Back in the days when dinosaurs walked the earth and men carried clubs and dragged women around by their hair, my grandfather dyed his hair. (I’m kidding, of course. Men didn’t really carry clubs.) His contemporaries were going gray or losing their hair altogether. He, on the other hand, maintained a full head of auburn-colored hair. Genetics prevented him from going bald, but he got his hair color out of a bottle.
I’m fortunate enough to have Grandpa’s hair genes and except for a slightly receding hairline, I’m not yet follicle-challenged. As I age, my hair lightens in color. Unfortunately, it’s not due to the bleaching effect of the sun, but my hair turning gray. I was getting concerned when every time I went to get my hair cut, more and more of those “threads of gold" were turning silver. Finally, after several months of internal debate, I decided to follow in Grandpa’s steps and colored my hair at home. It was surprisingly easy, and I’m very pleased with the results. For you guys who are considering covering up some of the gray, or thinking about making a change in your look, don’t grab something off the shelf and go with it. Planning ahead prepares you for the end result and allows for opportunities to make changes along the way. Here are some tips that will help ease the process.
Change Your Mindset
First, realize that society today doesn’t view a man who colors his hair as a sissy or a weakling. You can thank shows like “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and the advent of the metrosexual for that. Second, realize that taking pride in your appearance – your hair, skin, clothing – shows self-respect and courtesy towards others. You don’t have to look like a scruffy Neanderthal to make people realize you’re a male! Finally, changes in our lives that make us feel better about ourselves help to reduce stress and improve quality of life. So get over the hangups and get started!
Set Your Goals
Decide what it is you want to accomplish by making this change. Are you interested in covering your gray? Do you want to refresh your natural hair color? Are you looking for a sun-bleached look, or do you want highlights? Is your goal to make a drastic change that people will notice right away, or do you want a more gradual change? It may sound trite, but planning the end result will help determine the process necessary to reach your desired goal.
Do Your Homework
Now that you’ve established your goal, run out and grab a box of hair color off the shelf and get started – NOT! There are options that you need to research before you start applying those chemicals to your hair. If you want to cover up gray hair gradually, your best bet might be one of the formulas you use every day after shampooing that progressively brings back your natural color. You might prefer to make the change all at once by using a do-it-yourself coloring product that you can find in any drug, discount, or grocery store. If you’re not sure of the color you want, you can purchase temporary color treatments that fade out after several shampoos. And don’t forget about the beauty supply stores. They have a wide variety of colors, conditioners, bleaches, and other products to help you achieve the look you desire.
If you’re thinking, “Okay, forget this, it’s too complicated," you haven’t thought about a powerful resource to help you decide which route to take. Your hair care professional (barber, hair stylist) has experience in this area. Talk to him or her, explaining what you want to accomplish. You can get some very good advice on what products would work best for you, and even what color to use. Oh, and if your wife colors her hair, you’ve got another resource to turn to for information. You might even be able to convince her to help you out with the coloring process!
Do a Dry Run
Okay, so you know what you need to buy and how to use it. So you make your purchases, head home, and immediately put your product of choice in your hair. WRONG! Especially with products that color all at once, you want to test your hair first to see how the color will take. After all, each person’s hair is different, and what works well on one person’s hair may not work as well on another’s. You can mix your color and try it on a strand of your hair in a location that won’t show up. Or, try this tip: For a few days, collect those stray hairs that get caught in your comb or brush. Then make a bundle out of them by using tape to hold one end of the hairs together. Color that sample, and when you’re finished, you can hold it up to your head to compare the before-and-after versions. If you like what you see, THEN you can start the process!
Follow Directions!
Guys, this is the part that kills most men. We are notorious for NOT wanting to read the manual. We’d rather just hit the ground running and do what needs to be done. Try that with hair color and you’re likely to find that you’ve damaged your hair. (You can get away with that when you’re 20. You can’t when you’re 50. In many cases, you don’t have spare hair follicles you can afford to damage!) For the first few attempts, follow your product’s directions explicitly. If the instructions say to wash out after 20 minutes, then wash out after 20 minutes, not after 25 or 30.
Evaluate and Modify
A day or so after you’ve completed the process, go back to your hair care professional and have him or her see the final result. Explain what product you used and how you applied it. Listen to any suggestions he or she might have regarding changes in processing, color, etc. Utilize that person’s experience to make the necessary changes the next time you color your hair. You may find you need to let the color stay on a few minutes longer for your hair to accept the color more readily. You may determine another color would work better for you. In any case, this is the time when you can start playing, making small changes (notice the word “small") and tweaking the process until you end up with the color you truly want.
Gentlemen, coloring your hair isn’t that hard. Women do it all the time and they generally get good results. With a little effort in the research department, a little mentoring from your hair care professional, and a willingness to follow instructions, you can take off a few years and hold back some of the ravages of time for a little while longer.
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