Coloring Your Hair/ A Thread for Men and Women

cypher, would he expect to be consulted about the color of your nail polish? This makes about that much sense to me. Hair, and especially hair color, is not permanent. Why not have fun?

Thanks everybody for the responses! Thanks Phoenix for letting me air my greivance on your thread!

I'm on my way to work and I'm gonna be late, so no time to respond to anybody, but I wanted to let you all know I appreciated what everybody said. I shall mull it all over at work today, thank you again for your very helpful input, everyone...

I haven't coloured my hair in years. I've been every colour but blond. I looked like I was as washed out corpse with black hair even though my mom had it. She's even paler than me, no freckles, but it suited here, she looked like Jackie O.
My hair is naturally a really dark auburn, generally dark on top and lighter towards the ends. I always had a few greys but now there are a few too many so yesterday I bought a streak kit. Red highlights. The aplicator looks like a mascare brush. I was just sitting here pondering whether I should do it myself or see if my sister will do it for me later.
I think I'll go it alone and see what mess I create.

Puts me in the mind of an old episode of "All in the Family" when Gloria bought a wig. Her husband Mke was so turned on, he wanted to make love but only if she wore the wig. She said "It's not me but this hunk of hair that's getting to ya. I just happen to be standing underneath it!"

I remember going through a thing with my husband about changing my hairstyles and color when we first got married but nipped it in the bud so fast and so thoroughly, I don't even remember what happened. But I do what I want with my hair.

I love colouring and cutting my hair. I have been cutting my hair myself (or with a friend) now since I learned that I have a talent for it.
I've been a lot of colours and mixed-colours, shades, streaks, whatever seemed interesting at the time. Black looks horrid on me.
What I want to try next is chemical straightening! I want bone-straight hair! I have always envied it and never had it.

Right now my hair is au natural and I use hot oil constantly; trying to give it a chance to relax for a while. My hair naturally grows in fat curls, and right now I like it. Have been wearing a lot of 'classic' and 'romantic' styles.

I swim a lot, and since it is winter I have had to use pools. The chlorine is doing a number on my hair, and I don't want green hair at this period in my life.

Anyone have early gray?

mmmm tabby!


I'm growing my own highlights these days. I've always had fair hair and used to get blonde streaks in the sun, occasionally I'd have them put in - but these days I don't have to go to the hairdresser - I'm growing my own white streaks.

My grandmother had beautiful white hair so I don't mind if it turns out like hers.

Hair colour is my friend. I consider not colouring my hair every now and then, but then I get bored. I've been colouring my hair my entire adult life. Streaks/chunks/lolites/hilites/all over colour/rinses - 2/3/4 colour processes - red/orange/blondes/auburn/tangerine/mid browns.

No one else has ever had a say in my colour selections. I grow it - I decide.

my hair colour is naturally an auburn gold, thick and very wavy, today I am dark brown with blonde chunks through it, purposely uneven sliced out and dead straight, its long with an asymetrical fringe

...I am fortunate enough that my partner is a hairstylist, my colours are always permanant as my hair is too strong to hold semi-permanant colours, as it fades after a few washes.

I had considered chemical straightening my hair and my partner said "no way" as it will damage my hair to no end, so I have a pair of 'GHD' hair straighteners and use an iron spray to lock in the moisture before I iron my hair and it comes out perfectly dead straight.

Kiwi,
What are "GHD" hair straighteners? I'm intrigued. I HAVE heard that chemical straightening is brutal, but I really badly would like straight hair for a while.
My hair type is almost exactly like yours, except it's curly.

I've never colored my hair, have been waiting for the gray, and am still waiting, as I near 100.

Back when frosting was very in, whatever set of years that was, I purchased a wig from the Broadway department store - in the store I thought it looked good. I never did wear it out my front door, yack. Much as I adored the frosted blond look, it made me look strange, made no sense with my particular face.

Added to that, I always rather liked my own auburn/brown hair color. The auburn part has slunk away and left me with brown gray. I think of playing with color once in a while, but I am a fool in a color shop in the hair color aisle. Didn't know there were streaking kits... hmmmm.

Cyphercat, Strawberry blond sounds great to me.
One's sense of self is personal, and I'm chary of modelling me re a mate's wishes. I might if adjust my mode for a while but not permanently, (heh), if it was mildly expressed delight instead of insistance from the mate. For example, I know many older women who keep their hair long because the man likes it. Sometimes this seems to me to be a poor choice... and sometimes a great one, and neither are my business.

I guess I'm befuddled, somewhat, that a haircut or color can make attraction go away.. As in, if our connection is based on that, it is tenuous at best.

And yet I remember making some dumb decisions re guys, based on their hair, or some other style issue.

Maybe having the loved one insist on some style facet about you makes one feel possessed in a nice way. It might grate on me over time, though I see the comfort.

I thought I could never have straight hair, not until my partner brought me my pair of GHD's Irons but like I said use a 'flat Iron Spray' through your hair first before putting the irons on dry hair, not wet ,not damp but dry, this helps to keep the hair soft.
Afterwards I put through a small amount of wax called 'Bedhead' from Tigi products keeps the little regrowth sprouts from sticking up on top of my head down in place, plus stops the fly aways....plus no need of hairspray if you use this wax.

Now GHD Hair straightning Irons- the best irons ever
The irons contain ceramic heaters which are the same size as the plates and ensure that the plates are heated evenly, meaning there are no hot spots....the metal ones just dont work properly.

The GHD iron removes unwanted moisture but will not take out the essential moisture and oils needed for healthy hair. :wink:

Thanks Kiwi! You could be a good sales-rep for those irons. :wink:

LOL yeah I suppose I could, the 9 hairstylists in his salon all use these
particular ones.

Oh, to answer a q on the previous page, I've had at least a little grey hair since my 20s. It runs in my family, both sides.

This is me. So whaddaya think? Color the 'stache?
Brown to cover grey? Grey to cover brown?
Or just leave it alone?

oh - you're very handsome George!

I'd leave it alone. I don't think it stands out unless it's called to your attention. Even then, not much.

Awwww...

Can I ask you something unrelated? Does your beard naturally grow in that pattern or do you enforce it with shaving? E.G. has a line that goes from top of mustache to ear; a line like yours leaves a lot more face showing (and a lot more info for me, lipreading/ facereading-wise).

Meanwhile, it seems like there is enough brown at the corners and bottom that it's not bad as-is...

Thank you, Chai & Soze.

Yes, I "enforce" the line.
The area above that line has very sparse hair.

Very handsome, indeed.

I'd probably suggest leaving it alone. Is it more or less grey than the hair on your head? I think if you try to color the stach you'll find that it doesn't blend well with the rest of your beard. Would you color both?

I don't see it as Hitlerian, but you could try some of the comb in stuff and see if you like it. I think it washes out if you stop using it, but I'm not sure. Unless you do the beard as well you should probably go grey over brown. If you're going to do both then go with whichever one best matches the hair on your head.