Question for DU lounge ladies--I'm female, 35 and turning gray

I've got very, very, very short strawberry blonde hair (think crew cut but cut with scissors and thinning shears). The strawberry is beginning to turn gray. I'll be 36 in September. I like the short, sharp look but I'm not sure about the gray.

Dye or not to dye?

a new short spikey do? If you have a nicely shaped head, that can look great and would look nice gray. I've noticed many Liberal ladies look nice naturally gray. It didn't work for me, so I color gently.

it lays flat but I've really noticed the gray lately.

I don't have a pic but I'm just wondering about trying to match the shade of blonde. If I did dye it, I wouldn't want it to be too blonde or too red. I guess I'm afraid of tipping that balance.

with a semi-permanent rinse and see how you like it. By keeping it that short, you'll be frequently cutting off any damaged/dried ends, so I think the color would continue to look natural - it seems often that the longer the hair is, the more evidence of dying is visible (esp. at the ends). Though, you'll have to be very careful of your scalp - if your hair is that short and fair, I'm sure some of your scalp shows thru and you don't want to walk around with a visible strawberry blond scalp (or maybe you don't particularly care about that -- ??).

I'm also going gray but my hair is longer and I've just gotten several colors highlighted in to mix with the gray...

Mine is longer, though, and gets a bit damaged. The point about it being short and thus trimmed of broken ends, etc., is a good one.

and I just dyed my hair (same color).

I have no problems with aging gracefully, but I'm just not ready for the gray. I have no plans for any surgery or botox, but I don't want to look old yet. Maybe when I'm like 60 and there's more gray than brown.

You are definitely too young to go gray and with your light color hair, it would likely just look dingy and flat

why don't you wait for a while. I think that gray/silver hair looks stunning on some people.

I'm trying not to freak out yet.

I had to buy reading glasses last week....

40 will NOT be pretty.

If the grey is somewhat silvery, you can pretend it's highlights! That's what I say to myself all the time!! It's much less noticeable with our hair color.

the gray would be less obvious. I mean, if you think about it, women PAY for that 'silvery' look. Why not give it a try for a while...if you really don't like it, you can always color later. Be careful, though. Red picks up color easily and gets brighter and so does gray. Whenever I color my hair, all the red in it Really comes out for a while.

covering up the gray gives me a boost. It's easier to cover up if you keep the color a little on the light side.

You could find a professional colorist who could probably match your original color very well.

That being said, some of my friends have gone gray, and they look fantastic. It is especially attractive when the style is short. :)

without a picture, but I'm not really into guys with colored hair. The silver is so dignified. Even more so if the hair is really short and light to begin with.

The wrong shade could cause your natural hair to match and your gray hairs to turn way too bright(hot roots, bright orange).A professional should know what to do to prevent that from happening.

If you're gonna dye, don't go with this namby-pamby sunlit honey gold crap.

Dye it Magenta, or Violent Violet or Crimson. Use a vegetable dye and go blue or green. Put in streaks. Be creative. It's hair, and the dye washes out. (At least, the ones I do wash out.)

I've got purple hair right now - chin-to-shoulder length, curly. It's naturally red, but summers at this altitude bleach it out so I tend to dye it all sorts of fun colors all summer long. It's fun, and even the most conservative, buttoned up people I work with are generally accepting of it.

On edit: I'm 30, work for a travel agency, and write.

then; not ready to be gray now at age 50. Really, though, it's a personal choice. And if you do decide to try a color and don't like it, since you wear your hair so short, it won't take long for the color to grow out.

Looooooooove that red! :-)

and my hair is natural blonde, a color I VERY RARELY SEE :)

It's women like me who keep Clariol in business.

I only dyed my hair a couple times but it looks too wierd on me. If ya like to dye it then go ahead and have fun with it. Do whatever is you. I personally intend to stick with my gray strands. (unless they bother me then I'll pull them out.)

Chances are you still look too young for a bunch of gray. I think gray looks nice after about age 50 or 60, and even then, a little frosting or highlighting is always a plus. Go for it.

But I would wait until the gray is about to get obvious. Nobody will notice 1 or 3 gray hairs against light-colored hair.

I'm 37 and I still look about 25, so if I saw any gray I would dye it. I think I have a couple of white hairs, but my hair color is light and they don't show. I've always had hairs that were so blonde as to be white anyway...

I started going gray when I was in my 20s, and there is still no way I'm ready for gray (I'm 43 now). My hair is my natural shade, only with haircolor to help. :) If you're not ready for gray, then semipermanent may be the best thing to try now.

shave it off. Did wonders for me.

but if you can afford it, try to find a good salon, they can do amazing things to keep your hair looking natural. Otherwise, try a light semi-permanent rinse at first to see if you can cover the gray without turning your hair all one color.

I will be 54 in July and just started getting grey/white at my temples. I will be going natural though. What will be will be. My hair is almost waist length.

I vote that you wait and see what happens. I'll bet you will look stunning :-).

and be sure you're okay with it.

If you talk to a hairdresser, he/she can suggest a good color. Sometimes going all-one-color can look odd - a professional could suggest how you might make it more natural looking.

My friends had an intervention for me - and told me "it's time" (just like those old commercials). It's more that the gray was making me look washed-out.