General Chat

I've got very dark brown hair with the odd grey hair. I recently looked at old photos and thought I'd go against my belief that it's better to go grey naturally and get a colour on my hair. I'm not an expert and to be honest don't want the solid wiggy look, I want a natural look. What should I go for in a home colour? There must be a hairdresser on here who can give me some good advice. I find it confusing as each brand seems to do a different thing. Another thought, I have lots of hair, would one pack be enough?

my hair's gone grey with the odd blonde one!!!!

I think the thing is getting the colour right in the first place and then sticking with that brand and colour! Which isn't always easy!!

I know I have had some colour disasters in the past, but I'm of the thinking that I can always dye it again the following week if I hate it that much!

MAybe if its a first time you might wanna try a semi permanent that washes out first to see how you get on!!

Good luck!!

Oh, Louise, you sound just like me - I have very dark brown, very thick, long hair. I've been dying my odd greys for years now. The products these days are quite good and if you want something with a bit of depth to the colour, try one with tonal hues that catch the light and make your hair look lovely and shiny.

There is even one brand out now that is just for doing roots - it has a special little brush that you literally brush the colour mix onto your greys with.

Not sure if I'm allowed to mention brand names on here am I?

One thing I would mention is not to go for a brown colour with red or purple tones in it as these will make your greys appear a bit pinkish - and you definitely don't want that (yes, it happened to me once!).

Another way of helping to disguise greys in dark hair is to have your hair professionally coloured at a salon and have some highlights put in in varying shades of lighter browns/blondes - that way greys don't show up so easily.

I do envy my fair haired sister and friends as their greys hardly notice at all - whereas us dark-haired girlies have to start a lot earlier on with the boring/messy process!

And if you've got hair like mine that grows extra fast it is a real pain - have to dye my roots every 3 weeks. No, I'm not completely grey (I'm only 45yrs) but I can't stand seeing those odd white hairs at the hairline.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll find a dye that suits you - it might mean trying a few different ones until you find your perfect match - and do follow all the instructions to avoid any skin reactions. I've never had any problems, but then we are all different.

Regards - Athena

I have dark brown/reddish hair with quite a lot of stress highlights and have dodgy skin so I use a semi permanent called Movida which is pretty good.

Always go two shades lighter than your own colour, it will blend better and wont turn out like on the box,,,,,,,,,,,try 6 weeks one first..........

Hi Louise

I have been covering up grey hairs since my late twenties ............

Until a year ago I was always using various auburn shades - these made the greys look kind of golden red which was okay.

Then a friend of mine returned to hair dressing and persuaded me to have highlights - they work really well to disguise the greys (and I am more than 50% grey now) ........

but to cover the most of the grey prior to highlighting, I went several shades lighter than my natural 'mid brown' colour - lightest ash brown or summat - it's like a dark blonde/light brown.........

it works really well and covers the grey - i even use it on it's own without the highlights now cos i have gotten used to being lighter :O))

I had been colouring my hair for 25 years started at 16 then about 4 years ago decided i couldn't be bothered anymore as i really need to do it every 2 weeks, ( yes my hair grows fast) The underneath its still my natural colour reddish/brown, and the top grey/white

Though someone did say to me once my hair made me look old, i told her that her face wasn't doing her any favors either

lol love it Julie ! I'll save that one for my sister.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm 43 and have been going grey since I was 28 but it's still fairly well spread so I reckon I'm not even 20% grey yet. I just yearned for a change after seeing old pics. I remember the hair colour from decades ago always left hair in glorious condition too. Is that still the case?

How good are the 6 week ones, do they end up giving you sort of staggered colour if you use one every 6 weeks or does it disappear totally.

I guess I just feel like I need an overhaul!

Julie, Julie, Naughty Naughty, You could have at the very least been generous enough to offer her some "PollyFilla" to help her out. **M**.:o)>.pmsl.

Louise,

give 6 weeks a try first if you like ,get same shade in permenant one,,,,,,,,,and can go straigtht on top within a couple of days,,,,

always do a skin test first,,,,,,,,,,,,,,very important if no recation get cracking make a new woman of yourself,,,,,,,,,,

Louise - with the 6 week dyes, I think it all depends on how often you wash your hair - the more you wash it the quicker the colour will fade. Don't forget, also, that as your hair grows the grey roots will be showing well before 6 weeks.

If it's done properly you shouldn't really see any obvious bands of colour on your hair. A tip is to always comb the colour through even if you are only dying the roots. Just comb the colour lightly through to blend with the rest of your hair. (A hair stylist advised me to do this).

I would say to have a check through your hair and see where the grey is - if you have long greys then you really need to do an all-over colour first. (you might need 2 bottles if your hair is long).

Try a semi-permanent to make sure you get the colour right. Once you're satisfied with the colour in a semi, the next time you can move on to a permanent in the same shade.

Then once you've got the whole head coloured with permanent, after that you will just need to touch up the roots to cover any greys growing through. You won't need more than one bottle for that.

Hope that helps - Athena

Kay and Athena,

Thanks for that! I suppose the various brands are about as good as each other, or are some more reliable? I spent ages last time wandering up and down the aisle in Boots then decided I'd better ask someone for advice. I think my 12th wedding anniversary yesterday has had something to do with it too. My oh has been looking at old pics and set the ball rolling.

When I only had the odd grey hair, I used the Inecto shampoo in colours, but I don't know if they are available now. If you could go during weekdays, why not look for a salon or college where the students practise colouring and cutting, you could ask the advice of the tutor who is well qualified and get whatever treatment they suggest done very cheaply or even free!
If you can't do that for whatever reason, then I have used the Clairol Nice and Easy products and find them very good. As others have suggested, get the semi permanent one first to try it out, and then you can use the permanent one when you have decided on the best colour to suit you. Definitely don't go darker, try for your natural colour or a shade lighter. I always put mine on with a tinting brush and a basin to mix the products rather than doing it from the bottle, you can get a tinting brush cheaply from Body shop, Boots or S-drug I think and use a plastic bowl. Always use the gloves provided and make sure you do the tests first in case you have an allergy to the product.
Good luck, I have been colouring my hair for about 40 years now and it gets easier each time you do it.
Lizx

a bit of advice, dont put a darker tint on your natural
hair. cos if you dont like it its very hard to lighten it up again, as tint wont lift tint. you would have to bleach it.

wendy

I know it sounds strange but I use the lightest (light brown) Just For Men!

It is great. It only takes 4 or 5 minutes and the colour is amazingly natural. It doesn't cover every grey hair so looks very natural and in fact a number of people (if dyeing hair has come up in conversation) haven't believed that mine is dyed. It just looks as it did several years ago.

The colour gradually fades over about 6 or 7 weeks so no dark roots either. I have my hair cut about every 7 weeks so tend to do it just after each cut.

I hate it when hair looks really unnatural and flat or if people look as if their heads have been dipped into a pot of ink!

Worth a try if you haven't attempted a home dye before.

Sue

You should never worry about going grey. Ask any bald man - he doesn't.

It may be worth getting a proper colour test / match done at the hairdressers before you start mucking about and find out what it is.

I dont dye my hair and how dare anyone suggest I do!!!! But I do 'enhance' it GRIN.

Every Month or so I use a non permanent colour a few shades darker than my own as it gives it a richer look and leaves the condition nice. It fades thoughout the month - but always looks natural as I dont have dark roots and I dont get that colour build up get get with permanant dyes.

I used to get highlights done reguarly with a proper hairdresser but found my 'Roots' as such showed far worse with lighter bits in my hair - than a slightly darker shade (only slightly though).

The only thing I can say about different brands is the smell. I did my hair on Friday with a diff brand as I couldnt get the one I was after and I spent an hour that evening cursing at my cats and trying to find where one had had an accident!!!! Turned out I hadnt put the bottles in the bin and it was the hair colourant in the bathroom that had smelt and no one had had an accident!

added

I am a natural blonde though not dark haired so I use a darker blonde as I think lighter blondes look too un natural.

I never did colour my hair. I was also dark brown.
But if you are going to colour yours, then colour it DOWN.

Nothing looks worse that a woman who is unnaturally dark headed as she gets older.
Our skin loses colour so we have to think Blonde!!
Perhaps this is your chance to be a blond.
But I would go to a saloon and ask for advice... I can't see your hair... but they will be able to help you.

Good luck with that.

Deanna X