Hello, new here!

My hair is slow to grow, so it's not much past shoulder length, with a little layering left at the bottom. I wear it up almost every day in a French twist or bun, fastened with a big, stout U-pin. The pins have enamel flowers and things on them, but now that I've swapped contacts for glasses and gone gray around the temples, the big ornamental banana clips and combs I wore when I was young would make my head look like a gray concrete yard with a lot of colorful plaster gnomes dotted round!

I'd just love to be silver-gray all over and wear my hair in an elegant dark velvet snood at the nape of my neck, but my grandmother was still pepper and salt in her 80s, so I'm not kidding myself. As it is, with no bangs (too hot!), big glasses, and a topknot, I'm beginning to look just like my mother - help! Hairstyle rescue needed please!

Welcome, dotmoll, to longlocks!  Your post made me think of the movie Amelie (sp?), where she send the gnome all over and takes pictures and sends them to her father.

Sounds like your hairstyle is similar to mine.  I wear it half up and make a bun or braided bun with it, and also wear a lot of buns with longlocks hairsticks (you can see my collection on the boards).

I'd recommend getting some Amish hairpins.  They're steel and plain and hold like glue!  Then if you want to decorate, add a decorative pin or sticks!

I have 3 snoods from Lady McSnood, I'm waiting until I get these layers evened up before wearing mine.

Maybe try varying the placement of your bun?  Perhaps learn some braids?

Good Luck!

Don't hide that gray!  Wear it proudly!   Try some different types of buns instead of topknots.  I especially like the figure 8 or  infinity (depending upon which way you turn it) in my avatar.  I can show off my hair and my hairtoys with that bun.  I am also doomed to salt and pepper until I am 80.  My mother now has gorgeous white hair (albeit short), but it took forever to get there from salt and pepper.  Best wishes, and welcome to our little group.

I gave up on trying to cover the grey... I've decided to just let it be.  I like the look of the grey in my braids.  ;D

I don't mind gray in my braid (short as it is...). But it's a bit sad that when my hair is down,  it looks as if I have barely a smattering of silver; but when it's up, from the front it looks as if I have no color left in my hair. :(. Tends to make my tired old face look washed-out too!

How about the asymmetric "wing" of front hair that you sometimes get with a french twist? How to keep it sweeping fetchingly to one side, instead of falling in a great hank?

I really like the figure-of-8 bun at the nape of the neck...now my last remaining layers are growing out, I must have another try. The double buns at bottom of neck, with sides twisted from forehead around to the back, is another look I like.

The hardest thing about going gray is that the strong contrast provided by the white tends to make the original hair color look dark and flat - instead of a range of subtle lights and hints. Oh well, nice memories!

Snoods - I suppose I am thinking of something a little bigger than a bun cover. Here in Japan, they are all aimed at black hair, surprise surprise. I have a nice raffia-look one in a natural cream, and if I can't find a brown net, I think I'm going to go looking for some wide coffee-colored lace and make myself one.