This is a very interesting conversation to me. I have been coloring for 45 years..since I was 18 and started going grey prematurely, a trait on my mothers side. When I was young I had very thick dark brown hair kept just below my shoulders but as I got older my hair got thinner, also a family trait. I've had it professionally done but reached that point when it was too expensive so started coloring my own. Tried several brands and now use either Age Defy or Loreal Preference. I used the medium brown and as after a while friends and family suggested I go natural. I should mention that I have kept my hair style like Dorothy Hamill since I was 30. So recently I went to get my usual haircut just before coloring and said I wanted it a bit shorted so I could see the grey look. She said that since my hair is very fine the natural look was going to show my scalp and that hair color gave me the look of more hair. I went home and immediately my husband said "color it". He had always questioned why I had not let it go grey a long time ago but now understood. So although I sometimes envy those who let nature take its course, my 4' 10"little old lady body will continue to keep it colored until heaven takes me in.

Hair coloring was such a pain in the posterior that I stopped doing it about 5 years ago. It's all a gray white color now and I get far more compliments on it than I ever did while coloring it.

My husband, however, would like it colored because i made HIM feel younger.

My nephew, then about 9 years old, visited us for a week. At first he was puzzled about why I looked different.

Finally, he figured out that my hair was now white. He very innocently said,

"Aunt Cathy, you only look a year older."

My belly almost split tholding back laughter! I graciously thanked him for the compliment.

I have colored my hair since I was 13 or so and I am 63 now. I use the old nice and easy golden blonde I seem to always have rosy cheeks. The last time I colored the box of dye was $4.99. It works. It's easy. Good luck.
The Clariol web site has loads of tips.

I went to Walmart and got the most expensive one they had - Swartzkoff. Excellent.

use any hair color but add Gray Magic to the color and it will color better and last longer.