When is it time to throw away the bottle?
I know what you might think this post is about . . . but I assure you . . . it is actually yet another post obsessing over coloring my hair. I KNOW! Enough is enough, right? I surely have some sort of issue with this part of my life, because when I look back, I've written about coloring my hair here and here. Oh, and here, too.
Today, I bring up the subject because again ... it's time. The temples are gray, the roots are coming through at the top of my head, and as PG and I sat enjoying our picnic at Ravinia last week, he ever so lovingly said he really liked those little gray hairs coming out of my temples . . . BAMMMMM! I guess it's time.
But today I throw a new question out there . . . this time, I'm asking - when is it time to give in to the "Gray Hair Gods" and let it be? You know, throw the bottle away? Go el'natural? Hmmm . . . I wonder.
My Grandma (the late, great, Josephine), had beautiful white hair, as white as snow. I tried to find a photo of Grandma with her gorgeous hair - but unfortunately everything I have is pre-digital, and I can't get my scanner to cooperate right now. Trust me when I say . . . it was beautiful!
Here is my Mom . . . Carol.
And here was mom about 5 years ago, when she "hit the bottle".
Side note: My sister and I laugh because Mom would always say she was getting her hair tinted. Back when she was 'hitting the bottle' (the hair color bottle, that is), she'd say, "Oh, it will a take longer at the shop this week, Diane is tinting my hair." You may remember a post I did last year about my Dad, in which I share a little bit with you about my mom's hair; "My mom has one of those "Once a Week" hair-dos (when she goes to the "Beauty Parlor" ONCE A WEEK and has her hair done.) Her style has pretty much been the same as long as I can remember - it's teased up high and looks very neat, but it doesn't MOVE at all. Not one bit. I remember going and getting a perm once when I was probably 18 years old and coming home with that '80's kind of curly "Mall Hair" style. My Dad was NOT happy with my new look. I remember him saying to me, "I thought you were going to have your hair done?" I told him that I did. He said, "You're kidding. Why don't you go and have your hair done like your mothers? Her hair always looks so neat." I remember being mortified that he told me to do my hair like my Mothers." Now, with mom's permission, here are the photos to prove it!!
I digress, back to hair coloring . . . Mom decided that when she retired, she was going to be done with coloring the hair. She's never looked back. Ah ... the freedom.
Now, if you asked my sister - one is to NEVER stop coloring the hair. EVER. But me . . . I don't know. I don't feel old - but if I stop coloring, will I BE old? I guess the question is, my faithful blog friends, when is it time to throw away the bottle?
Let's say I'm not ready to give up my er,eh, natural color (BROWN) yet . . . at the current rate of coloring (once every 6 weeks), let's review the current statistics:
Hmmmmm. . .
I don't know . . . what do YOU think?
Today, I bring up the subject because again ... it's time. The temples are gray, the roots are coming through at the top of my head, and as PG and I sat enjoying our picnic at Ravinia last week, he ever so lovingly said he really liked those little gray hairs coming out of my temples . . . BAMMMMM! I guess it's time.
But today I throw a new question out there . . . this time, I'm asking - when is it time to give in to the "Gray Hair Gods" and let it be? You know, throw the bottle away? Go el'natural? Hmmm . . . I wonder.
My Grandma (the late, great, Josephine), had beautiful white hair, as white as snow. I tried to find a photo of Grandma with her gorgeous hair - but unfortunately everything I have is pre-digital, and I can't get my scanner to cooperate right now. Trust me when I say . . . it was beautiful!
Here is my Mom . . . Carol.
(Hey! Mom!! YOU MADE THE BLOG!!!
WOOO HOOO! LOOKING GOOD!!!)
And here was mom about 5 years ago, when she "hit the bottle".
Side note: My sister and I laugh because Mom would always say she was getting her hair tinted. Back when she was 'hitting the bottle' (the hair color bottle, that is), she'd say, "Oh, it will a take longer at the shop this week, Diane is tinting my hair." You may remember a post I did last year about my Dad, in which I share a little bit with you about my mom's hair; "My mom has one of those "Once a Week" hair-dos (when she goes to the "Beauty Parlor" ONCE A WEEK and has her hair done.) Her style has pretty much been the same as long as I can remember - it's teased up high and looks very neat, but it doesn't MOVE at all. Not one bit. I remember going and getting a perm once when I was probably 18 years old and coming home with that '80's kind of curly "Mall Hair" style. My Dad was NOT happy with my new look. I remember him saying to me, "I thought you were going to have your hair done?" I told him that I did. He said, "You're kidding. Why don't you go and have your hair done like your mothers? Her hair always looks so neat." I remember being mortified that he told me to do my hair like my Mothers." Now, with mom's permission, here are the photos to prove it!!
I digress, back to hair coloring . . . Mom decided that when she retired, she was going to be done with coloring the hair. She's never looked back. Ah ... the freedom.
Now, if you asked my sister - one is to NEVER stop coloring the hair. EVER. But me . . . I don't know. I don't feel old - but if I stop coloring, will I BE old? I guess the question is, my faithful blog friends, when is it time to throw away the bottle?
Let's say I'm not ready to give up my er,eh, natural color (BROWN) yet . . . at the current rate of coloring (once every 6 weeks), let's review the current statistics:
- 8 (applications of hair coloring per year) x $10.00 (average cost of "Preference, by Loreal") = $80.00 (annual cost of hair coloring materials only)+ $40.00 (annual cost of towels and shirts ruined by drips ... hey, I'm not a professional) = $120.00 (annual cost for looking young)
Hmmmmm. . .
I was actually thinking about this the other day.. when do you say.. "when?" I am not sure.. maybe late 60's???? LOL
ReplyDeleteUmm.. you are waaaay to young to stop hitting the bottle!
Love the picture!! You make a great case for stopping, when you figure out the money.....and I was glad to see you added money for ruined clothing and towels (ditto).
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I could do it, but then I do see some gals my age who are gray and it's gorgeous!
Silver or white -- very sophisticated. Frumpy half mousy brown and half greyish -- the stuff that's sitting on MY head??? ACK!!! I will be a redhead until I can see from my roots that my hair has finally turned; but this process of GOING grey is nonsense! As far as I'm concerned, it's worth every penny ... :)
ReplyDeleteI'm the oddball person that doesn't color. I started getting silver streaks in my black hair in my 20's. Just on the front right side. It just kept getting wider and whiter and it eventually became my trademark sort of. I've had teenagers ask me if I add the silver on purpose. Too funny! There's a great book called 'Gray Girls' and it's all about loving your gray. Your Paula Deen pic always cracks me up!
ReplyDeleteAs you already know and mentioned, I have a STRONG opinion on this one. Yes, you are way too young to throw away the bottle! Pick an age -- like age 65 -- to toss the tint. Otherwise, why would you want to look like you are 65 now when you are not?? :)
ReplyDeleteI'm on the fence on this one. The only gray I suffer from is an occasional wild hair that shows up here and there (hmmmm... wonder if that says something about my personality?? -- I digress).
ReplyDeleteI will say I agree with LT. You are too young to go gray, but if your gray is like Carol's gray (which appears to have a lot more brown in it), that's not so bad even for a youngster like you. IMHO
I love that you posted this! Last Sunday I spent all of Mass looking for older women with nice hair, you know, considering my options for later! (Not the correct thing to be focused on at church, but sometimes it happens...!) I decided that at 65 I'll lighten my hair a little and start letting some gray in, and play it by ear from there :) Oh yeah, I'm totally going to rock some short hair, too!
ReplyDelete-Lady Fromage
http://ladyfromage.blogspot.com/
http://nicoleabdou-destinationunknown.blogspot.com/2010/08/tag-im-it.html
ReplyDeletetAG! YOUR IT!
Yeah, let me give that one a little thought....The only reason to throw away the bottle is when it colored hair starts to look tacky, like when your face is old and wrinkly. When age starts to really settle in, I will embrace my white hair!
ReplyDeleteWell honey you know you are WORTH it! I don't have gray comming in yet, but it does run in the family and my grams is still on the bottle at 70something. For me if it makes me feel better and look a little younger i'm doing it...short of taking a young lover ha ha ha.
ReplyDeleteLove that white hair pic of you...fab!
First of all, Loreal is 13 euros here, which is $16.5, so everything adds up! I think I'll let myself go grey in my 60's but not before. In fact, I'm waiting for an estimate for how much it would cost to get extensions for my hair (although I'd still have to dye the temples for the grey). Sigh - beauty is an expensive endeavor.
ReplyDeleteI think you're a total smokeshow with that gorgeous silver hair. You'd totally rock it. That being said, I'll be a redhead until I die. :)
ReplyDeleteTOO FUNNY! I only say that cause just a couple of weeks ago I did the same type of post.
ReplyDeleteI decided two years ago , when we lost everything and I could no longer afford the salon , and got so tired of doing it myself. I also at that time started growing my hair out.
I got all the colored hair grown out, and it was a nice salt and pepper, but on occasion I would look in the mirror and not recognize myself. I would feel 20 plus years older. My hair got longer and longer and so did my mood. So I thought chopping it, giving up on growing it, realizing with my new thinned by age and health hair, it was just not working...one cut, then another, shorter and shorter...nothing was helping, if anything I was hating what I saw even more. So I wrote a post and asked everyones opinions, and well the next day back to dark brown. I have to say I feel more like me.
My hubby loved both, but he is that way, he loves me for me and wants me to just be happy with me and if I am , then he is.
Remember if you give up the bottle, you can always go back.
My friend you crack me up! That piocture is so cute! Love mom's pictures also. I have found a few unwanted hairs in my beautiful locks and gave them the old pullaroo. I also get one on my eye brow once in a while. I am not sure what I will do when I styart to get more. I never colored or highlighted my hair before. Yikes. I am 39 also. You look great!
ReplyDeleteMama Hen
Oh my Gosh you crack me up!!! You are way too young to toss the bottle. The only bottle you need to toss is when your tilting a beer and thinking "what was I thinking". My mom is 66 and still has not tossed the bottle. Leanne you make me laugh you are just too much. Hey when I see you on the buss stop I will tell you a reason why you should not toss the bottle. I do not want to post it...lol
ReplyDelete