Many of us, as we get older, are on a fixed income — and going to the salon every six weeks for a color touch-up isn’t always in the budget. Or maybe it’s simply a time issue and you can’t get there as often as you’d like. Whatever the reason, today’s Expert Series guest is here to help.
I’m so excited to introduce you to Karen Norwood, Senior Colorist at Sassoon in Beverly Hills. Karen has been with Sassoon since 1979 — trained in the UK, and with the Beverly Hills salon since the early 1990s. Karen has colored my hair for a number of years, and one of the things I love about Sassoon is its consistency: whether I was in Chicago, New York, Boston, or Beverly Hills, I was always guaranteed a great cut and color.
Karen was kind enough to invite me into her home for a consultation, so we could talk through how to effectively cover gray and prolong the time between salon visits. Watch the full conversation here: https://youtu.be/-o6mVu1PjSA?si=YOJDSRl00XtrcWzy
Can you tell us about your background and how you got into coloring?
I started at Sassoon in London in 1979 — I actually went through their cosmetology training program, which was a ten-month course. They offered me a job about halfway through, and I began working for them that October. I lived and worked in London for 11 years, then transferred to California in 1990 to teach at our school in Santa Monica for three years. In 1993, I transferred to our salon on Rodeo Drive, and I’ve been in Beverly Hills ever since — we’re now on Bedford and Wilshire.
You must have seen a lot of change over the years — and you even worked with Vidal Sassoon himself?
Yes — I did his wife’s hair, both in London and here. That was a wonderful opportunity, and he was an absolutely lovely man. We even traveled together to do a show in Taiwan once, which was amazing. It was a privilege to be part of that.
So many of us start noticing our gray coming through within a couple of weeks of coloring. Are there things we can do at home to prolong our color?
There are a variety of things you can do, and it really depends on how much gray you’re comfortable seeing. Some techniques blend the gray rather than eliminate it completely. If you want full, all-over color, you’re going to see your roots faster — especially with straight, sleek hair, where regrowth shows in just two or three weeks. If you have a more layered cut with movement and texture, it hides regrowth more easily and can stretch your color out to six or eight weeks.
For the in-between weeks, root-touch-up mascaras and powders can help. Personally, I prefer the mascaras — they’re easier to apply. Powders can build up and start to look dusty and dull, and dull hair is one of the things that ages us most. As we get older, everything dries out — our skin, our hair — so keeping hair looking shiny and healthy is key. That’s part of why blown-out, flat-ironed hair reads as more youthful: it looks shiny and healthy. I always recommend doing less chemical processing where you can, to keep the hair healthier, since it naturally dries more with age. Going bleach-blonde or adding heavy blonde highlights can actually age us, because the result often looks dry and damaged.
What about products, like sulfate-free shampoo?
Products are great, and sulfate-free shampoo is a good choice. You also don’t want to shampoo too often. We’re not out clubbing every night anymore, so we’re not producing as much oil as we did in our 20s — most of us can get away with shampooing just once or twice a week. If you want to style your hair in between, just wet it down and add conditioner.
You once shared a shower routine tip with me that made a real difference — can you walk our viewers through it?
Most of us shampoo in the shower, so here’s my tip: shampoo at the beginning of your shower, then apply conditioner and leave it on while you continue showering. The steam opens the hair cuticle, allowing the conditioner to work past the cuticle and into the cortex, conditioning the hair from the inside out. Rinse it out at the end of your shower. That way, it’s not adding extra time to your routine — you’re just letting the conditioner do its work while you do everything else. Most conditioners work quickly, so you don’t need to set aside 20 extra minutes outside the shower.
If you’re on a limited budget and can only upgrade one product, put your money into the conditioner rather than the shampoo — both matter, but the conditioner does more of the heavy lifting.
What about washing less often overall? That’s been a hard habit to break for me.
Baby steps are exactly the right approach. In between washes, you can rinse your hair and apply a little conditioner without shampooing. This way, you’re not stripping your natural oils. Every time you shampoo, your scalp responds by producing more oil — so the more you wash, the greasier you feel, and the more you feel like you need to wash again. The goal is to train your scalp to produce less oil over time. If you’re washing daily, ease into every second day, then every third day. Some people eventually get to washing just once a week.
The less you’re shampooing and heat-styling, the less damage you’re doing overall. And if you are blow-drying or flat-ironing, always use a thermal heat protectant — it lets the heat work on the product rather than burning the hair directly.
Any tips for using root touch-up products the right way?
Root mascara is a great temporary fix — if you’re headed somewhere and don’t have the time, energy, or budget for a touch-up, a little mascara on the roots can get you through the evening. Just make sure to wash it out thoroughly before your next color appointment: shampoo first, massage it in, then rinse. If you rinse with water first, it can actually seal the product in. Any leftover product creates a barrier that keeps your color from working properly, so you want it fully out of your hair before you sit down for color.
What about blending versus covering gray completely?
It really comes back to how much gray you’re comfortable seeing. If you’re open to a bit more visible gray, diffused rather than fully covered, you can weave in a mix of colors — your natural shade alongside warmer tones like caramels and blondes — to blend the gray instead of eliminating it. Your regrowth will be far less noticeable this way. Highlights typically cost more per visit than an all-over color, but you’re only doing them three or four times a year instead of monthly — so it often works out cheaper in the long run, and it’s easier on your time and budget.
Gray hair is having a moment right now — is going gray on purpose actually easy to do?
Ironically, it’s usually young people with dark hair who want to go silver gray, and that’s a much harder, more damaging process to achieve. For those of us who are already gray and coloring it, going fully gray isn’t as simple as it sounds either — you can’t just bleach the color out without seriously damaging the hair. The best approach is to grow it out slowly: have your colorist weave your natural gray in at the root and keep trimming as it grows, so you wean off the color gradually rather than trying to strip it all out at once, which is expensive and damaging.
You also mentioned understanding pricing before booking an appointment — what should people know?
Most salons have websites, but the terminology can be confusing — a “color touch-up” and “highlights” are very different services with very different price points and time requirements. If you’re not sure what you need, look at the salon’s full price range, from the least to the most expensive service, so you know roughly what ballpark you’re in. That will help you gauge whether a salon fits your budget.
Consultations should be free, and you’re welcome to talk to more than one stylist or colorist until you find someone you connect with. In my 46 years in this industry, the number one complaint I hear from clients — even ones coming from within our own salon — is feeling like they weren’t listened to. Find someone who listens. Bring in photos of colors and cuts you like, and have a real conversation. If a stylist doesn’t have the patience to sit and talk with you, they’re probably going to rush the appointment and do what they want rather than what you asked for. Remember — you’re the one paying for the service.
Any final thoughts on getting shine, not just color?
Shine matters just as much as the color or the cut. There are great products out there specifically for adding shine — Oribe and Kérastase both make excellent glossing treatments, and more brands are catching on because baby boomers are the largest and highest-spending segment of the market right now. Find one that fits your budget and works for your hair.
Karen’s key takeaways
Go into the salon and ask for pricing up front, and always request a consultation first. You’re never obligated to book with the first stylist you talk to — feel free to try someone else, even within the same salon. Layered, textured cuts hide regrowth longer than sleek, straight styles, and if you’re working with a limited budget, upgrade your conditioner before your shampoo. Shampooing less often trains your scalp to produce less oil, and if you’re blow-drying or flat-ironing, always use a heat protectant first. Finally, blending gray with highlights, rather than fully covering it, can stretch out your salon visits and save money over time.
Fifty UP 