Going Grey

foreign_correspondent

almost 50 and just going grey - you lucky thing!! I am 36 and have been going grey for years... so I am a slave to hair dye! If I left it now, I would be about 50% grey I think... and it is grey in patches, not all over - not a good look with short hair!

I wouldnt worry too much about trying home dye - I have only ever had one really bad disaster in all the time I have been dying my hair (since I was 13!!) and that was with a dark brown colour - I am naturally mid to dark brown, so I tend to stick to those shades now - but have had everything from black to pink to purple in the past! A couple of years ago I bought a box of this - a bit darker than I normally go, but it looked ok on the box:


.. but I ended up with really fake, bright black looking hair - (think fat Elvis in his Las Vegas days)... luckily my hairdresser helped me out, by washing it with peroxide and shampoo till it was a more natural hue!

If you are going to dye it, I would say try a temporary or semi permanent first, and go with a colour which is like the lightest (non grey) parts of your hair - it should be subtle and just give you an idea of whether you like it or not. If it is semi permanent it shouldnt lighten the darker pieces, but it should blend in any white a little. If you are mousy a cool colour would probably look far more natural than anything with warmer tones.

You can buy temporary colours which only last about 8 washes, so if you are not sure that is probably the best sort to try first. Do remember to do a patch test (instructions are in the box) 48 hours before you start, just to check you are not likely to have an allergic reaction.

choille

Hi There,

Yes - I'll get a box of dye when next shopping & go for light blonde.

Many thanks - I didn't feel like shelling out £70+ pounds as I'm pretty brassic at the moment.

Chers.

mpet

I use Loreal Colour Expertise (sp?). You get the main colour, then a little brush and some highlight liquid. You dye the hair first, then when damp,comb into the style you usually have. Pick up strands of the hair and use the little brush to add highlights.

You will probably need some help at the back - I get DH to do it - he's getting quite a dab hand!

I have never had any disasters with this product. As previous poster have said, go for a lighter shade than your natural colour.

choille

Hi Thanks,

I'll try the lighter shade first & see if that does it.
I want tolook as natural as possible & just kinda keep my natural highlights & avoid the stripey look - if that makes sense.

Cheers.

foreign_correspondent

just make sure it is a semi permanent - permanent colour tends to lighten and make hair all one colour - a semi permanent is just colour, with no lighteners so it will keep the natural variation - good luck! Also, if you decide you dont lke it, it will wash out (the number of washes it lasts for will be on the pack)

coldstreamalways

:(I'm nearly 29 and I'm going grey:(

choille

Thanks again FC - I'm off shopping tomorrow & will have a good look around. I'm a newbie to all of this. I did once buy a camomile kit out of the Body shop when I was about 16. It was like having a cow pat on top of your head & I rinsed it off after only a couple of minutes as someone came to the door - that's the sort of wimp I am.

:(I'm nearly 29 and I'm going grey:(

I have the wrinkles of a 90 year old though.

Cheers all.

foreign_correspondent

Good luck choille - just start off with something as close to your natural colour as you can, and semi permanent and it will be fine - in fact, you may well be underwhelmed by the subtlety of the change, but better to start off subtle than to go for a radical change!

If it is any consolation, I found my first grey hair when I was a kid, and had quite a few by my mid twenties. It runs in the family unfortunately, my dad and aunt (his sister) both went grey young. I must have dyed my hair hundreds of times - I started as a teenager - just for fun and to experiment, but it soon became a necessity! Occasionally I think about letting it grow out, but every time I do, I feel very shabby - then I dye it, and I look like me again!

coco1980

coldstreamalways wrote: »

:(I'm nearly 29 and I'm going grey:(

i have been going grey since i was 4 years old:( now 29 and have been colouring my hair since i was 12.

loreal do a colour that includes highlights that is really good iys about 9 or 10 pnd in most shops