How about a semi-permanent color? I just picked one up from L'oreal that is supposed to wash out in 28 washings. If you get the shot cut (which is what I just did... I walked in with a picture of Halle Berry and said 'make me look like this please') then use the semi-permanent color a couple of times (or until your next trim), then most of your colored hair should grow out and be clipped off.

I'd had my hair short before, but never this short. You'll love how easy it is to care for!

jel48 - That Halle Berry haircut is the one I'm hoping to get the courage to try! I know I'd love the ease and the beautician says i have the perfect hair texture for it....just chicken to do it!

As far as going gray, I'm way to afraid to do that. I just don't like the way it makes my skin look so pale.....but upkeep is a pain....sigh.....

As a 40 something, I decided last year to go grey. Am happy I did so and wouldn't get back on the coloring wagon for anything.

I was a salon-coloring gal. Talked to my stylist about it and she said (after looking at my roots) that she thought my grey was "pretty". So we worked out a strategy to allow the grey to start shining through. Now, I am 100% grey and very, very happy with my decision.

I think your idea about starting with short hair is smart. Also, remember if you find you absolutely hate it, you can always go back to coloring.

Good luck with your choice!

I am in the midst of doing the same thing. My hair is short anyway, but I've always had blonde hi lites. Now I am 3/4 of the way to all gray and will not make up my mind until after my next two hair cuts. So by the middle of June I'll either go back to coloring or leave it gray...still very undecided if I like seeing gray everywhere.

I was doing the same thing. Hadn't coloured my hair since August. I had 4 semi permanent hair colours and 2 permanent colours because the store I worked had marked them down to $5 each and I couldn't pass up the deal. They had been sitting in my closet for almost six months.

Two weeks ago, with my new hair growth 2" long, I put a semi permanent colour in it. I've worn my hair super duper short before and don't want to go back to that short again. Although my hair is short (above the shoulders, not quit to the bottom of my neck). I'm hoping that by the time I use all four semi permanent colours my hair will be long enough for the cut I want and I can start from scratch.

A few women at work told me they prefer my hair this colour because they say I'm too young for grey hair. I'm 51. IMO, if I was too young for grey hair, I wouldn't have it. Right? :o)

Me too I thought rather than look like a hag I would get it highlighted gray and gradually go into it full blown.

Your sisters look great with gray hair and so would you. Go for it. You could cut it... then frost it so it wouldn't be so noticable coming in.

You wont know if you don't try it. I have naturally curly and all grey now. It's kept extremely short, shorter than my husbands and I love it. I will admit that I am blessed with the coloring of the gray. Many people think I have it done professionally. You know how men gray so nicely and us woman generally don't. I have 5 brothers that look great in gray and I figured we came from the same genes so one day I stopped the coloring. In the winter months I don't like it as much but as soon as I get some color to my skin I'm a happy camper. I actually use the clippers on myself to cut my own hair. It grows back. Go for it.

I too have walked into my hairdresser with Halle Berry photos (16 of them! LOL) and said, make me look like this. :-)

And I too have considered going gray as I'm sick and tired of having to color every 4 weeks. I'm just glad I don't have to pay someone to do it for me or I'd go broke.

Of course I just started growing my hair out from Halle Berry short to something a bit longer so the gray will have to wait until I get fed up with the time it takes to dry my hair in the morning.

Jodi-

LOL, I had to laugh at the post title...

I never thought of going gray, I just did. :)

It's nice, not having to do anything to hide anything (roots).

Moni

I'm going to be turning 60 this November and I decided to quit coloring my hair. I have more gray than black and I was just tired of being every color of the rainbow trying to hide the gray. I'm getting lots of compliments on my hair now that it's more natural. One more thing not to worry about. You're sisters look good and I'll bet you would to. Good luck.

By all means, go natural--it's a great idea! But you don't necessarily have to go short. I know quite a few people who have grey bobs and other medium-length styles, and look beautiful.

And check out this picture I took of my BFF. She gets compliments on her hair all the time. I know because I'm often around to hear them. So boring. LOL

the only reason I'm going short is to get rid of the permanent haircolor and to give my hair a healthy start I'm sure I'll let it grow back to a chin length bob because I like that style and it's easy for me to care for, unless I decide I like my hair short (but I don't think I have enough body on the top) and I hate flat hair on me.

Will temporary color cover my gray regrowth? If the answer is yes I'll use it the next time I color and have a head start to the short "chop" this summer. I just didn't want to have re growth gray "showing" at work so thought I'd hold off until summer (when I'm off work)
I've been noticing women with gray hair now and some are amazingly beautiful............however there are a few with the yellow/mousey that I hope I won't have.
Diane

I've tried this a few times and looked like a zebra. I use L'Oreal, and it gives my hair body that the natural didn't seem to have. I do my own--in the bathtub b/c if I get it on the tub it cleans right up. I once got some on the cabinets and it does NOT clean right up. I use the time to shave my legs. exfolliate, and just relax--20 minutes--not bad at all. $7.00 I used to do the salon route, but this color is better than what they used. I'll do it some day--I'm just gonna need some help w/ something to restore the body this color gives me.

I hate hair...if it was in style, I would shave it all off and be HAPPY! lol I have SHORT hair, I don't think there is anything over 1.5" long on my head (except bangs)..love it. So, I decided that I am letting it go gray. It was funny when I got it cut last week...I have a blond streak! I have highlights that I don't even have to pay for! LOL

You could start the growing out before your vacation starts and have a head start on the grow out. I am 71 and still coloring ....I hate the color of my gray hair...It's not anywhere close to fully gray and it's just a mousy color so I am still taking care of it.......

As your hair gradually turns gray, your skin tones also change. A lot of people don't take into account the skin tone change and end up with a hair color that does not complement the skin. I haven't covered up the gray and I also have given up perms. It has taken a lot of getting used to, but it is way easier.

I agree, Kris. My hair started turning when I was about 21. I frosted it to disguise the white in my late 20s and 30s. Finally, I had a bad allergic reaction to a permanent, so I chopped my hair real short when I was due for a touch up, and never looked back. My hair looked the same without the frosting as it had turned so white, so the frosting was not blond, but white. Now I have had a full head of white hair for years and years and years. I am so glad to be free of the cost and time spent trying to disguise the white, and I actually prefer the look.

I color mine...and I'll be on my death bed before I'll walk around with white hair. (well death bed may be a little harsh) but as long as I can still do it myself or get my daughters to do it..there will be no second thoughts for me.

My aunt that raised me passed away close to 90 and I was still coloring hers for her. Just a nice light brown. I can't imagine how old she would have looked had we let it go. She looked good till her last day.

Looking at your sisters I'm sure you'll have beautiful gray too. I'm wondering if any of you had red hair and went gray? Mine is such an awful color, not gray I'm not sure what you'd call it. I just turned 66 and color my hair the closest I can remember my natural color. I've wished more than once I'd kept a lock of my natural color.

My natural hair color is raven black looks almost blue, that is the Cajun shining through, my fathers was that way when he passed not a gray hair on his head. I however have some very shiny silver coming in right in the front in streaks, I have not colored nor will I. I like it just how God is painting it LOL It is still mostly black with the silver in front framing my face. I have gone to the short cuts for the simplicity especially now that my hands are so compromised it just is not very easy for me to try to do any styling.
My sisters and Mom do color I wish they would stop because they would look so good with the silver and black.

I am doing the same thing, I am sick of coloring my hair. I got the Halle Berry cut, looks quite good actually. I need one more cut until all the color is out.

Can someone please post a picture of the Halle Berry cut? I tried doing a search...but there's a ton of pictures of her! lol

It is just a real short pixie cut.

haley berry hairstyles

some of the pics I have used for mine, now that I have gone real short I usually go with the 3rd one down. She looks fabulous as always, there are some very cute styles in the Raquel Welch pics.
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Rosepetal, you three are sure nice looking - great smiles from all of you.

Thanks Kath, that pic was taken last summer in front of the one room country school house we used to attend in the early '60's. It has been moved to a historic site along with other country school houses. When we went inside it looked so small compared to how I remembered. We also went back to the farm where we were raised and were able to go inside the house (a neighbor's son bought it and let us go inside, no one is living there now) I wish I hadn't gone inside, it was a mess and again seemed so small..........and I'd been there (when the folks were still living in it) and I was an adult in the '80's.
Sorry got off track there. We do have a lot of fun together and try to do special things together over the summer when I'm "home".
Diane

Marcy345, my mom had gorgeous red-brown hair, as did I. Her hair went the ugliest shade of gray, as did mine. (I've read in a number of places that redheads often have ugly gray hair.)

So I color my hair to be a bit lighter than my original hair color. I like it a lot, and am often taken to be 10-15 years younger than I am, which I also like a lot. I'll probably be coloring my hair for the rest of my life.

I've been thinking of it. But my hair isn't a pretty
gray.. Mine is W H I T E! stark white. And it will
probably turn yellow, like my grandma's! And I'll be ne of those blue headed ladies, using that rinse! ahahaha..
I just know I'll look about 10 years older (or more) with
white hair. I don't know if I'm ready.

one way to start going gray... use a lighter shade of
brown. Not one so dark. keep going lighter and lighter...
AND, instead of using the all over color, start getting
in foiled. A partial foil, letting your natural color
come through in bits. I have mine foiled, so I have some
natural (white) highlights.

I went gray a few years ago. I had been coloring my hair dark brown for twenty years, but my roots were so white, I was tired of the frequent touch-ups.

I lightened my hair to blonde because I thought that would take fewer touch-ups. It did, but lightener is very hard on hair, and is more difficult to apply.

I started using a silver rinse on the blonde, which blended in with my roots. It took over a year for my hair to be all natural, but I actually like the color of my gray hair.

I'm 50 and I color my hair. And probably always will. I have two sisters, one 2 years older one 6 years older. 3 brothers also, but they don't need to worry about coloring their hair! lol

My sister that is 6 years older quit coloring her hair, and honestly, she looks 20 years older than me. And we have been blessed with "white" hair not gray. Our mother and grandfather on our mother's side had gorgeous snow white hair.

My natural hair color is dark brown, but I would be as white as Santa if I didn't dye it. It's a PIA sometimes, but I won't stop doing it.

Thanks Joann, I agree about the redheads seems like there was a green quality to it. I'm a natural strwberry blond more red than blond. I tried to go gray once because my boyfriend didn't like being gray and me not. His hair is beautiful. I'm completely washed out with the natural color. I had to color it. I'm a redhead, I have the temper and people need to be warned! lol

Marcy