Hair Color
Wasn't sure where to post this question..... .but with the recent study about hair dyes and straighteners having a possible link to breast cancer has anyone stopped coloring their hair? I'm pretty sure my stylist thinks I'm a freak for asking what the ingredients are (she will get back to me). I've tried to let my hair grow out but am hating the color.....
Comments
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no but my health problems started a few years after I started dying my hair (to hide grays).. if there was a strong link wouldn't you think WAY more women would be getting breast cancer? My friend who is a hairstylist suggested henna, there are natural hair dyes. I have not tried them. I'm 37..... would be too salt and peppery. After a certain age I will let my hair be gray/silver, when it is the dominant color. If I get to be that old.
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I had genes that made me get my first grays in my 20's and gray hair and pimples are not a good fit!! I did the home dye stuff for years. When I was diagnosed though (age 49) I quit dying because I physically could not do it at that point and grew it natural. I figured at that point I really did not care since I had cancer and oh well too bad.
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I, too, started graying in my 20’s and colored until last year. I am 68 and decided to let the gray grow out and really love it. It’s mostly silver and I especially love not having to camp out at the hairdresser for color, highlights, deep conditioning, etc.
I used henna for many years and it gave my naturally medium brown hair a beautiful auburn color. Got lots of compliments on it. But by mid 30’s the gray was more dominant and the henna made it orange.....not a good look.
I began growing my hair out b4 my dx, so it has nothing to do w the recent info on hair dye. I’m not sure I would stop if I were still coloring.
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I don’t think a link has been proven, butthere are vegetable dyes that hair dressers can use.
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https://www.amazon.com/Going-Gray-Motherhood-Authenticity-Everything/dp/0316166618
Going Gray: What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Really Matters
Best. Book. Ever!
read the book and was curious if the author was as beautiful as she appeared on the book jacket. Went to a book signing and yep, she was beautiful, GRAY! Furthermore, her thoughts about going gray are brilliant. Her thoughts of why NOT to color are equally brilliant. Since publication I have recommended this book a dozen times.
one of her points is that coloring your hair dates you. Many women will wear a hair style and hair color that looked great at a younger point in their lives. Think about it....do you see women in their 60's with a Farah Fawcett hair cut and blond highlights circa 1975? Is it becoming on her? What about a 45 year old woman who has Jennifer Aniston's hair cut from 1995? The author tells us how looking at a photo of herself she wearing her Armani suit with dyed hair, she thought she looked fantastic, until she realized a gray co-worker, in the photo, looked a heck of a lot better. And that's when she decided to investigate whether a woman truly looks better with dyed hair....and investigate she did!
For me, it didn't take reading the book to make up my mind. I never dyed my hair and never even thought about doing it. Didn't need to read the book to realize that the right hair cut is all a woman needs...along with the right lipstick and the right color clothes. Haircut, lipstick and clothes do not need to be expensive. If you are thinking of going gray, or even just slightly curious about going gray...READ THE BOOK!BTW....her husband, Kurt Anderson,was at the book signing and looked at his beloved wife glowingly!
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I dunno. I’m pretty sure I won’t make any changes to my routine. That said, I’ve never used any at-home hair color. I feel like that’s even harsher than the salon stuff. And several years into my color routine, my stylist told me she wasn’t actually coloring my hair—just lightening it (I guess what used to be called“frosting”). A year and a half PFC I’m still waiting for my hair to get back to normal. It’s still pretty curly and only maybe 4” long—I still haven’t had my first haircut. I just want it to be the way it was. :-(
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my hairdresser uses a natural color. The only unnatural part is the hydrogen peroxide. I think it's Lanza
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voraciousre, I have found what the author said about haircut, clothes color and lipstick to be true for me. Once I grew out my gray I started wearing more jewel toned clothes, got a great haircut (similar to Jane Fonda’s current cut) and just wear tinted sunscreen, a little blush and lipstick. I think other makeup, especially eye shadow, can make me a little garish looking. Getting ready for the day is a much shorter activity!
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IF my hair color caused my BC (big if IMO), that ship has sailed. I got my first grey at 21 and much as BCinCO said, zits and grey hair are a weird combo.
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I stopped using chemical dyes 3.5 years before my diagnosis, was using henna. Now I am not using anything - got tired of henna, even though it looked great on me
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Thank you everyone for your thoughts..... I will probably continue with the coloring, I just hate the ashy color my hair is. My stylist does a good job and I don't think the color or cut is dated by any stretch...
All these dang studies, I swear everything causes cancer. I need to stop reading them unless they find something definite.....
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yoga! Yep! Not only do you save time wearing less make up...but you spend less time at the salon! Just think of how much time can be spent doing other things! The author also discusses feeling liberated when getting invitations...and not having to do math in your head and figuring out when your hair needs to be colored based on the invite....
that said....a good haircut is priceless....there is NOTHING that dyed hair can bring to the table if the haircut looks dated or unbecoming...and...as we age...less makeup is more! I wear a lip stain or sheer lipstick with a lip pencil underneath. No more mascara or eye shadow during the day. Just a smudge of an eye pencil and a sheer foundation with SPF and a highlight. Done!Clothes? I have found but a few colors that look good on me with my salt and pepper hair. My wardrobe is filled with, black, white and gray clothes. Then I add just a touch of color in the form of necklaces, earrings, scarves, shoes, vests and/ or bags. Again...keeping it simple...less is more in every department from head to toe
i let my hair stylist do as he pleases with my hair...together, we must be doing something right because yesterday I was mistaken for my grandson’s mother! It was also my birthday! Best. Gift . Ever! -
Similar story here, my first greys were in my 20s. So I have dyed my hair since mid 20s because of that. Prior to my diagnosis at 44 I was getting so tired of doing it. I wanted to quit and let it be grey, but my kids wouldn't hear it! "My classmates will say I have an old mom! Only when you'll be a grandma' they said!" Post taxotere/carboplatin I just let it be. It is not even grey, it is mostly white. Lately, after two years of white, I've got bored and I asked my kids what color should I dye it now. To my surprise now no one wants me to do it anymore!!! Don't even thing about it, they say! Go figure!
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Ok, this is not just about hair but about the general topic of how we feel about how we look, in particular after age 40 when many women typically start worrying about looking not-young. This book is so much fun and gives great advice in my opinion:
Style Evolution: How to Create Ageless Personal Style in Your 40s and Beyond by Kendall Farr
Ageless is the key word here. If you look good and feel it, age (or hair color!) is not an issue. This book helps me deal with the ways cancer treatment affects my appearance.
There is a similar book for younger women: The Pocket Stylist by Kendall Farr
Happy Birthday, voraciousreader!
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I started coloring my hair decades ago - I was a redhead who was raised to be super self-conscious about it. So I went from frosting to full-on coloring. I was also perming, so I wound up with seriously damaged hair after about five years. I finally went back to natural, then started using a matching color when the gray started appearing. Since red hair usually goes just pale, not gray, I eventually switched to a very light blond, and used it off and on for the last 20 years. When I didn't color it, the front looked great, but the back had a distinct dead mouse color. Ick. Now I've noticed that the back has caught up to the front, and it's a natural pale streaky blond. I guess the stress on my body put the graying in overdrive. Thank you, cancer? 🙄😁
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DAT! That is hilarious! That situation underscores how we need not be influenced by our loved ones with respect to our appearances. We all need to do what makes us happy! That said...I trust my hair stylist’s advise and I have one or two friends whose opinions I depend on to be brutality honest when it comes to my appearance.
Speaking of being brutality honest...my dear friend’s husband would often ask me WHEN I was going to start coloring my hair. The answer of course was “ Never.” But that didn’t stop him from asking over and over again. Fast forward to my daughter’s wedding. Husband shows up and asks what did I do to my hair? He said my hair looked beautiful. I told him I did NOTHING. He then said he never realized how BEAUTIFUL gray hair could look!
one of my dear cousins got breast cancer and needed chemo. Before cancer, she had the most beautiful, long auburn hair with dyed highlights. Following chemo, she cut her hair into a pixi cut and no longer colored her hair. Her mother always had worn a pixi haircut with natural salt and pepper hair. Both mother and daughter could make heads turn. My cousin never looked back and continues to wear a pixi cut with her natural colored hair and has never looked more beautiful. One of her beauty secrets....since the texture of her hair was affected by the chemo, she now uses hair wax to spike some of her hair tips... -
The one thing that bothers me about some of the posts in this thread is the idea that we all color our hair or wear make up (or dress however) to look young.
I do not. I don't care about that, not one bit. I wear y make up because I like it, not in some attempt to shave years off my appearance and the same thing is true with coloring my hair.
Fact is, I did grow it out about 10 years ago because I was curious. And the color is great, it's silvery. But what I found very disconcerting was that visually I'd lost the top of my head because now it read almost blonde and I didn't like that. So after about 18 months, I returned to coloring it.
Here's the other thing. I am 100% in favor of all of us making the choices we're comfortable with regarding hair, make up, clothing, the music we listen to, the movies we watch . . . you get the idea. I don't feel a need to convert anyone over to my way of living. It would be great to have the same courtesy in return.
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edj! As I said in my previous post...we all need to do what makes us happy! And....what makes us happy one day...might make us miserable the next....
I think our taste is always evolving...and sometimes, sadly because of circumstances, we are thrust into making decisions that we might not make under normal circumstances...so...find your comfort zone and...like the Queen might say....carry on! Or...as they say in Latin...Carpe Diem... and I might add with a touch of lipstick!
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edj, I can see why you might feel this way. I haven’t gotten this vibe from this thread, but appreciate that it could seem judgmental. I personally decided to stop coloring simply b/c I was sick of all the time (and$$) I was spending at the salon. I loved the color my hairdresser gave me, just too much time. As for makeup, I love that too. It just is not working for me anymore.....I feel like basically I end up looking like Bette Davis in Baby Jane. All that said, I don’t think gray hair necessarily ages us (why would young women go gray if it did). Both my sisters (75 & 62) both color and say as long as they make hair color they are using it. Ultimately we all need to do what we’re comfortable with and follow our preferences. So, sport your hair & makeup in the way that helps you feel like you.
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I started occasionally highlighting my hair for fun in my mid-30's. My family grays slowly so I didn't start getting any grays until about 40. At that time I started regularly dying my hair back to the color it was in my 20's. Now, at 50, I have a little patch of gray on the top of my head. I will continue dying, I like how my hair looks and get lots of compliments on it. I admit I also like the fact that I'm often told I look a lot younger than I am - not afraid to say it!
The study that recently came out was from the Sister Study, so every woman in the study had a sister with breast cancer already, which raises their risk. Also, since I've already had breast cancer, as edj3 said, that ship has sailed!
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Thank you edj3 and SummerAngel!! I didn't intend for this to become a debate about color vs grey and was beginning to feel color shamed.....lol....
I just wanted to know if anyone had read the results from the study and if it had changed their minds about using colors and straighteners...
That said, I made an appointment with my stylist for next week for color. Can't wait, this ashy, grayish color makes me feel old and drab, so I'm done with it!
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Hi ghostie, this study has been on my mind, so I was glad to see your post. I'm growing my hair out right now to see if I can be happy without coloring. I've colored since my mid-thirties to disguise my grays, but have been more minimalist since my diagnosis...I would get highlights rather than trying to fully cover my grays. Lately I've let my hairdresser use a "nonpermanent" color but I don't really care for it. I'm going to see if I can stand my untreated hair for awhile before I explore options.
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My niece was going gray and she got a fabulous dark blue dye job that's mostly just on the gray areas. It looks beautiful with the remaining dark brown. She's only in her 40s. I'm very close to 70, and my hair's REALLY light, but if I ever get tempted to go back to coloring it, I'd like streaks of a fun color - but probably in pastel shade.
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My hairdresser said the repercussions from the article is hurting her business. That said, I had regular highlights added until BC. (pull the strands through the cap type) And before that I used a product called "Sun In" and sat in the sun for hours (another no-no). After I lost my hair to chemo, it came back in brown and all the grey was gone. Go figure. Now it's back to 1/2 and 1/2 - but tired grey mixed with dull brown. Since I haven't had the patience to grow it back to shoulder length, I need to figure out how highlights will work on short hair.
I don't wear any makeup, but then I never did more than occasional light eye shadow & lashes or a quick swipe of lipstick. My lashes are hard to do now since they never grew back long & luscious like before BC. Oh right - thinking about when we were all gorgeous before BC. Or maybe just when we were young???
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minus....for “tired” hair....try this! This stuff is the bomb! ....or ANY “shine” product...there are oils and sprays....i use both depending on how staticky my hair is..
https://www.amazon.com/RUSK-Deepshine-PlatinumX-Shine-Spray/dp/B079KQTLHZ -
VR - looks like just spray on after washing & before drying?
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After chemo when my hair started growing back I learned I am completely gray 🙁. I colored my hair before BC and I knew I had some gray , but sheesh. I’ve never used hair color you buy over the counter out of the box. I have always gone to a salon and I believe the color my stylist uses is less harsh. There are just some things I refuse to give up and this is one of them. I also still drink Diet Coke because I refuse to give that up too. I’d rather die happy than miserable lol
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minus...i put it on dry hair... just a drop goes a long way....i spray it into my hands and then work it into my hair...
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https://www.sallybeauty.com/hair/textured-hair/cur...
Minus...i use this too... i love this product because my hair is very straight and flies away and gets staticky. You don't need to get this brand...but there are sooo many on the market that really make hair shine...any of them will do. Just stay away from products with too much alcohol. That will dry out hair and scalp.
I also spritz which hazel on my scalp while ahowering once or twice a week. Get a jug of it at sally under the name sea breeze.... Also use it on my face and neck in the morning.sally has a sensitive akin formula.
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Spray-on hair shine products are great. I spritz it on my palm two or three times and work it through my hair while it's damp after shampooing - it's a great detangler. Another product I like to use to liven up my drab pale blondish hair is good old VO-5 in a tube. Just a tiny bit rubbed in the palms, then work through hair to condition, or pat on for shine and control.
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