I think you've all convinced me that

1. Don't worry about the grey hair (but me? I stand at the checkout line and notice the grey hair on the person in front of me )

2. That it must be time to color my hair! LOL!!!

I have a dirty blond color hair. I have not been known to color as a general rule after watching my DM destroy her hair with color and perms in the 80-90's. But I have so much youth left in me, that I want to portray that.

I've also noticed lately that the 'sheen' seems to be fading. Not as healthy as it once was. I have very thick and long hair to just above my waist...every time I've cut it, I've regretted it.

Thanks for all the replies! What a HOOT!! LOL!!!

I first started noticing (well, people loved to point it out to me) that I had gray hair when I was SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD!

My dad started to go gray/white about the time my sister was born. (23 or 24) My dad said that he'd noticed a few white hairs when he was 22, but it wasnt so noticeable until after my sister was born. It slowly grayed until he was in his late 40s early 50s and now his hair is almost totally white.

For years, I wrongfully blamed my father for the gray hairs. (my poor dad...he gets blamed for a lot apparently) It wasnt until I started to chat with one of my cousins in Florida (one of my mom's nieces) and we started to use video cameras to see each other that I realized that my cousins have the exact same pattern of gray in their hair as I have in mine. One of them covers hers up, but the cousin I chat with the most doesnt color her hair. She looks almost exactly like me too. It's kind of freaky sometimes.

The gray is mostly in the bang area of the scalp on me and my cousins.

I color my hair about once a year. I dont want my hair to start smoking and turning bright purple if I color it too much. So the most I'll color it would probably be twice a year, but it's been done about once a year for the past four or five years now. (dont like sitting with all that color soaking into my head...it's kinda itchy)

My sister, who is older than me, didnt start to really get gray until her second daughter was born. (she was in her early 30s by that point) She doesnt have the same pattern to the color that my cousins and I do tho. Her's is graying all over like my dad's.

I'm 47 (wow, hard to believe that myself!) and have been going slowly gray/white since 30. Most people don't even notice the white since my hair is fairly light brown and has various shades of brown/blonde. But when I'm in the sun, it really shows.

The gray hair doesn't bother me at all. The wrinkles and saggy rear end, are another matter, however.

the temp colors like natural instincts actually condition your hair. if you pick a shade a few lighter than your natural color, the grey looks like natural highlights.

so far i have 2..in my bangs. they have been there for about a year. i just leave them .

Since you started this GJ's, I've been pondering one thing.... I get my hair colored every 6 wks or so, and wonder how in the heck I can get a long gray hair sticking straight out sometimes. The whole dang hair is gray, not just at the roots) I am befuddled on that one....

Not sure I understand the question but....

If I pluck a hair out, as it grows back in, it sticks up. So if I pull 10 hairs, a month or two later, they are sticking up straight. It's looks SILLY! That's why I was pondering getting it colored and quit plucking!!

Did that answer it?

Hey, I allowed myself to go totally natural (after 15 years of colouring) just before Christmas.

I love it! It's the best tint job I ever had, seeing as I have different shades of grey .

And I save $160 every six weeks. That is not to be sneezed at.

OR I could just let the grey's do their thing and forget about it!!!

I'd go naturally grey GJ's, but feel then I'd really look washed out.

I go for the color to give ME some color.

Plus, I do love that shampoo scrub at the stylists.... ahhhhhhhhh

DM, does your hairdresser always do a full color and then highlights? Mine only fills in the grey and then highlights and sometimes lowlights if necessary. I see some grey too.