My mum has been dying her hair about 15 years but now its just wont take evenly

muddy697

Hi There ,
My mum is struggling with dying her hair now. It just looks patchy., and mottled where it used to give a good dark colour that lasted a good 6 weeks.
At 61 she is greyer than she was and thinks this is the cause. She uses L’Oreal Excellence in a dark red brown but the results are no longer what they used to be.
We are great at the application but can't think of any way to improve it short of shelling out more money and visiting the hair dresser. Any suggestions please?
Thanks
Jacqui

flissh

Do you mean it is lighter on top and darker on the ends? If it is it could be because when you do top ups you should put the hair dye only on the regrowth. Wait for the prescribed time, then put it on the rest for only about 5 minutes. I think this is because hair that is repeatedly dyed becomes very porous and dry and takes colour better. If she already does this then don't know an answer.

Might be worth her treating herself to a trip to a good hair salon for help.

Swampmonster

There is a chance any medication she is using will affect how well it takes.

Good luck

babyshoes

She is probably right about the greyer areas taking up the colour differently - it seems that for a lot of people, the grey hairs are a different texture to the rest of their hair, and this will affect how they absorb hair colourant. Not sure what to suggest though, apart from letting it grow out completely and going grey gracefully!

If that isn't an option, then I think only a hairdresser will be able to get to the root of the problem ('scuse the pun) and find a workable solution.

Bronnie

Has she started using any new hair products? If the hair has been conditioned or has styling products on it prior to immediately prior to colouring, this can affect take-up.

Do you just colour the regrowth each time or full head? If you just do the regrowth, have you tried leaving the colour on to develop a little longer next time and applying the colour more thickly?

I used to use Excellence before I started getting the roots done at the hairdresser, and found it an "excellent "product. L'Oreal have a customer helpline, you could put your question to the experts too.

http://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/_en/_gb/contact/index.aspx

SilverFoxe

Today there are plenty of products on the market which enable you to go grey glamorously; I gave up the dye because of the mess it created each time I did the roots.

I started to leave it for longer before I did them and hey presto I realised my natural colour - which I hadn't seen in years - was really quite nice.

Try this site for lots of tips : http://goinggraylookinggreat.com/

And I use this range of shampoos and conditioners http://www.boots.com/en/Touch-Of-Silver-Silver-Sensations-Shampoo-200ml_1047907/ to ensure silver rather than yellow tones.

You also need to rethink make-up http://goinggraylookinggreat.com/index.php?/makeup_techniques_for_gray_hair/ (very useful )

hermanmunster_3

What a fab website Silverfoxe! I am 52 and have 6 grey hairs and when I get more I am never going to dye my hair - will stick to grey (maybe have it shorter than the shoulder length).

Always_Harassed

hermanmunster wrote: »

What a fab website Silverfoxe! I am 52 and have 6 grey hairs and when I get more I am never going to dye my hair - will stick to grey (maybe have it shorter than the shoulder length).

Thats ok as you are likely to be more mature when your hair goes grey. Some of us had grey hairs at 14.

muddy697

Thanks everyone , I'm thinking it's a combination of things mentioned here. Medication and the nature of the hair becoming more pourous.
I'm decided now then that a trip to the hairdresser is in order!