Vanity - hair color

I've got dark hair and have been very careful to only hit the gray roots the last year. It's time, and with school starting, I want to look my best. I've been thinning for years before diagnosed, and have always been careful.
I initially thought I would let it go gray.... chickened out.
Anyone have any experience? Thanks!
Karen :)

[nygirl7]

I dont think color is anywhere near as bad as bleach.....I let my hair (what i had left of it anyway) grow out to natural brown while on tx, but I wore wigs lots and lots of wigs ;)

[screaming48]

I have stopped coloring mine, or foiling, and it does have alot of gray right in the front, kind of like a skunk. I haven't seen my real color in years! I decided to go ahead and let the color grow out and cut it short for tx, I don't think I want to bother with going to the hairdresser and smelling all the chemicals while on tx and you really don't know what your skin absorbs.... going to wear wigs anyway like nygirl if it starts thinning too much, can try all sorts of styles and colors lol. :)

[cctex]

:)  I used to color mine red for years.  I have green eyes and really pale sking, so it looked like it was my natural color.  When I let it grow out to light brown all kinds of people thought I was coloring it!!!!  I'm just having some grey come in now.  Aren't there some "natural" colors these days?  BF should know some ideas....maybe a dark henna?  IDK, since I've been out of that loop for a few years now.  After this treatment I may go back to being RED again!!!!  :)  Hope you are feeling okay today and that your legs aren't cramping too much.  I could go up to the school and get a head start on getting ready, but I just want to have my last 3 days as easy as possible.  I spent two or three weeks at the beginning of my break on the phone with those corporations and insurance people, I feel like I need the rest now!!  (And I really would just like to stay home!!!)  Have a good afternoon, watch an old movie or turn on the radio, have a little down time for yourself.  OXOX lizzard

[mykids247]

the salon I go to uses Loreal professional color. No peroxide and no smell at all. I cant imagin not coloring my hair I have bought and paid for this natural blonde hair for MANY years now, I have short but very thick hair. Soooo if it does thin I should still have enought left. My dr. said that in all the years he has been practicing (he is a hepatologist) he has had only one loose her hair. Thining yes. So I will hope for the best and take what I get. :) I also only have roots done about every 4 weeks and highlights twice a year that I could go without.

[alagirl]

I'll tell ya, I was blonde before treatment.  I stopped dying my hair blonde during treatment because A) I didn't have the strength to bathe or wash my hair, much less color it (I literally think there were mushrooms or some other type of fungus growing in it at one point), B) Everything smelled so weird it would have been just one more thing that made me nauseous, C) It was the beginning of what I like to call my broke phase (I keep calling it a phase because if it's a phase that means it will pass) and it's expensive to be blonde, and D) at about six months at least two thirds of my hair fell out anyway.

Now I'm a brunette.  I do have all of my hair back again (and more importantly, my eyelashes), but I'm sticking with the darker hair.  It's cheaper for me and there's less upkeep.  I'd love to be blonde again, but I'm just too tired, and still a little too poor. ;)

[oceanblue701]

I highlighted and colored off and on all the way through 48 weeks of Inf/Riba. I have always had an ash blonde hair color but have highlighted seasonally and died back to ash blonde every time highlights lightened too much. The salon used non peroxide hair color (i don't know about the highlights) . I did not see any damage. Hair thinned maybe 20 - 30 % . It still seemed full to me and actually stayed soft too and i never had any rashes or any problem WHICH i was very worried about due to allergies and rashes as a kid but nothing ever happened. You could try it and just back off quickly if it is a problem. If you can get away with it, it sure is a mood lifter.

[mykids247]

Hey Alagirl, seeing as my true color now is "no color" my hair is pure white 100% the light, very light blonde is actually working very well. Roots dont stick out like snow on a black roof. LOL!! Gonna try and hope for the best. Lets hope that hair color is all I have to worry about. That would be very nice.

[peaches45]

Hi Karen, How is it going? Hope you are doing good. So, ? for you all, is it okay to color our hair or is it bad for our liver? I know everything we breathe goes throught the liver right??

Becki

[pcds]

I was born with dark brown hair and went gray early.  I have been coloring my hair for 20 yrs to brunette.  I prep for tx I started going lighter so I wouldn't need to color as much, then before treatment pretty much took the color out to silver.  But it's not my gray.  It's hard to go gray w/o looking bad.  I came close then decided before treatment to get a wig and it is working great.  I plan to use my wig until I am completely my natural color and my hair has grown back. I don't have to think about it my hair and how it looks plus I can leave my hair alone which is good during tx.  I will keep the wig on until treatment is over and my hair has returned.  That is my plan.  Everyone at work thinks I look great.  

[joemc34606]

Sorry can't help you with this one, ha ha
Joe

[Puppyluvurr]

Here's a little secret I like ladies. I buy Sun In and I just spray a little on my hair and comb thru, then u can either use the blowdryer or go let it sun dry outside. Keep doing this for about a week  or less if you reach desired color. If you don't want to go all the way blonde.the sun in makes it look like you have really nice highlights and the gray is not noticeable. It just blends in as highlights . When my hair roots start showing I just spray a little on the roots and blow dry. After about twice the roots blend back in. It's really quick , easy and cheap. Easy on your hair too. I have babyfine hair and it has never bothered it.

[Puppyluvurr]

My natural hair color is med brown. I just go light enough to hide the gray as highlights . But you can go all the way blonde if u want. I went totally blonde once and it was still easy to keep up. Sorry I have no tips for going dark.

[crossroadsec]

Thanks so much for all the advice. This is def a post I'll reread through the next 44 weeks. I've been using a senstive scalp home color for a while. I also bought a Henna kit, but am afraid I'll go orange cuz of reddish highights. Sun In? Whoa! I go blonde so ez. I'm prolly gonna end up w/ a wig. (or 2 or 3) I'm gonna do my roots one more time the day before school starts. hmmm. Might oughta buy the wig first. Yikes!
About the chemicals. I've been cautious since diagnosed last year. Put it on, Cover w/ a cap and turn on every fan in the house. I've also stretched time between by using eyeliner on the roots. You girls are da bomb! xo Karen