Bench Talk: Hair - To Colour or Not to Colour?

To (roughly) quote Shakespeare, "that is the question."

On one of my earlier posts I wrote about the troubles with my hair, http://conversationsatthepark.blogspot.com/2009/04/rare-gift.html. Being of Jamaican heritage and mixed blood I am white skinned with blue eyes and Afro hair. I am in the routine of 'relaxing' my hair to make it more manageable. If I didn't I would have to keep it in a short Afro. My hair is very fine and light so it will not hold a braid or twist and frizzes out of control in no time! So, every three months or so, off I go to the beauty salon to get my hair straightened, (relaxed)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relaxer.
Now, the grey is creeping in a an alarming rate! I didn't mind the few here and there, but now I have a skunk stripe growing from my forehead back and all sorts of grey everywhere else! So, picture a white skinned, blue eyed, light brown Afro hair with a skunk stripe and grey highlights!!!
To colour or not to colour? That is my question. Your feedback is appreciated.
(Carolin) I think we should change your name. For now on we will call you Flower. Remember the skunk from Bambi? It is very fitting cause you have a stench about you, no,no,no just Jokes (as the teenagers say) . You love flowers and plants and such, and you say you have this white stripe thing happening. I am so blind cause I don't remember seeing a skunk thing on your head. But not to worry I will be looking for it now! (Sunshine) Maybe you can live under my front steps Flower. I have to colour my hair as I get a head band (that's what Little Miss Sunshine calls it) of gray at the front of my hair. Gray hair and a hair net, not such a pretty picture. Personally, I have discovered that in a hair net everyone looks like a Nonna (grandmother) no matter what their age.
But seriously Cathy, I totally relate to your hair thing. Well not the Afro thing, or the thin thing, or the fine thing, or the Jamaican thing. But I do have grey hair!!! For a long time now I have talked about going to get highlights and low lights for my hair. I was hoping it would help to hide the grey. There is a hair salon near me that has a special on 50% off foils, but I don't know anyone who has been there to know if they are good. I am afraid of coming home with the patterned wallpaper stripe look (yuck). I find the home colour kits don't do well with covering the grey and I don't like the hair growth line you get after only three weeks. I actually don't mind the colour of my hair I just don't like the grey.
Carolin, I actually thought that your hair was highlighted. You are right, you do have great hair.
Cathy I have always told you that I love your hair no matter what you do with it. I have never noticed that your hair is thin as you have so much of it. My favourite is when you leave it natural and wear a head band. I think that it really brings out your blue eyes and it's different. I really think that it suits you so much. I also love it relaxed.
I have to take the little one to the dentist this afternoon and the hair salon is in the same plaza so I think I will go talk to them. Later the same day: So I stopped by the hair salon while the little one was at the dentist. This what they told me $45.00 for hair cut, $65.00 for a colour (little darker blond then what I am now) $90.00 for highlights and finally $20.00 for a toner. For a grand total of $210.00 plus taxes and tip! I am used to spending $25.00 every 6 months or so for a hair cut that's it. Needless to say I won't be getting my hair done anytime soon. When I was in the salon the two hairdressers working (sitting) looked bored. The place was empty, perhaps the over $200.00 price tag had something to do with it.The prices for hair colouring and cutting can get very outrageous. I used to colour at home but with my stubborn grays that hasn't worked for quite a while. Subsequently, I have to go and get it coloured every 6-8 weeks and even that time frame is stretching it a lot. I only cut my hair maybe every 4 months or so and that goes for highlighting it as well. You can highlight and only do your roots for about 6 months after that and that works well. So bottom line, I go to my hair dresser (Carolin you would love the building that they are in) and I get my hair coloured and dried with the diffuser for $50.00 plus tip. I only pay more when I need to cut and highlight and that may cost me about $110.00 (every 6 months or so). I know that Louise and her cousin have also gone to this hair dresser. For $210.00 you better be getting a massage and pedicure too. OK so I need the name and address of your hair person. Cause I can't afford $200.00 plus for hair. I might also go see what Frank's prices are like. I have always liked him but the girl who used to do the teenager's hair has left and the young thing they brought in I don't really like so I haven't been back in a while.
To colour or not to colour I don't know because I have to colour.
I vote if it makes you feel better then Colour! But keep in mind once you're on the bottle it is very hard to get off the bottle!