Covering Gray

About 54% of women color their hair in the U.S.  In Europe, 60% of women do the same.

Half of those do it exclusively at home, according to Procter & Gamble Co. research.  Another 10% use both home and salons.  The rest go regularly to salons, where coloring ranges from $50 to more than $300 at the high end.

As many women will tell you, dyeing your hair at home is an ordeal.  Home hair coloring frequently disappoints its customers.   Colors don't match expectations.  The dye stains towels, pillowcases and clothes.   Many women reach their 60s and simply give up dyeing, with relief.

With Baby Boomers beginning to reach their 60s this year, more heads are turning gray than ever before.  Yet fewer of those aging boomers are using home hair color products.  After rising 5% to 7% a year through the 1990s, sales of hair dye kits have been essentially flat since 2001. 

As retirement approaches, "coloring your hair becomes less and less important to you," says Kathleen Horton, category manager for hair products at drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp., of Camp Hill, PA.  "We see graphs where when someone reaches 65 or 70, it drops like a rock."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2006