decent.

I color mine because I think I look a lot better without grey.

I would never say anything to someone with showable roots, but I do think it looks unkept. I know there are often reasons..for health, etc... but generally I would suggest using a root touch up or color pen in between colorings. If you are planning on going natural and have a very obvious growth line, I would suggest dying a shade closer to your natural color, or adding lots of highlights so you won't have a zebra look for months.

I have always coloured my hair close to my natural colour. But it fades with time. My 'natural' colour is brown. So I colour it brown. But eventually it turns a light brown, almost blonde. I'm not going to colour it my natural colour, just to have it fade again anyways. It would defeat the purpose. :-) I'm trying to stay away from all the chemicals.

Yes, I color. I had significant gray by the time I was 28, and didn't want it. Don't want it now that I'm in my early 50's, either. I also started using a straightening iron, because I don't like the kinky texture of the gray hair. Arcy, I say the same thing as you do when people ask me if it's my original color!

And yes, it *does* bother me to have gray hair. I'm not embarrassed about my age and never lie about it, but I'll be coloring my hair until ... well ... as long as I feel like it.

By natural color I don't mean what your hair color used to be... I mean the 'natural' color it is growing out now so the color will match more closely while growing out.

I understand you may want to go natural and stay away from chemicals, but I think it may be worth it to add some highlights or try to color closer to matching the color growing out especially if it's noticeable enough that people are commenting on it.

I guess what I'm getting at is I think it's fine to want to go natural and not color, but if you've been coloring for years, you may want to plan going natural a coloring or two in advance (and ease into it with hi-lights and shades closer to your roots -generally lighter if you have a lot of grey) and not just quit coloring cold turkey.

"Question: Do you colour? Do you leave your hair its natural colour? Does it bother you to have grey hair? If so, WHY?"

I used to color my hair, but not any more. There have been a few times when I've used a permanent hair color - only when I've had a professional do it, and only about three times total. Other than that, I've colored it myself using Clairol's Loving Care -- the stuff was gradually washes out after about 6 or 8 shampoos. (Since I only wash my hair 6 days, it lasted a decent length of time.)

But, that all changed.

Back in 1993, I had just colored my hair one night, and the next night my brother was admitted to the hospital. He wasn't expected to live through the night. He'd been HIV+ for years, and had converted to full-blown AIDS with the most severe case of pneumonia.... All of the doctors and nurses in the hospital said they'd never seen anyone in such bad shape on first admission.

He did make it through the night! And I stayed with him (with the exception of three random nights) for the 9+ weeks that he was in the hospital (6 weeks of which he was in ICU). During the course of those weeks, it came time for me to color my hair again. But I couldn't worry about that....

When my brother was discharged from the hospital, my husband and I brought him here (suburb of Sacramento) to live with us (he'd been living, and was hospitalized, in San Francisco). He lived for about 10 months after he was discharged.

From the time my brother was hospitalized until now, I've only colored my hair (again with Loving Care) ONCE. And I decided it wasn't worth the hassle. There are more important things to worry about.

Yes, there are times when I look in the mirror and think that I'd look a lot younger (I'm 61) if I colored my hair. But, I get a LOT of compliments on my hair color the way it is.

Yup I do because I don't like the natural mouse brown grey color. Plus I think it's preferable in my particular work environment to look younger rather than older and I think grey hair makes you look older. When the time comes to stop coloring I'll have some kind of color done to aid in that process. Every time I see someone with a few inches of grey out growth I always tell myself I would never be seen in public with that look.

I have mine done professionally on a very regular basis and I love how it looks and feels. It's one of the few things I treat myself to.

Yep I color but not because of the gray, I color because it's what I like to to do. I don't really have much gray yet. But when I go really gray, I'll probably color. I'm not sure if I'll have much because my dad is 77 and still has a full head of hair and it's just starting to turn gray. My mom only lived to 60 and she didn't have much gray but her hair was a light brown and you couldn't see her gray, what little she had.

If I were you though and I wanted to let it go gray naturally, I'd color it my natural color to get rid of the two toned roots. But that's me and I would NEVER tell a person to color their hair, especially a co-worker. That seems quite rude.

If either of them (or anyone else)says that again just say,"Thank you but I'm going au naturale!"
Speaking of "roots".That part of the hair is not the root.The root is below the scalp.My DD's cosmetology instructor woud get almost irate when someone refered to new hair growth as "roots".He said it is called "new growth".LOL

I do not color my hair and it is silvering up nicely, I have "raven" black hair (thats the Cajun) and the silver has started right in the front and is nicely dispersed I am very happy with what God has provided me with. I earned every one of those silver strands. I have never even considered coloring it. Plus with my health issues I really would not want to introduce any un-necessary chemicals into my routine.

I had a hairdresser tell me once you really should color that gray, I thought yea I bet she would love that extra income. Nope not interested I am what I am and fine with however it turns out naturally.
Both my sisters and my Mom do color and it looks fine that is what they want to do, as it should be.

I developed a "Cruella" streak of silver hair when I was in college. I used peroxide and a q-tip to blend it in to my natural hair color. Now, all my hair is comimg in a beatiful silver color, just like my dad's.

I color my hair every six weeks...or less. I have colored my hair for about 25 years. I have no idea what my real hair color is anymore. I rarely color it the same color twice. I have only had it colored professionally one time and it's probably been about 14 years since I have had it professionally cut. Why don't I let my gray hair come out? Because I would be bored with it. I didn't see a difference in my hair when I had it professionally colored, so I never had it done again. I also highlight my own hair, using a cap. Yesterday, I went a light auburn. Later today, I am going to put some a different shade of red highlights in it. Next time? Who knows what color it will be.

I don't think you should color your hair if you don't want to. I would have said, "I am going natural, so I have to let it look like this for a bit".

I didn't read the rest of the responses.

My answer to the question "why" is...because gray hair makes you look older.

I also have mine colored. Redheads do not gray well. My hair was strawberry blonde when I was young. I always wished that I had my mom's and sister's beautiful auburn hair. As I have gotten older, I am 60, my hair color has faded to a sort of dull reddish orange/blonde that really kind of blends in with my skin tone. Not attractive. My only try at 'at home' hair-color was a disaster. So, as long as i can afford it,I will go to the salon.

IF I have any gray it is very minimal. I keep my hair colored an ash blonde because my natural color is a blah looking brown. I do mine myself every 6 weeks with a box of Garnier Nutrisse.

I agree with Scissors who said If I were you though and I wanted to let it go gray naturally, I'd color it my natural color to get rid of the two toned roots.

I've never colored my hair. For years I thought of my hair as my best feature. It was long, and entirely blonde then. Now it's fairly short and a mixture of blonde, ash blonde, and grey. People still tell me it looks good, but even if they didn't I wouldn't be tempted to color it. I've always favored a natural look.

It's been a long time since my hair looked like this. Sniff.....

To prevent "chemically induced" hair color from fading:

1.
use only half as much developer as is called for.

2.
put a plastic shower cap (whole package of them for $1 at Dollar Tree) over your hair while you're processing to keep the color from oxidizing (to keep red tones from going brassy).

3.
use a shampoo that does *not* contain a bleaching agent;
I think it's called ammonium laurel sulfate.

4.
Protect your hair from the sun as much as possible.

Heavens no! It would tie me down to another thing I need to do on a regular basis. LOL

I am gray all over.

Deal with it everyone that thinks I should color!

Moni

I use to color my hair, but my husband got tired of helping me color it so I quit. I actually like my hair color now. It is snowy white around the temples and bangs, the rest is a light grey. I like the way the white frames my face. I have alot of compliments on my hair color. I have actually been asked if I dye my hair. Well, no....Do people actually dye their hair grey? rofl

I don't color my hair..Just cannot be bothered. I was blond as a child but turned light brown as an adult. I used over the counter light ash brown for years and then went cold turkey. I get a lot of compliments on my streaked grey hair. A good friend who has been blonde for years and years is letting hers grow out because she likes mine. She also has a brain tumor and is now afraid all those years of coloring every few months might have caused it.

I would make a decision to color OR not to color. If you choose not to color then get your hair cut really short so all of the old color is gone and then wear it white/gray or whatever color it is naturally. Personally, I could never stand having the skunk stripe thing going. LOL

I have been getting my hair professionally colored since it turned naturally curly in 1994. After 16 years, I am getting curious about what color it is now. I know it is white at the temples and my hairdresser tells me the back is still dark. My natural color is dark blonde. I am 68 now and I keep thinking of letting the color grow out but I know I will look "washed out" with gray hair. Gray or white hair really ages a person. I get my hair cut every 5 weeks and foiled every 3 to 4 months.

I've been coloring my hair since I was 35 because I had a lot of gray then and have given my daughter orders to touch it up before they lay me out for my final journey.

forgot to say, great photo, alisande!

I do not like to see grown out roots. I agree with Scissors. A great solution.

Lunch lady - Beware of Wen. I ordered and kinda liked it, but not enough to make it the only stuff I used. Next thing I knew, they had charged my credit card for another shipment! I never ordered it, it is not reflected on any of the paperwork that it comes as a perpetual order and that they will continue to send it without your permission.
On another note, I have a friend who is quite gray underneath her dye job. I told her to dye it the color of her part and she said that was not possible. True? I think if people can go blond, that they can dye it gray too!?!?