When Every Day is a Bad Gray Hair Day

Background:  Thanks to a genetic double-whammy (both of my parents grayed very early), I started getting gray hair in my 20s, and was coloring it in my early 30s.  The few times I decided to let it go back to the natural gray mix, it never went well.  I'm not opposed to having gray hair, but my particular shade really makes me look washed out.

Several years ago after deciding to embrace the gray again, I thought I'd try adding a few black streaks to break it up, and was pleased with the result.  But like so many things, I was never able to duplicate it, so always ended up buying a box of whatever I could find on sale to cover it all up again.

I stopped coloring again mid-2017, and a month or so before leaving Ohio, decided to splurge and went to the local salon and had the stylist add some black foils for the salt 'n pepper look again.  I figured that would be enough that as my hair grew, gray roots wouldn't be as noticeable.  She did an ok job, but it wasn't as good as my own first attempt.  Still, I figured I could freshen it up every couple of months and it would be fine.

Wrong.  Black fades.  News flash - gray with brown 'highlights' looks ridiculous.

The back of my head (that doesn't get as much sun exposure) is still gray peppered with black, and isn't too bad.  The top and going down the sides is fading, so I have a (not-so-attractive) head of gray hair, with streaks of various shades of brown and black.  Yuck.

I've been spending time outside running and walking the dogs, and do wear a hat sometimes, but even if I kept my head covered while outside, basic shampooing will still cause it to lighten some.  It's a no-win situation, so - one more time - I give up.  Today I will again be joining the ranks of untold number of women who pour chemical-laden junk on their head, stinking up the house, and likely scattering little blotches of dye on the walls of the bathroom that would make Rorschach proud.

Where's my MOPP gear?  I'm going in.

~ Marie Anne