A woman can color her hair anytime, but when you begin to gray it is the time to really decide.  Some women confidently choose to go gray, and that’s fine but too many women, confused, perhaps by so many color options, simply do nothing, let the gray take its inevitable course and then feel it’s too late.  One women I know, for example, just “didn’t get around” to doing anything about her gray and then hated the way she looked when she was “suddenly” gray all over (it actually took several years). When she and her husband decided to move to Santa Fe, she saw her opportunity, went light brown on moving day and has felt better—looked years younger—ever since.

Coloring does take off years and also can add volume and shine as well as improve the texture of the hair. (Shafts of hair gone gray grow in coarser.)  In general, the lighter your skin tone, the lighter you can go; even one or two shades lighter as you get older will give you a big lift.

Eye color goes with any hair color, so it’s skin tone you want to pay attention to. In fact, the contrast of blue eyes against black hair or brown eyes against blond hair are very attractive. Consider too, your natural color.  Medium brown hair always “convert” well to ash brown, which itself can take blond highlights.

Dark brown beginning to fade or go gray will look great “translated” to auburn or medium brown.  If you go blond, it should never be one solid color blond, because natural blond hair never is.  If you’re over the age of twenty-five, it’s best to keep away from white-blond shades; they can look lovely, but they often “read” more gray-white than the white-blond you had in mind.

Highlights, which last about two months, are attractive and give a natural look with both blonde and brown shades.  Thin highlighting streaks are sometimes known as weaving. The best way to start changing your hair color is gradually: lighter, darker to redder by stages—by increments.

When you change hair color; be sure to adjust the color of your eyebrows as well. This is very important and often overlooked.

Sometimes hair stylist do a good job with color; colorists specialize in color alone. If you’re going to have your color done professionally, ask your stylist and discuss at length what you want—less is always more, at least at first: a few highlights to start, a shade or two lighter or darker. Once you’ve colored, always be sure to ask for a copy of your formula, in case you need it while traveling or if the colorist isn’t available the next time your roots need attention.

If you decide to color your own hair at home, spend some time at the hair color isle in the drugstore. Among the better drugstore brands are L’Oreal, Clairol and Revlon—they have great instructions and toll free phone number to call if you have a question. The color charts are excellent and they’ll show you the shades that will revitalize your own color: dark brown goes with dark red or light brown, for instance; medium brown goes with medium red or very dark blond. Stick close to your natural shade, in other words.

There are many kinds of products to choose from as well:

If the label reads temporary, the product is more of an enhancing shampoo to enrich your own color. Results will last a single washing only.

Semi permanent, which last about a month, is a color lift to enrich your own color and add body; it won’t cover all the gray and it won’t lighten—but it will give drab hair a vitality boost.

A subcategory of semi permanent is demi permanent, which last a couple weeks longer and fades gradually, without leaving a clear root demarcation. These products can lighten a bit better than semi permanent, but they won’t cover all the gray.

Permanent colors are just that: they last until the roots grow out. They’ll lighten, darken, cover gray and change the color entirely, and they work by removing your own color and replacing it with the shade you’ve chosen.  This can be hard on the hair, so never use permanent color yourself if your hair is permed or straightened.

When applying color at home, just follow the directions.  High lightening, which requires that you wrap foil around skinny strands of hair on top of your head and around your face, is tough to do yourself, so practice separating and wrapping the strands before you actually use the color.

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