<gulp> I am contemplating dyeing my hair ...

[NotQuiteCockney]

It's very dark brown, but with lots of grey in it. (like 30%?)

I am tempted by the idea of a temporary colour (at least to begin with) to see how I feel about it. I'm tempted by dark red I think, some (obviously fake) highlights. Maybe I will hate it.

Thing is, my hair is quite thin and fine, so I can't affort to damage it at all. Most of the temporary colours out there seem to not work on grey hair.

Suggestions?

[Lulumama]

have you tried henna? it is permanent, but it is quite natural. tends to fade out rather than grow out

[LaDiDaDi]

I use a nice one called "Iced Chocolate", get loads of compliments on the colour, even from a hairdresser who I went to only for a cut having dyed it myself the week before.

Not sure what brand it is though. Will have a look.

[LaDiDaDi]

this is it.

[LaDiDaDi]

I have grey to cover, though not yet as much as you describe, and it works fine.

[Galava]

If I were going for something obvious like red as you describe I would be tempted to have it done professionally.

I dye mine at home and its easy peasy, but its not adventurous in any way. More the natural look.

Loreal is good and I'm tempted by that ladadadi

[mileniwmffalcon]

non-lightening colours - temporary and permanent - almost always improve condition ime. tbh i'd steer clear of henna as many permanent colours can't be used on top, so if it turned out you didn't like it you'd have fewer options for fixing it.

can't advise on grey i'm afraid - i've used permanent colours for years, which means i'm blissfully unaware how much grey i may or may not have

[NotQuiteCockney]

Oh, duh, I used to use henna, but stopped because it was disappearing my grey. I liked henna fine. I think I stopped considering it because I thought I wanted purple or something, but I don't really, I want red.

Presumably if I use henna, and then wait 6 months, normal colours will be fine, anyway.

I read some pages that implied that you (almost?) always have to bleach grey to make other colours stick, and that permanent colours include some bleach.

Yeah, I'll give henna a go, again, I'm quite thoroughly that I'd forgotten it exists. I used it for years.

[BONKERZ]

the problem with red is that the grey hair will be a brighter red than the rest of the hair. I have a small patch of silver grey hairs at the front of my head which always look very bright red when i dye it in contrast to the rest of my hair which is more dark burgundy. I have taken to dying my hair a black/purple or balck/blue cos then the greys go a tinited black colour!

[NotQuiteCockney]

I don't mind if the grey hair turns into streaks. I realise the only way I can uniformly dye my hair is if I either dye it all black or dark brown, or if I bleach it all first (not an option!).

Besides, my grey hair is fairly evenly distributed, so it counts as highlights [deluded]

[Lubyloo]

I am facing the same dilemma Cockney! My hair is also dark brown and about 30% grey. I have always felt quite happy with my natural highlights and felt it was ok to be young with grey hair. After my birthday last week I realise I am rapidly heading towards 40 and now need to dye my hair!

I will watch the replies with interest.

[slalomsuki]

I dye mine for the same reason and have now opted for a dark brown and because of the grey have redish highlights.

If its your firsdt time I would go to the hairdressers and get a good job done. If you like it thens the time to use the home dye kit. Note the colour shade in the hairdressers and the brand and buy the same one from Boots or the Chemist

[NotQuiteCockney]

Oh, I hate going to the hairdressers. I had a shaved head for years, to avoid hairdressers. (I had very long hair for years, for the same reason.)

I had my hair cut last summer. It's too short to justify going so long without seeing the hairdresser, but I just hate them all so much.

I hate them particularly because I say 'I will not be styling my hair. I will not be blowdrying it.' And then they show me how to style and blowdry the cut they give me.

Henna it is, I think.

[fishie]

hello.

i found henna fucked up my hair, clogs up all the follicle thingies with tiny bits of leaf.

i have this red brown it is sort of purplish on my grey and more muted on my brown. good stuff.

[NotQuiteCockney]

What was the symptom of clogged follicles? I think my hair was better with henna than without, but who knows.

[fishie]

it went very strawlike and frizzy rather than curly. mine is v fine too.

those semi-permanent dyes which have two bottles to mix together all have peroxide in, even if you are going darker. i didn't realise and used them for years. have finally grown it all out and just have the d field stuff, hair much shinier and softer, no split ends.

[Tinker]

The semi-permanents I use seem to cover my grey (easily at least 30%) and also condition my hair really well. What knackers mine is teh blow-dying an straightening which I have to do. I do use browns now rather than reds since your grey will tend to go orangey and the reds seem to fade sooner than browns.

[fishie]

it is hard to find stuff which is blue based rather than orange. otherwise i end up with the dreaded eastern european burgundy, which the df isn't despite the pic.

[NorbertDentressangle]

I have very dark brown hair with white/grey in it.

The problem I have is that the permanent colours, despite looking great to begin with, soon fade on the grey hairs.

In a way I suppose its better than having a harsh line develop as your hair grows to reveal the undyed grey hair but its really annoying. Its as though the dye doesn't work properly on the grey despite claiming to have 100% coverage of grey hair.

[NotQuiteCockney]

Ah, mine isn't curly at all, just straight. Yeah, I don't want to use anything which has peroxide (or similar) in it at all.

I don't do blow-drying or straightening, or curling, or any of that. I use product once in a while, but not regularly. (I only wash my hair every other day. I might cut that down, actually. And I use conditionner. The only bad thing I do to my hair is swim.)

Yeah, I know people who dye their grey out, and get a harsh line - I can ask what they use, but I'd rather have a gentler fading. Not least because that means, if I decide to stop dyeing, I don't have to cut all my hair off.

[fishie]

go for the daniel field then nqc, it washes out in about a month. if you want it to last longer / be brighter just leave it on longer and use slightly hotter water to mix it.

[NotQuiteCockney]

I was too lazy to order online, so I bought two different wash-out colours from Superdrug. One that only lasts for one wash, and another that does for 5-6.

But then I keep thinking 'well, I'm swimming tomorrow, what's the point?'.

Does chlorine really mess up hair dye?

I got a hair cut this week, and had a good look at my hair, and I'm not 30% grey, more like 10 or 15% - I just have a big grey patch at the front.

[NotQuiteCockney]

I tried the 5-6 wash stuff from Superdrug. It looked good, but then I washed it, and ... meh. So I will get the Daniel Field stuff, enough of this. I like how I look redheaded, and as long as there's no bleach or whatever ... I might as well.