Going Gray

Remember when I had just a few gray hairs? Well, there's a whole lot more now.

About two years ago, I started coloring my hair. At first it was once every 2 months and the colorist just used the stuff that eventually washed out (demi-permanent). Eventually I had to increase the time at the salon and graduated to the permanent dye in order to cover the gray. Medium brown dye turned my hair red so we had to use dark brown. Over the winter, I thought this would be ok and I even received a few compliments on my dark, silky-looking hair; however, as spring began approaching, I just couldn't continue making appointments to apply nearly black color to my hair. I'm not a high-maintenance type and I was not going to let my hair make me that way. I'm also not into goth. The black hair also made my skin look frosty and unhealthy.

About 3 of months ago, I returned to the colorist and explained that I just couldn't cover anymore and that I wanted to go gray. She was on board (as always). She applied high-lights so that when the gray began to show, it wouldn't be as noticeable. At first, this was ok, especially since it was getting warmer outside and we were spending more time in the sun. I returned after 2 months for more blending and more highlights. Here's how it looks today (no flash, no alterations...and chatting on the phone):

(flash on, but no alterations)
(not so bad if you look from the bottom up...and if I combed through my hair a bit to separate the highlights)
I'll admit that it doesn't look good, but it's probably as good as it's going to get until my gray hair grows out.

If anyone has advice about how to get hair to grow faster, please share. I'm committed to keeping the gray (and being low-maintenance). My parents are both gray and I'm just not into fighting nature.