The prettiest hair color I've seen is on a lady at my church: she has short black hair turning gray & as it gets more gray, she has a few strands all over dyed back blackish gray so it is such a beautiful & natural looking 'salt & pepper'(forget what the stylists call this procedure!) & she is able to keep it that way. Another lady has what I call the 'reverse Jay Leno': she had black hair that is all white now so she dyes it coal black & leaves a small portion in front the natural white color! Jay's is all naturally white now with a black wisp in the front... like a skunk I call it! I do think some persons have something similar that they were born with though. Many of our Native Americans here in the Southwest keep their long beautiful 'salt & pepper hair in beautiful braids or huge buns & nothing more beautiful than that natural beauty! A senior citizen that keeps her hair long,hanging loose down the back & dyed jet black (usually with the roots showing pure white!) ? ... uh, uh!!

I love Excellence also, but like sleeper, my grey roots grow in so fast that I have to dye my hair every 3 to 4 weeks. I too, am not ready to go grey, as I don't have enough to look elegant, like Meryl Streep did in Devil Wears Prada. My grey isn't spread evenly like salt and pepper, it's in odd chunks, so I probably won't stop colouring my hair until it's all grey. I could try a very light blonde so my regrowth wouldn't be so evident against a lighter colour, but I currently use golden blonde, as it gives my face more warmth.

I think your hair looks nice, Debby. I have very thick hair....and that has a downside too. It is extremely hot and grows very fast. I am outside most of the day, and it is so hot, and if I wear a hat, it is unbearable. I don't color it....I did once, and it was a mess because my hair is very white around my face. I also started greying in my 20's. My dad and one brother had snow white hair. The rest of us had grey hair but not the entirely white hair. About every two months, I get my hair cut short. I should go every month, but I hate taking the time to do it. It gets very bushy very quickly, and I let it go until I can't stand it any more. I don't use any conditioners or anything on it. I haven't ever blown it dry, and I don't want it styled. Just cut it and let me out of there. This is me, needing a haircut. (I'm the one on the left. That is my mule, Sabrina, on the right.)

There will come a day when I stop coloring my hair, but that day is not here! I am not old enough for what I fear is my natural color. I think it may be white. My grandmother and her sister's hair was white as long as I can remember. They didn't really gray - they pretty much went to white. My sister went gray a couple of years ago and she is 3 years younger than me. I think her hair is probably grayer than mine and still has some dark in it. But still, there have been a few times when people who don't know the both of us, think SHE is the older sister. My hair is dark brown. It's been professionally colored, I think, 3 times. All disasters. My hair is evidently porous and you CANNOT use the dark brown color I used to have on my hair. Every time I've had it done, it's been shoe polish BLACK. I have colored my own hair with box color for years. My hairdresser can't believe it and says it looks better than she could do. I do occasionally have it highlighted, but because I use dark blond color on my hair, I can even color myself with highlights. Mt. Nutrisse is a good one. It has an oil additive which makes my hair feel great and lots of shine (which dark hair needs). I have used a gloss when my hair color has looked a bit faded but don't routinely use one. I only color my roots and I will use almond oil or a deep conditioner (on dry hair) on the ends of my hair to keep color from grabbing. I massage the color into the whole head of hair the last 5 - 10 minutes, usually not leaving it on a full 10 minutes. Good luck!