I haven't seen my natural hair color in almost 20 years, anyone else?

Squirrel Lover · ‎03-10-2010

I am 53. I was a natural dark blonde my whole life. When I was 35 my hair started to darken so I started to get highlights. Now my hair has turned completely curly and is starting to darken even further to a very dark blonde/light ash brown. I am not even sure since I have blonde highlights (I have no gray)

I have no idea what I would look like without highlights. I am going to get my hair cut and highlighted this Thursday, but my family (daughter, sister) say that my hair is too blonde now and too far away from my natural color. I don't know what to do. My hairdresser says that my curly fine hair would look bland and flatter without highlights and that I would probably not like it.

I feel like I am on a roller coaster. I skipped my last highlight so its been 4 months since I had it done so I can see my natural color a bit. I have been pulling my hair back from my face to see how I look with my natural color and it is so stark, but it's natural.

Do you think that mother nature is right about our hair color and that we should stick to what it is now at this stage of our lives or change it?

I am curious about what you all think about hair color as we get older.

Grouchomarx · ‎01-23-2019

I've been dying my hair for the past 25 years or so. Started going gray in college, which was annoying. I color it a few shades lighter than my natural dark blonde/light blonde. I always felt when I colored my hair on the darker side it aged me and brought out imperfections in my skintone. The lighter blonde seems to wash those things out a bit. So I plan to keep it this way indefinitely. I feel mother nature was cruel to me with the grays at such a young age, so I don't need to respect her about my hair color whatsoever!

Like you my hair suddenly turned curly as an adult. I was born with pin straight hair and suddenly in my twenties I discovered it was curly and it's gotten curlier over time. Another annoying thing to deal with since it looks not so great natural and I do a blow out every day. These wash and go gals are my envy.

Alison Wonderland · ‎02-05-2018

I've been a redhead by choice since I was in my 20s and I love it, but I do hate the coloring part. I do it myself and it's never fun. But it's worth it to me. I'm about 10% gray now, mostly around my temples.

I figure when it's all grey, I'll just go natural, but we'll see. The red suits my skintone well and I've fooled real redheads, so I feel good about overriding mother nature.

Love my grandkids · ‎11-24-2013

@Squirrel Lover I think what anyone wants to do with their hair, regardless of age, is fine! I'm 71 and in May '17 I had cancer surgery. Started chemo about 10 weeks later.

Up till then I'd been coloring my hair for eons! It was just too much trouble at that time and I stopped.

Amazingly, my natural hair color is great. It's a medium/light brown with some gray in my bangs and around my hairline, most of which doesn't show.

My hairdresser is amazed at the color! All the dyed stuff was cut off over 2 years ago. For me, it's just not worth the hassle.

But if someone wants to color their hair at any age, I say fine! I just dislike it when someone colors their hair a dark black and it looks terrible with their skin tone.

2blonde · ‎03-10-2010

@Squirrel Lover Girl, don't you listen to anyone else.....wear your hair the way you like it. Generally speaking, darker hair as we get older is not as flattering as it was when we were young. Once the grays start increasing, darker haired ladies will find it too difficult to keep up with the roots. IMO, nothing looks worse than white/gray roots on a darker haired lady! That's why so many women end up going lighter as they get older. The roots aren't as obvious.

My natural color, as far as I can remember, is light brown. I started lightening it when I was about 20, and it's been blonde now for 50 years! I always color it myself, exactly every 4 weeks. It's very fine and straight, and I still wear it long. I like being able to pony it when I'm working out or cleaning house. I'm only about 10% gray, but most of it is near my face and my part. With wearing it light blonde, the darker roots are actually more obvious than the gray ones. We'll see how it goes, but I can't imagine ever letting my hair go natural!

Laura loves cats!

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

I'm 65 with dark brown hair & some blonde highlights. I get my hair highlighted 2x a year. The last time it was colored was back in April. I'm getting a cut later this afternoon and plan on asking my stylist about color for the holidays. I really have almost no gray but I like to color it for the carmel & blonde glow.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

I see my natural color every month before I do my roots, and it's mostly grey. Like @Alison Wonderland I color my hair red myself and I agree it's a total pain, but when I see those roots and how it makes me look like I'm goin bald, I just can't give it up. Couldn't tell you if it looks natural anymore after having to change brands of color. It looks different in every light. I used to have people ask if mine was natural, and not being sure if they were talking about the curls or the color I would just respond "there ain't nothing natural about my hair" and laught. I do often get compliments on it now mostly from the younger set, so I'm assuming it probably doesn't look natural, but I don't care. I like it like that.

Calgal2too · ‎03-09-2010

I've been dying my hair myself for decades. I'm too cheap to pay someone else to do what I can do on my own, plus I like the flexiblity of it. See roots in the morning? No need to make/wait for an appointment, just take tare of it at my convenience. I don't mind it, but I have short hair. I'm sure it were longer, my attitude would be different.

I left myself go gray several years ago. Weird problem to have, but I didn't have enough gray (at the time), and my natural color was ashy and drab. I don't know what I'd look like, were I to try that now.

I use a dark burgundy, so nobody mistakes it for natural. I don't care, I think it suits me and I like it.

My only complaint is the gray at my temples. I cover it up between dye jobs, but dang if it isn't annoying. This happens when I had it professionally done, and with any brand of haircolor.

ItsME · ‎03-10-2010

@Squirrel Lover I'm a natural brunette, and have never changed my color. I started covering my grays when I was 52. There weren't many, and while they've spread a bit, at 65 I'm still not very gray.

I'm happy with my natural color, and can't picture me with any other color. That said, I decided long ago that when I have enough gray, I'll go red. I'm very fair, and one of my grandmother's was a red head, so it should work. But, I don't know what I'll actually do when the time comes. Either way, I'll lighten it up if I ever feel that my dark hair becomes too harsh for my face.

As for your situation, you're four months into your journey with no color. Why not continue the path, and see how you feel about your natural color. You might love it, but if not, you can start to add highlights again.

Trinity11 · ‎11-16-2014

My new rule of thumb is never go more than two shades lighter or darker than your natural hair color. The minute I started coloring my hair pale, baby blonde, I noticed in photos I looked washed out. So now I have dark blonde hair and it really makes me look a lot healthier. I also notice that I really need very little makeup now.

As far as gray hair, I am about 10-20 percent gray only in the front near the hairline. I think it washes me out, so I will probably continue to color my hair...