I was born a blonde. I’m from the generation that would put “sun-in” or lemon juice in our hair during the summer to lighten it. As I grew older, especially in my 30’s and 40’s, I started coloring my hair to keep it blonde. You know the saying, “Blondes have more fun!” Well I don’t really know if that is true but I wanted to stay blonde for as long as I could especially after I spotted my first gray hair.
Keeping my hair blonde became a very expensive activity once the gray started to take over. The price to pay a hair stylist is astronomical and needing to do it every 6 to 8 weeks was draining my bank account.
For awhile I was using an online service that was definitely economical and was a quality product. It is called Esalon (www.eSalon.com). They were great at matching the color I wanted and I could set up the delivery for as often as I wanted. It is a subscription service and very affordable. The only trick you need is to either become very good at applying it yourself or find someone who is willing to help. I was fortunate at the time to have my now fiancé do it for me! He would even brag to our friends whenever they commented on my hair that he was my stylist. It was funny to see the reactions!
Finally I decided it was time to embrace the gray. It didn’t hurt that gray became an “in” color. I started going back to my hair stylist and asked her to help me go through the transition of growing out my natural gray hair. She started using only highlights and a base that would allow the gray to show but also blend in the brassy “yellow” that we needed to grow out. After a few months I was able to go completely without any color or touch up.
I can confidently say today that I am happy that I’ve embraced the gray. I am 56 and have less concern about being the young blonde who “has more fun” but instead am the woman “Living and Loving Life Aftet 50!”