Haircolor questions......women only!

[rainstorm]

this requires a professional. doing it myself often results in unfortunate curse words popping out of my mouth

[alicia-w]

i color my hair at home once every six weeks with no disastrous results. i dont have the time (or inclination) to go to a hairdresser that often.

[Miss Mary]

Seems we're about dead even

DIY vs Professional

I think I'll stick with DIY, anyday.......I don't have $1000+ a year to devote to my hair!!! And I don't want to go gray either!

You can do it....trust me, I have for over 3 years now.

Mary

PS - Fur, glad I could pry Grimmy out of the woodwork for ya!!! LOL

[Pburgh]

I have my hair foiled. I can't do it myself. However, I only have to have it done every 2-3 months.

[furluvcats]

Do what I do Mary...no matter what town you live in, become BEST FRIENDS with a hairdresser! I don't even try and it happens, and it has again...then your girlfriend will want to spend girl nights at her house with you and color and cut and play with your hair, and you won't ever have to worry about ruining your hair yourself again! Its the only answer Mary!! Go out now!!! Find that new best friend!!! And tell her we all say hello!!!!!

[Stephanie]

this requires a professional. doing it myself often results in unfortunate curse words popping out of my mouth

[Kim_in_MN]

Do what I do Mary...no matter what town you live in, become BEST FRIENDS with a hairdresser! I don't even try and it happens, and it has again...then your girlfriend will want to spend girl nights at her house with you and color and cut and play with your hair, and you won't ever have to worry about ruining your hair yourself again! Its the only answer Mary!! Go out now!!! Find that new best friend!!! And tell her we all say hello!!!!!

ROFL - believe me, this isn't always a good idea! In my 20's my best friend had her own salon - and she used me as a test subject with new brands of color, etc. Once I ended up with red hair, and I don't mean auburn, I mean RED. Not the intended look, definitely. Yes, she is still one of my best friends. Thank goodness I was in my early 20's and could just pretend it was supposed to be that color until we got a chance to fix it.

OK, it *might* have had something to do with the marguritas ROFL.

She also gave me the best perm I ever had in my life - using nine perm rods (I don't know how many they normally use but it seems like 100's while you are having it done!!).

Kim

[Miss Mary]

Fur - glad that plan worked out well for you. However, my opinion of hairdressers is not very high right now. The last 2, over a 3 year span have butchered my hair, not just scalped, butchered it like a kid would. One in a frumpy, 50s housewife kinda way, no thanks, I'm not ready for the haircurlers, robe, bon bons, soap operas, and the other, well, I don't know what she thought she was doing to my hair but my kids could have done a much better job than she did! That was June of 04 and I haven't been to a hairdresser since. I trim my own hair currently. Waiting for it to get to a length so I feel comfortable sitting in that hairdresser chair again. And if they cut it shorter than I ask, I'm leaving!

So no hairdresser best friends for me!!! he he

I have no idea who I'm going to next but she has to be someone under the age of 30, with current hairstyles in mind, not outdated ones......LOL And actually I'd be fine with a he, even if gay, as long as the style he recommends is current, up to date and flattering. And mid-length!

Mary

[Stephanie]

I've been going to Jim since I was about 21. If he ever leaves, I'll hunt him down!

[MBismyPlayground]

Miss Mary, I just caught this subject so hope I am not late or throwing in my 2 cents when no longer needed. BTW, I miss my MAHJong... lolol
Anyways, I have been a bottled blonde for as long as I can remember. Always kept that washed out blonde a little lighter.

Anyways, One thing for all of us to know, as we grow older our hair becomes more porous. The hair strand is thicker, especially if going a little gray or silver. You might notice the "wirey" tecture compared to your normal hair. This type of hair "grabs" color. Also hair that has been altered by dye, bleach ect will become porous. Some of you might recall. if using some dye or color, acheiving a lovely color of aqua, pink or that ugly color army green. (although horrible for your hair, a little soak with Head and sholders does the trick..and then plenty of conditioner)
Mary, personally, I cannot stand the results of Nice and Easy and prefer Preference or Excellence... or even Mega Brown, Blonde or Red, based on your preference. But since you like Nice and Easy, it seems a pain in the arse to continue to mix half and half or this or that and really expensive.
Have you thought to just slowly, with each touch up go a shade lighter???
Us the lighter shade and keep it longer on your roots, as roots tend to NOT grab color and take longer to process. Then about 5 or 10 mins before wash out time, take the remainder of dye and run thru the rest of the hair. Not to the point of being extremely wet but just enough to have the new color sorta of streak thru the old hair, ya get what I am saying???
Gets rid of some of that old brassiness ect.... Each time, just move another shade up and continue to run the rest thru like this til you achieve what you want. Saves money and time. BUT!!!!!! THIS IS THE BIGGIE.
I dont know where you get your products, but, if you are using the boxed version, STOP. Sally's is less expensive and the bottles there list the BASE COLOR. If your hair is porous, and you get lets say a green or violet base, you will end up with crayola colors. Green is usually in the ash colors... and Violet the real blonde ones. I use a gold or natural base.
If you notice a real gold or brassiness, you can add a drabber.
Any questions or if I can be of any help, just send e mail.
The only reason I know any of this is my mother was a beautician for years.
And of course this is only my prefered way. One that seems to work for my friends and me.

[Miss Mary]

Stephanie - my beloved hairdresser for years was male, hetero at that - married with six kids. His wife, a hairdresser too, they met in Cosmetology School! He was the first one that shocked the heck out of me - scalping me and giving me a June Cleaver look. I asked for a current style, not a step back into time. Sure I got compliments but I was not ready to sit a bingo table (sorry, but that's the image I saw, instantly!). I love how you can never see the back of your head either, you're leaning down as they cut, then at the end they hand you a mirror. That's when you gasp! Anywho, he thought I'd love it, I hated it. Kept wetting down the sections that stuck up, until it grew out. So I know about male hairdressers, Mark was usually good at recommending flattering looks and I swear I don't know what got into him that day. I did ask for a change but not a time capsule moment! His receptionist, with purple hair did a whoa when I paid. Second clue I looked like June.

Then Nina's hairdresser who has a chair near us, was who I went to faithfully from then on. A year went by and I took in a look Courteney Cox had early on in Friends, season 2 or 3 I think. All angled forward, but not curled, straight with a slight bend to it, all messy like. Pieced out. She must have not had her glasses on, she uh butchered me something awful. It looked nothing like what I asked for! That's when I said I'm cutting my own hair, for now, until it's a length I'm comfortable with. The very top layer was one inch long, and it's now at chin length. So I'm just trimming her handiwork, and it's about one length now, thank God! Well, it's basically a pointe cut bob, what she did on me at first before the CC look I requested. A look I love but who the heck do I go to now? Well, I might try hubby's hairdresser, she's well known in Cincy, has her own shop, has won awards. And best of all, is up to date - has that purple look or whatever she feels like at the time. Perfect. I don't want purple but I want someone who knows what a 2006 cut looks like!

MSPlayground - I've never had any trouble with Nice & Easy, no brassy look, just a tad shade darker than I want. I just want my gray covered. It picks up the red in this dye so it all looks blended well together or so I'm told. I receive many, many compliments on this shade. I wonder if I should keep it? It is only too dark for a week or so. Until the color fades a bit.

Well, it's late and I'll be typing nonsense at this rate. I have considered buying color at a beauty shop but I like to stick with one brand, one shade.

Mary

[MBismyPlayground]

Mary, since you like the results except for the touch of darkness, you could consider going to the beauty supply store and getting some 40 volume developer. The stuff in the box is like 20 volume which dictates how much "lift" you get. Meaning how much of your normal color is lifted and replaced. The 40 volume would give you a touch more lift which would take away the "dark" look. Just get your own application bottle, about $1.50 and mix the boxed stuff in that and then just add a little (1/2 oz) of the 40 vol. to it. Should give you just a little extra. That way you really would not to even have to switch colors. Keep the same one with a bit more lightness to the highlites.(1/2 oz will not make it too blonde)
I actually began to allow mine to grow out a little, just to see........UUGGHHH.....I have a gray widows peak kind of thingy. Like a streak. I RAN to the beauty supply store!!!

[Miss Mary]

Wow, I'm chickening out. Too much going on here to switch up to a lighter shade. I'll try it in February when hopefully not much is going on! My oldest is still home from college and until she goes back, I'd best not try this. I'm not great with math but I still like Karan's idea the best. I'll just want to be very careful and do it right, each month using the same total amount to color from, but with different ratios of old and new. And eventually all new. My grays are really popping out too - haven't colored in about 5 weeks now! Like you MS, I don't want to let them show. I joke, not until I'm 60 will I go gray. I have a feeling I'll up that to 65 as time goes by.....LOL

Thanks for all your help though - the DIY's we have are very knowledgeable in hair coloring. I'm confident to do it myself, just carve out an hour or so and wear old clothes, etc. I just don't know what I'd be doing walking into a beauty shop, asking for help on starting all over again on color. Unless another hairdresser scalps me - and that will not happen ever again - I can't imagine just starting over! I'd have to have a buzz cut or something to try a completely new shade!

Mary

[alicia-w]

maybe you should try one of those kits that has the multi-color stuff with it... sort of like streaks, but not. L'Oreal Couleur Experte is great!

[Pburgh]

Mary, I'll be 61 in April. I can't imagine the day when I will let my hair go salt and pepper. If it would turn completely gray or silver, I'd probably love it but it's my opinion that the salt and pepper look looks great on guys but kinda drab on women. My beautician blends my brown and silver with blonde and it looks really natural. It takes a long time (2-3 months) for the regrowth to look bad.

[MBismyPlayground]

Mary, I'll be 61 in April. I can't imagine the day when I will let my hair go salt and pepper. If it would turn completely gray or silver, I'd probably love it but it's my opinion that the salt and pepper look looks great on guys but kinda drab on women. My beautician blends my brown and silver with blonde and it looks really natural. It takes a long time (2-3 months) for the regrowth to look bad.

Doesn't that double standard just kill ya??? With a man he would be considered "distinguished"......for us the word would be just plain OLD!!!I totally fear the "Maude" look of the Golden Girls if I allowed it to all go natural. I have seen many women with the blending of hair color that you have. I am too cheap and too impatient to try to do that myself although I know it looks great. I just go a few shades darker in the winter, and a few shades lighter in the summer, and try to pull off natural. By the end of summer, AARRGG, my hair is almost whitish blonde, from the sun and my natural color lightening.
I do have a question for all of us who dye, bleach, color, highlite ect...
As one gets older, short hair or long hair???And at what age??

[Miss Mary]

It used to be if you were older, women had short hair. Doesn't seem to apply anymore and that's great! I don't want short hair although it's much shorter than I really want right now (see earlier posts about hairdresser's scalpings).

All I know is I think my Baby Boom Generation is going to test the Senior Waters and make their own rules, throwing out the old ones.

Those white or grey orthopedic shoes (my mom wears)? No thanks! I'll take my Eastlanders anyday...he he

Those plastic hat bonnets my mom's generation keeps in their humongous purses - no thanks! The company that makes them will likely go out of business, I think anyways.....I will never wear one of these rain hats! OMG, you'd have to hypnotize me first....

There's more but I can't think of them.

I just think my generation will continue to color gray, stay fit and dress much younger than our parents have done going into their retirement years.

It will be interesting to see if this really happens.

Back to men going gray, in a handsome way. It's just not fair! If a woman the same age goes gray, you're practically handed a bingo card and one of those plastic rain hats! LOL

Mary

[MBismyPlayground]

LOLOLOL..........Memories....I shall never wear the rain hat nor will I allow my hair to have a bluish tint. Or wear those ugly shoes. Or the "house dress"!!! There are things that I do see people in our "baby boomer" group wear that I just refuse to wear as well.
And no offense to you that do wear this stuff, I just can't picture me in it.
Those little sweaters or sweatshirts for each holiday. The ones with wreaths or pumpkins on them. Those are like a badge that screams "MIDDLE AGE"! I guess I will still be of the ilk that believes that women should wear high heels, so they can help lift the buttocks a little, no matter uncomfortable they might be.

[Miss Mary]

Are you my twin MS? LOL

I agree, the housecoats - eek! How about the bedcoats or the bed pillows, the ones you see advertised on TV......we have a waterbed so that pillow wouldn't help anyway. he he The old fashioned water bed, hubby's throwback to his single days but we LOVE that bed. So warm in winter and I loved it while preggers, could sleep almost on my stomache! My girls love it, when they're sick, they want our bed. During the day I give in, sure go nap up there.....

I don't care for the sweatshirts either. I much prefer monocromatic colors - that's just me. If I had to give you a style I've gravitated to it would be the Eddie Bauer look. Jeans, cords, sweaters, earthy colors, simple-simple. I joke I wish I could afford to buy all my clothes from there, or Lands End, full price. Sigh, but I wait for sales....dang it. My favorite right now is the light weight down vest from EB, it was so popular this year and I got mine back in November, off white with brown trim. Tiny snowflakes on the quilted parts but it's thin, that's what I like, not all puffy like.

Getting off track but your post just cracked me up. Another store I like a little is Christopher & Banks but that teachery section - I just pass it right up. That sweatshirt look you're avoiding too! he he

Well, back to coloring....I chickened out girls. Had 2 boxes of #117, my old color sitting there under the sink and my grays were really popping out. I hadn't colored since early December so I just used my old color. Next month I'll start the transition to a lighter shade. I think I might go with an easier ratio, using two complete boxes each month but wasting one half of one (and mixing the full mixed amount is a large bottle I'd buy at the beauty aid store). First month - 2/3 old, 1/3 new, Second - 2/3 new, 1/3 old, Third - all new. Went to Clairol's website and it states you can mix colors but they have to be in the same brand and tonal family. Going from #117 to #116A isn't a problem at all! I don't what the heck I was worried about anyways.......he he

Thanks for all your help and the laughs. I will not get old, I will not get old.....clicking my ruby red heels here....LOL

Mary