Deciding to ‘embrace the gray’ or not
Dear Answer Angel Ellen:
In a recent column, I read your advice on how to color your roots while we’re stuck at home. I have done this before, it generally looks ... OK. But now my roots, which are vastly more than just “roots,” are taking over. I shudder to think what they will look like by the time we can return to salons. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s time to “embrace the gray?” Any thoughts?
— Casey
Dear Casey: My guess is that more and more women will be examining their gray roots and thinking that now’s the time to embrace the gray as you put it. And that’s fine. It will save time and money, that’s for sure — especially if you’ve been getting your roots done in a salon every three or four weeks. My curly hair guru, Lorraine Massey, surprised me and embraced her gray. I never thought THAT would happen — and she’s even written a handbook: “Silver Hair: Say Goodbye to the Dye and Let Your Natural Light Shine” (amazon.com, $10 and up).
Some women look great with gray or white hair.
But, and this is a big but, there is a strong chance that going gray will add about 10 years to your look. I know many readers are going to disagree and I respect that. You asked for my thoughts and I think that gray or white hair will age you. Personally, I’m not going there.
And while we’re on the subject, I’ve received a huge scolding from readers who took issue with my instructions on how to color roots at home. I wrote that it was messy and the dye stains everything it touches. All true. But many (very many) of you said I made it sound too difficult and they’ve been doing it for years with great results. I should emphasize it’s not that hard — and worth trying. Thanks to the majority of home dyers who were more diplomatic than Michelle B., who wrote, “Plastic bags, Vaseline, stained skin? Oh come on! Maybe you were expecting a seizure while dying your hair.”
Readers also had thoughts and tricks when coloring at home …
Sharon: “You mention protecting counters and walls (from dye stains), but what about floors? I spread an old beach towel on mine for protection. Also, for touch-ups around my hairline, especially by my temples, I use a stick I purchased from Sally Beauty (sallybeauty.com), ’Tween Time made by Roux. It resembles a really fat lipstick, comes in colors and you just wet it and apply to the gray — works great! Bargain at $7.99 as it lasts forever!”
Lesley W: “I developed the courage and confidence to try coloring at home by first using the eSalon service.
It’s a great way to start if you’ve never dyed your hair before; you send them pictures and they develop a color blend to your specifications. It’s moderately priced and you can customize how often you want a shipment (esalon.com, $22-$27.50).
Barbara H.: “I was flabbergasted by the dire warnings you gave about dyeing your own hair. Just take a little time and care, follow the directions on the box and you’ll be fine.”
Nancy L.: I swear by Clairol Root Touch-up Permanent Creme. I only mix half a box at a time (drugstores, $7).”
Debbie G: “If you can wash your hair you can color it.”
Dear Answer Angel Ellen:
I wrote to you several years ago about the scourge of cropped pants and how unattractive they made me, a short woman, look. Now I’m seeing wide legged cropped pants in ads and catalogs and on the shopping channels. I ask who would look good in those?
— Carolyn W.
Dear Carolyn: Nobody. Call them what you will, they’re capris. Capris aren’t flattering and these widelegged capri-length hybrids are even less so.
Dear Answer Angel Ellen:
My beautiful leather sofa — the centerpiece of my living room — is peeling, bubbling and flaking. How can I fix it?
— Marilyn M.
Dear Marilyn: They might have called it “leather” when you bought it but leather repair pros will tell you that your first mistake was to buy a “bonded leather” sofa. Yes, this recycled product — made from leather scraps that otherwise would be thrown away — is eco-friendly. No, it won’t hold up like top grain leather — which doesn’t bubble, peel or flake. You know you’re in trouble when the manufacturers of products to repair your problem say in their own promotional materials, “If you try to repair this kind of leather and it doesn’t last, please remember it’s not the repair products that fail, it’s the bonded leather that fails.” Rub ’n Restore Inc. on YouTube shows an attempted repair job on a bonded leather desk chair. It’s a multistep, multiproduct, multiday repair job. It looks good. If you’re just going to put the chair — same goes for your sofa — in a corner and never sit on it again you’re fine. Rub ’n Restore then actually did test its repair job for a month by actually using the chair. Conclusion: “Do not waste your time or your money attempting to restore this. It’s destined for the garbage.” Yes, there are multiple videos on
YouTube that offer step-bystep DIY fixes for your sofa, but you’re only buying some time before the repair job fails and you’re sofa shopping.