I have always heard that gray hair is more resistant to color.  I was born a dark haired brunette and had kept my hair darker with hair coloring. Finally in my mid-fifties I moved back to Southern California from the Northwest and decided to have my hair lightened so the roots wouldn't be so obvious when they came in.  It worked and I finally got to see what life would be like as a California blond.  However, knowing that warm tones are not the best for my cool winter complexion I recently decided to "go off the bottle" and go natural.  (I loved having light hair surrounding my face but knew I didn't want to go back to coloring my hair a dark color).  So NOW I have naturally light hair without the time and cost of anything other than a stylish hair cut and am happy to see that so many other babyboomers are doing the same.