I am 33 years old and I have ash blonde hair. I have been perming my hair (every 2 years) since I was 14. I only use Paul Mitchell solon products and have been able to stay on top (most of the time) of the dry brittle ends, but over the past 4 or 5 years my hair has been getting darker. This is generally all over, but more noticeable at the roots. My hair is now almost like a dirty dishwater blonde (or maybe even dark strawberry) now and I am getting pretty scared.

Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening. It isnt possible for me to be a blonde all of my life and then go brown is it? PLEASE say 'no'!

The hair around my face, at the root is bleach blonde almost white, but after 1 or 2 cm it gets darker. I have long hair, down to about the middles of my back, so the 6 or 8 inches at the bottom are still lighter than the middle and root, but still not as light as it used to be.

HELP, I dont want to be any color but blonde. My mother was Norweigen (with ash blonde hair)& my father Irish (with very dark brown hair)- I want to cry whenever I think about becoming a brunett (no offense to those members with these colours).

Please help me, I dont know what to do & whenever I go to the salon, they just try to convince me to 'colour' my hair, which I have NEVER done - although I will colour like mad if I have to to stay blonde (LOL).

of course your haircolor changes with age. also hair on ends will be lighter due to sun exposure. also the water minerals will discolor hair especially blondes. iron in water turns blonde hair gold or red. if you want to stay blonde you have no choice but to try color. highligts would probably be a good choice. blonde is a diffucult color to maintain especially with age. its no big deal to color your hair just have a professional do it until you learn what you are doing

My biggest problem with coloring my hair is that I would no longer be able to perm it and due to the length I need a style that is easy to maintain & looks good. My hair is not straight naturally, it has 2 really horrible cow-licks in the front,it is straight to my neck then has a reverse wave at the neck and irregular waves to about bra line, then straight to the tips - it looks AWFUL, which is why I began perming it in the first place all those years ago. Before I permed it the first time, I used to spend 1 1/2 hours before leaving for school every day and curl my hair - another reason for perm. Is there anything else I could do with it. I NEVER blow dry it or use curling iron, I always let it dry naturaly and never use a braush - only a pick, so as to limit split ends and hair damage. Is there anything 'natural' that I could use to return my hair to blonde that would not stop me from perming my hair?

My hair holds a curl for a long time. like I said earlier, I only re-perm every 18 months to 2 years - when the top is too flat. The longest a perm has ever lasted was 1 1/2 years. If my hair was straight then I could do something with it or if it was curly, but half crazy-wavy & half straight is a VERY tough combo for style. My hair is very thick, but baby fine - I am S.O.L. huh?

I think I read in a magazine a few years ago about using only bottled water to wash your hair can help, is there any truth to this? Is it possible that if I was able to limit the chemicals in the water, that I might get my natural color back again? I thought I would be going white with age before my hair would change color. Does everyone's hair get darker with age?

I am also curious how long my hair could stand up to coloring before the coloring would destroy my hair completly? Also, how much would it cost to color so much hair & how long would the color last? Does anybody know?

I am torn, I want to stay blonde but I know once I use color, I will not be able to perm my hair again until every bit of the coloring has grown out - it took me 19 years to get it this long. I have always had long hair, except for the time my grandma gave me a 'pixie' and I have spent many years growing it back. I cant imagine not having long hair, so does this mean I have to accept my fate of new color?

Thanks for helping me, this may sound like a reall stupid problem to many people, but honestly it is a really big deal to me and I honestly dont know what to do or how to fix it.

Well, silly or not, it bothers you but I have to agree with the others - either accpet it or lighten it. No, I don't like dyed hair either so I don't do it,and my hair is down my back, too. But if it was me, and I had to choose between naturally dirty-blonde hair that's curly and healthy looking, or hair that's bleached out and going every which way down my back, guess what? I'm going to leave it exactly the way it is, keep on doing exactly what I've been doing, and find something else to worry about. Because if you think your natural color getting a little darker is such an awful color, bleached hair that's turned brassy or yellow isn't so attractive, either. Personally, I think you'd be nuts to do anything at all. If you're proud of the way your hair looks now, and you obviously take alot of pride in it, who the hell cares if it's a shade or two darker? For all you know, it just may look quite stunning with your coloring. But how will you ever know if you run out and bleach the dickens out of it right away? I think if you start bleaching it and going that route, it's only a matter of time before we read another post from you saying "HELP!!!!!!! My hair is falling out!!!!!" http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif
Leave it be, because I think if you don't, you'll have alot more hair problems than just changing color.

Be thankful for what you have, and ask us something we can actually answer.....like what kind of shampoo to use.

Take care.

I suppose you are exactly right. Thanks, I suppose I just needed someone to push me in the right direction - I don't want to colour my hair, so I will just have to accept whatever colour God chooses to change it to. Thanks again, I really do appreciate the honest feedback.

thats why highlighting would work. they dont keep doing the ends over and over again. if you only perm twice a year this should not be a problem. but do this professionally only and you will probably love it. with highlighting you also can go months without touch ups. i used to have very blonde hair but with age it turned dirty. adding highlights is great especially mixed with my natural color i get lots of complements and my hair is middle back lenght.