It can be a perfectly brilliant day. Everything is going great, the sun is out, and you feel good about yourself. You are loving life. ...Then it happens.

You are walking down the street and glance at a pair of "must have" shoes in a store window. As you feel your body becoming full of desire, your heart stops. You see your reflection in the store window. You notice your hair. You are horrified. Your roots are out.

I am not talking about dark "rock star" roots. I am talking about "Oh no! I'm grey!" roots. Grey usually starts right at your hairline around the age of thirty something. How unfair is this? Thirty isn't old. You don't feel old. But there it is, like a breaking news bulletin for the whole world to see. You're not a kid anymore.

What is even more annoying is that you notice your grey hairs before anyone else. When you look in the mirror to comb your hair or touch up your lipstick, the first thing you see are those first coarse, wire-like grey hairs that literally pop out of your head. Not only did they show up overnight, they look like they belong to someone else's head. To make matters worst, you know more greys will follow. None of this puts a smile on your face.

But let's get real! It's not the end of the world. We just have to learn how to deal with our dreaded first few and incredibly annoying grey hairs.

Sometimes grey hairs come out in one spot. This is a good thing. This makes it easy just to cover the grey hairs and color the rest when you want to, not because you have to.

TIP - Buy disposable mascara brushes. They make it easy to apply color specifically to your new grey hairs. This is especially important at touch up time.

WARNING: Don't overlap hair color. The hair around your hairline is a finer texture than the rest of your hair. This means it will absorb color quicker and darker. I would use a permanent color, a shade lighter than your natural color. Use a color with a neutral base. The base color is labeled on the bottle. This will provide the best grey coverage. Since you are covering only a spot of grey hairs, there is no need to mix the entire bottle of color. Mix only as much as you are going to use.

Remember, once the color is mixed it will only work for a half an hour. Reseal the unmixed color and developer in their own bottles and they should last at least a year. I promise you will use the color faster than its expiration date.

Sometimes grey hair grows in scattered throughout your head. There often isn't enough of it to read as grey hair, but it does make your hair look dull and lifeless. The solution to this problem is to apply a semi-permanent color all over your hair in a lighter shade than your natural color. This will cover the grey hairs and emphasize your natural highlights. When you pick the right hair color shade, the grey hairs will appear to be highlights. This looks great and will avoid an obvious root line.

WARNING: Semi-permanent colors can appear darker and more opaque than their color description. Always color a few strands of hair at the nape of your neck before you apply color to your entire head. This will allow you to see your new color and avoid any surprise endings.

The most difficult grey to cover is usually people with dark hair who seem to have gone grey overnight. They usually have a high percentage or a large streak of grey. This color combination shows no mercy. It can require touch-ups as often as every two weeks. You can make your hair a bit lighter, so the grey hair isn't as obvious as it grows in. This only works if a lighter hair color works with your complexion.

If lighter hair washes out your skin color, you must maintain your dark hair. The solution is to cover all the roots with the appropriate color every four to six weeks. You can cover the grey you notice, usually around your face and on part of your hair, more frequently. Remember to do a shade test before you use any color on your hair. A dark hairline almost always looks harsh and artificial.

Color companies have made between time touch-up kits for this specific purpose and they do work. Read the web sites or the charts on the color boxes. Be sure to pick the right color shade. Take your time so you don't over lap color. It's easy to do and you will be loving life again when your grey is covered.

Blondes go grey too. They usually have an easier time with grey, because it's not as obvious on lighter hair. Highlights will blend away grey hair initially, but at one point you will have to do an all over color.

TIP: Don't go too blond. Your face will blend with your hair color and you will disappear. Contrast is the key to looking vital. If you look like Casper the Ghost before make-up, it's time to go a shade darker.

There is no doubt that covering grey hair is a bore to maintain. The good news is that nothing you do will make you look prettier, younger, and more vibrant than covering your grey. Some at home kits only take 10 minutes and at the most a half an hour. It is the quick fix that works! Now why where we panicked about a few grey hairs? I barely remember!

Hair Credit: Arsen Gurgov

• Try on hairstyles by Louis Licari on Makeover-O-Matic!