I used to be a hairdresser, not a colour specialist though. I do want to add that talking to your hairdresser about your colour vs graying hair and having an update to your file is due. Products have changed immensely since the 80's when I worked so I cannot comment on today's salon products. I can say that 'baby shampoo' is not a light shampoo like many people think. It's actually harsher than adult shampoo because it's designed to remove the extra oil babies have that can build up quickly like a waxy deposit - years ago it was called 'cradle cap' if not washed off well enough. I do not recommended using baby shampoo on coloured hair at all. Hair can behave in many different ways, especially if you have been colouring your hair for years. Sometimes the hair gets overworked causing the cuticles to stretch open so far they don't hold colour well anymore, become fragile. Years ago my own bleach blonde (Madonna look) got so worn out I actually had to have just the colour (no peroxide) first put on to soak in and put a base colour down and then do the normal colouring with the peroxide to hold the colour. Like I said that was over 2 decades ago and products change. If you go to a local salon that does not have a colour specialist you could ask your hairdresser to talk to their beauty product supplier or call the 1 800 number for the product itself to speak to the manufacturer colour specialist to see if there is something else they can do. If you are not happy with your local salon, go to another one. Ask what the name of the professional product is that the hairdresser is using on your hair and how much peroxide is being used. It's your hair, you have a right to know. Maybe it's time for an adjustment. If you don't tell your hairdresser what is going on, they won't know how you are feeling. Just my 2 cents. Here's a site I refer to myself. Here is a link that might be useful: Hair Boutique

When I hit 70 I hope I am ready to quit pretending..but I am not there yet. I think it also depends on the way you "gray". Mine is not attractive and I really find it bothers me that people do not know I am/was a natural red head. I used to have to deal with a lot of ribbing about it. It is part of my identity. My dearly departed MIL had the most beautiful WHITE hair. I never knew her any other way but her sons sure have fun stories of the few years she fought the battle. If mine were white--not ick gray I might let it go some day but it isn't. I hoped it would go brown but that didn't happen either. I just got back from Sally and have my Gray Magic..the box says 10 drops per oz. Yayagirl said only 4. I will start slow with the four.

I've no idea whether has to do with tipping, just my subjective spontaneous thoughts I was cleaning houses too in my youth(interesting how all these random jobs enrich one's experience), I know what a hard labor it is, and I forgive my cleaning lady driving me nuts with coming whenever she pleases, etc, because she's a nice person and a good cleaning lady and we grew attached. And of course I give her/her helpers Christmas gift and Easter gift yet a great stylist-it's a level or artistry there. it's rarer. I embarrassed myself once by kissing a hand of my previous hair stylist in NYC(the one who recommended the current salon)...I don't know what I was thinking, I was just so happy and grateful to him I took his hand and kissed it. He looked very touched but very overwhelmed. The public was slightly puzzled)) I like my cleaning lady but I'm not kissing her hand when overcame by emotion)) Her hands have less of this magic power of transformation. I had several great stylists in my life-I lost them only when either they moved or I moved away, and life taught me to ask for their reference on the next stylist wherever I go, in within their powers of course to give me that info. In NYC I had to take a train and then subway to get to my stylist Here, it's an hour drive without traffic and minimum two hours with. It's very tiresome to even to go there, to that salon of theirs. Yet I go(much rarer than I should, because far away, and to save money), and I tip, and as you already know- I sometimes do silly things like kissing a stylist's hand in public)) It's not like I'm crazy to tip, of course, it's a lot of money. And they're much more affluent folks, these salon owners, than I could ever be. Like, they don't need this tip to survive. At all. Not on this top of the mountain they were able to get to. But they're special kind of artists. That's how it is. Great stylist-whole different level. It's a very hard and often ungrateful job that takes years and passion to master and there's huge talent involved, in their case, a talent I was lucky to meet and am not about to loose until it depends on me It's customarily to tip here-okay then I'll tip It's not customarily to kiss one's hand)) especially-not for a woman to kiss a man's hand. In public. lol. I'm just chanelling my appreciation in a culture-appropriate way)))

I had my hair highlighted for about ten years, but I found that to be too expensive after it got up to around $200 or more each trip. I tried to do it myself a few years back and accidentally bleached it white (which I found hilarious). I was letting it grow out and the ladies in the salon would ask to be allowed to fix it and of course, they would lighten all of my hair back to the same point which drove me nuts so I took the plunge and lived with the line until I could cut it all off. I found out my natural hair color had turned almost a light brown after being darker blonde. I'm getting a little grey coming in now, but I'm hoping it will blend ok. I'm not coloring it myself.