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Only Her Hairdresser Knows!

Yesterday most of the day was spent sewing.  I did take time to get a haircut, go to the post office and to Wal-Mart.

Sarah is my friend since first grade and we talk on the phone a lot  . . too much!  🙂  We’ve been talking the last few nights about hair color.  Isn’t it amazing how long you can talk to a friend about something that doesn’t matter at all?  I used to color my hair but have stopped.  I’m just not one to go sit at the salon for an hour or more once a month to get my hair colored and I’ve done it myself and though I have no problem with how it looks, I just don’t take the time to do it.  I guess getting rid of the gray isn’t important to me.  But, I’m getting more gray and Sarah has convinced me I should color my hair.

So, while at Wal-Mart I was checking out the hair color.  They used to have a whole lot more than they have now.  Maybe everyone else is getting theirs done at the salon or maybe they’re not worrying about the color of their hair.  Anyway, I picked up one and put it in my cart.  There was a lady across the aisle looking at me and I was wondering if I was supposed to know her.  She walked over to me, took the hair color out of my cart, slapped it back on the shelf and said “You do NOT need that!”  I said  .. well, I’m getting kinda gray and my friend says I do need it!   She said “I’m 67 and I don’t color my hair and I’m gray and I don’t give a sh**!”  And she pushed her cart and walked off.

I felt like a kid when I was trying to sneak something past my mother (not that I ever really did that!).  I watched her walk away and then I went back and got it again and made sure it was under other stuff just in case I saw her again in the store.  I keep laughing just thinking . . watch me color my hair and then that woman will show up on my doorstep yelling at me for not listening to her!  🙂

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Comments

  1. How funny! My hair is completely grey, not a brown hair anywhere anymore. I used to care but not anymore.

  2. I would stop coloring if mine was all gray..but it’s gray on the front and sides…red on top and brown everywhere else. Looks stupid even to me…

  3. Too Funny…the things that happen at Wal-Mart! When we moved to Alaska 13 years ago I missed my sun-touched hair color so I started getting it colored…now I can’t imagine not “controlling” my hair color. I say go for it…it always boosts my attitude.

  4. If mine were all gray I would love it. But I have a small skunk stripe down the left back of my head. It really bugs me, but I am reluctant to start coloring it……I just dont want to keep up with it. Maybe I’ll try the kind that washed out in a few weeks and won’t have to deal with roots!

  5. Oh my gosh….that was soooo funny. I, too, stopped coloring my hair way back in 2006. I couldn’t stand being in the salon for that long a period of time. Plus they always made me look like Elvis when I left. All this poof and circumstance. So not me! However, I never received the makeup gene in my family so I’m gray and don’t wear makeup. hehehe Do I care? Nope… my husband loves my hair. Can’t speak about the makeup – he never says anything….:)

    I will confess there is a box of color in my closet. Who knows when I bought it and it must be expired. I bought it, got it home and then couldn’t bring myself to use it.

    Well, Judy, color away…I know you are a confident woman. I do hope that lady doesn’t show up on your doorstep! That would be a scream. A blog worthy scream, I might add!

  6. That is hysterical!!! Isn’t it funny how a total stranger can intimidate us!!!!

    I don’t color my hair – but you know what? I think each woman should do what she wants….there is NO RIGHT or WRONG here. TO COLOR OR NOT TO COLOR – have it your way and go for it …. and enjoy yourself!!

    You have the best stories to share, Judy!!!!

  7. OMG – your haircolor story was hysterical. I laughed so hard, and I am still laughing. Thank goodness I wasn’t eating when I read it! :0) I am still laughing because I am imgaining the balls that it took for her to walk up to a stranger and tell her what to do about coloring hair in the middle of Walmart. Oh my, I could never have done that. I would take it as a compliment on how beautiful you look naturally. Not many women can go w/o coloring their hair after a certain age, myself included :0)

  8. I’m 67, and stopped coloring my hair last summer. And now I’m silver. I love, love, love it. But it had to be the right kind of silver to work. My 96 year old mom has more dark hair than I have. I’m much whiter than she is. It’s so funny.

  9. I began going gray well before my 30th birthday (first gray hair appeared at 17 1/2!), and have been coloring my hair myself for 26 years. I’m just not willing to pay salon prices even though I hate this monthly chore. Just this past weekend I discovered Root Rescue. It was quick and easy and means I may now only have to color every other month. I used to say that if I had the beautiful silver gray that ran in my dad’s family that I would not bother coloring. My gray used to be a dull iron gray. I’ve recently discovered my gray has changed to the beautiful silver variety (I let it grow a bit to check, as I had not seen my natural color in years). Call me a liar, but I still plan on coloring. Maybe if I had grandchildren (hint, hint) I wouldn’t mind looking like a grandmother.

  10. If my hair was a pretty gray or white (my Mothers was snow white) I would leave it alone, BUT mine is a dirty dishwater color and really doesn’t look nice. A gal who used to cut my hair some 20 years ago suggested I use Preference by L’oreal (spelling?) I’ve used it ever since. The gal who told me this got married and moved away, SO had to get a new person to cut my hair. After she cut it for over 10 years, I once made the comment that “only my hairdresser knows for sure” She laughed and said Oh you won’t have to color yours for years yet, its wonderful. She about dropped over when I told her I had colored it since before she started cutting my hair. Said she could usually tell when someone does it themselves, but she had no idea. SO now people think my hubby is my Dad and we have a ball with it. Have had more good laughs when we get home or even back to the car. Guess I am lucky we both have a wicked sense of humor.
    SO go for it, if it makes you feel better have fun with it.

  11. I used to care about my gray–I no longer care and no longer color my hair. I’ll admit that aging helped give me some permission not to and concern about long term effects of those chemicals gave me the rest. (Oops, the fact that my daughter reached high school and wasn’t bothered by my gray–she was when she was in mid school–also helped me pass the hair color aisle.) However, I’m totally flabbergasted that a perfect stranger would say what she did–wouldn’t you love to know if she was one those didactic school teachers?

  12. Holy Cow! That is hilarious! And then you sneak it back into your cart. 🙂 I say if it makes you feel good, do it!

    I quit coloring my hair quite a while back. It was quite freeing for me! Now I only have to remember to get a haircut once in a while.

  13. I stopped coloring my hair a little over 2 years ago. I am a natural blond and when I used to go in the sun most of the haircolor washed out anyway. My hairdresser told me I wasn’t going to like my hair when it grew out. Every time I looked in the mirror it looked the same and I kept waiting for the white/gray to show up. It kind of never looked like it was growing out.
    Well I love it, and so does my hairdresser. She actually admitted she was wrong. Turns out there is still blond in the totally white part and it looks like it was professionally done.
    AND it grew out curlier than it ever was. I remember my grandmother having beautiful hair and I know she never colored it.
    I guess I was just lucky. I think we can do whatever we want and as long as WE like it, its fine. I know I would like you Judy, even if you had gray hair.

  14. This has been fun, reading all these “true confessions”! So I’ll confess to being 62, started graying early (thanks, Dad), and colored my hair myself for years. It’s been 3 1/2 years since I quit coloring my hair, and it is liberating! Now I’ve starting cutting my own hair (last professional cut was the 1st of the year). I’ve never been all about the hair and makeup, but it was hard to go gray. Now that I’m there, it suits me just fine!

  15. I just recently started coloring my hair. Used to be a blonde then as I am aging (59) my hair has gotten darker – a dull dark blonde with no life. My parents didn’t start turning grey until their 80;s. I feel so much better since I started getting highlights.. I do it for me.. no one else……

  16. I am going gray naturally and do not mind at all. I went through a lot to get this gray. My younger brother is totally white and my two older sisters color their hair. If I could survive my younger years with mousey brown, I will take the gray now. I’m just happy that I still have hair!

  17. That is truly funny, but the sad part of it is that could have been me, lol.

  19. LOL…I LOVE it! Is it WalMart or is it just the world?! We’ll never know for sure.

    My natural color is so darned dark, it’s almost black and there are just a few gray hares (yes, I know, it’s not the right hare) there. My brother and sister are both gray, but as my hare dresser told me (after I asked him HOW much gray was there and at 61, when could I expect it to TURN gray, “Helen, you won’t live long enough to go gray!” LOL…not sure HOW to feel about that!!!

    I get my hare colored because it has lost it’s luster. I used to have it highlighted, but my guy tells me I need brown, just not as dark as my own color.

    I always get color on the walls or woodwork, so it’s worth it to me to go to my hare dude.

    Have a great day and have fun with your color, Judy!

  22. I really cracked up at this post. I think it has to be the Wal-mart thing. People do weird things in that store.

    I too, used to color my hair but decided spending all that money was for the birds. I have been told many times that my silver hair is so pretty. I’m good with that. But most of my friends do color their hair. I say, whatever floats your boat!

  23. Your comment about Wal Mart not having as much variety in hair color as they used to applies to the entire store. Every time I go to Wal Mart they have less variety. I went to by napkins the other day and they had two brands…and were completely out of one of the two!
    As for coloring your hair…it’s only hair and if it makes you feel better to color it, go for it! I personally am too lazy!

  24. I am one of those lucky people who has a daughter-in-law that is a hairdresser! Everyone in our family is neatly coiffed and colored. Don’t know how I would feel if I didn’t get that deep family discount. Maybe I would be gray.

  25. The easiest thing foor me to change is mphpmy hair. I color it red, well, my wonderful hair maven, Celia, colors it RED!

    It makes me feel good, even about those 20 extra pounds…….well, 30 maybe.

    glen

  26. HA! I am sitting here now with hair color on my hair hoping to cover up the gray…..funny!! Now..off to wash it out!!

  27. I don’t color mine per say. I just have red “highlights” put in. Not your ordinary red …cherry red…like a red lollipop. I wanted shocking pink but they didn’t have it. First time I asked for it the girl was trying to talk me out of it. Was I sure??? Finally told her…Look…I’m a great grandmother….I think I’m old enough to know what I want. Besides….if I don’t like it I can have you shave my head!

  28. I thought we only had to worry about what people wear to Walmart, now it is strangers coming up and telling us what to buy, lol.

    I have been coloring my hair for about 20 some years now and do it in my bathroom as I can’t see spending all that money and time in a salon. (Think of the fabric or yarn we could buy with our savings!) I asked my husband if he thought I should stop coloring it and he said maybe not just yet, lol. It makes me feel better and my original dark brown hair in my 20’s and 30’s is now a dark blonde. I say go for it if it makes you feel good, Judy.

  29. I started coloring my hair when I was 30 due to getting gray early. Now if I stopped, it would be white in the front and gray streaked through out the rest. I just don’t have the nerve to go natural. I hate doing this every month and do it myself as it actually lasts longer anyway, (Thanks Loreal!) but I always feel younger and more feminine if I do and since I have went thru menopause and gained over 40# over the last few years, I need all the help I can get. You just do what ever you need to do to make you feel better. If you don’t need to, more power to you girl!

  30. That was too funny! Wal-Mart people are just too amazing! I have my hair graying in the temple and the front forehead and I really don’t mind….YET! My hair is mostly brown now. I am proud of my gray hair, I blame all of it on my kids! LOL! I sure let them know when they mention it that it is ALL their fault. Even showing them which one is because of them! Too funny!

  31. OMG! ROFLOL!! That really is hysterical.

    I actually broke down and colored mine for Mother’s Day. It freaked me out every time I saw it for the next 2 days. I was sooo used to the salt-and-pepper. And, yes, my ‘salt’ was that pretty silvery shade.

    But I went for a cut today, and my usual girl wasn’t there. The one who did it scalped me—only way to have less on my head would be to shave it. And this girl had “attitude”—big time. Was telling me about another customer she had told, “No, I won’t change it after I’ve cut it, we’ll discuss it and make a decision first. I’ve done this for 18 years and I know what I’m doing.” Boy, is she ever wrong!! LOL!! I’m glad I’ve got a good sense of humor, and I DO know that it’ll grow back out, so I’m not sweating it.

    Enjoy your color, Judy! Sometimes, that little thing is the ‘attitude adjustment/boost” we need. Eve

  32. That is too funny! I say do what feels right for YOU. I stopped coloring my hair years ago – I’m not that grey – just flashes of silver all over my head. My exercise of choice is swimming and I was afraid the chemicals on my head and the chlorine in the pool was going to turn my hair orange or green!

  33. OK after all these comments do we get to see the “new you”, and what about Vince will he recognise you?

  34. My maternal grandmother never had a grey hair in her 80 years, my paternal grandmother was completely grey at 35. Guess which one I take after! I used to color it, but hated the expense and trouble, so I stopped about 3 years ago. Before it turned grey and while I was coloring it I never heard anyone say, “You have such pretty hair.” Now that it’s nearly completely grey people say that to me all the time. Go figure!

  35. I had that same dilemma -and decided I was tired of being a slave to coloring my hair – afterall, I worked really hard to get to be this old and it is a medal of honor to be gray, isn’t it? Both my children have beautiful gray hair – heredity you know – so I should at least match them. LoL Did the same thing with artificial fingernails when I decided I had more important use of my time. I seek my own counsel and value my opinion of me much more than other’s opinions. At least that is my story and I am sticking to it. Judy C

  36. I’m 47 and had my hair colored for at least 10 years. When I decide to stop coloring it, I just don’t know what I’ll do. At the roots, it’s all salt and pepper—little heavy on the salt!

  37. It looks like I’m in the minority here…but I would have been very tempted to simply stare at her and say, “Mind your OWN business.” I would have been furious at someone telling me what to do with my own hair and my own money.

    Now, if she had said it nicely and left it at that…that would be different. In that case, I might take her words to heart. 🙂 But to take the box of haircolor out of the cart and put it back on the shelf…that’s obnoxious, I think.

    • Rebecca, I don’t think I’d have even bothered to speak to her, but simply picked the box back up from the shelf, put it back in my cart, and walked on. I’d be not so much outraged as bemused, and would very likely be walking away shaking my head and chuckling.

      It really does take all kinds.

  38. It is the great debate. I have some friends who have let their hair go gray and they look marvelous but they also have blue or green eyes which seem to come alive with gray. I have brown eyes and I tried to stop coloring mine but I looked washed out and tired. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror the image staring back looked older than she needed to look.

  39. here we call the silvery stripe down the middle and any strays ‘sparkles’ ! IM due for a box of Sparkle fix !

  40. Judy, as others have said, you do what makes you feel good. I too color my hair as did my mother. She said it made her happy, look younger and feel better. I don’t spend lots of $$ or time on doing it though. I buy a non-peroxide product at WalMart and only color every 8 to 10 weeks. It’s not any more time consuming than the usual hair washing day. It gives me more energy. When the picture in the mirrow says “boy I look like an old, old lady”, it is depressing and not very motivating. I won’t ever be a grandma, so I don’t need to look the part. When I decide to cut my hair real short, then I may go natural too.

  41. Gotta give the lady at Wal*Mart credit for nerve!! Had to be funny though. I admit to pulling out my first white hair when I was 16 & have gone from there. Sometimes colored it, sometimes didn’t. For a while I got compliments on how nicely frosted my hair was & questions about who did it for me. When I admitted it was all mine nobody believed it. I admit too that I have a couple color boxes on a shelf somewhere & am thinking maybe it’s time to use them. Or, maybe laziness will win out.

  42. The Wal-Mart lady cracks me up– probably an old time feminist. She’s right, you don’t need hair dye, you’d be a pretty woman with or without the grey. But if you want it, go for it!

  43. This made me laugh. I also notice less colors — but the main thing I notice is that the blonde colors are always on the bottom shelf! I hate bending down long enough to find the right color!

  44. I laughed when I read about your adventure at Walmart. Is it just small towns where this happens?

    I have no idea what my hair color is going to be. My mom dyed hers, so hers was always auburn. And my dad was dark and his turned the color like Andy Griffin. Since I am blonde, I guess I will find out one day. So I am hoping for white. So I am waiting to find out. My husband says my hair makes him think of tinsle that hangs on the Christmas tree. Good guy.
    Trina

    • I got my first gray hair at 17. As I got older – my hair got grayer – and the grayer it got – the more I liked it. Now it’s white and I LOVE it. I think Mother Nature does a great job choosing your hair color. I think she gets it right every time. You can always change it – of course – but she will continue to color your ROOTS for you! 😉

  45. At 54, and a redhead, I have never colored my hair. I was going to once, by DH had such a fit that I didn’t. I am going grey and my red is really really dark, almost brown looking until it is next to brown hair. I guess I will just continue going grey unless I get my sister to sneak me into a salon sometime when DH isn’t around. I would like to do it just once! 🙂

  46. Woman at the grocery broke the news to me that I’m a brunette! I’ve always prided myself on my golden blonde hair. I was sooooooo sad!

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