Honest opinions wanted on salt and pepper hair.....

[practicality]

Okay. Well i shaved all my old hairdye off 3 weeks ago after last dying my hair at the end of Dec. I am not sure what to do now as the pattern is uneven. Ihave very white hair over my ears nd salt and pepper on top. The brown bits are a warm reddish brown. My hair is extremely resistant to holding dye and I was having to bleach it firstbefore applying the dark colourant.

What options do I have?. Now I am back to virgin hair would blonde take? Will it be any less maintainance? Will it look fake? I am 38 this year used to have chestnut hairand have neutral skin and green/blue eyes.

I started off feeling really excited but the colour coming through is a mishmash and I feel disappointed to be honest.

[LeChatRouge]

To get any sort of dye to take, it needs to contain peroxide. This chemical opens up the hair follicles (imagine a palm tree trunk with the scales overlapping) and allows the colorant particles into the hair shaft. Over time, these gradually wear/drop/wash out which is why hair colour looks dull eventually.

I guess your options depend on your aim.

Do you want natural looking hair?
Do you want to be black, brown, red or blonde?
Are you aiming for a certain length?
Are there any celebs whose hair you like?
Do you have an image you would like your hair to compliment (goth, rock, romantic, cool, edgy....)?

The chestnut colour you describe does sound like it suits your skin and eye colour....

[practicality]

I like my hair in a pixie cut. I always wear red lipstick and like block colours and simple outlines. Bold silver jewellery. A bit artsy I suppose

My hair grows really fast and the sides are very noticeable after ten days because they are white. The top is still pretty dark although it does have a good sprinkling of grey.

It is hard to know what to do really. If I went blonde I am worried that the top dark colour won't lighten enough and I'll end up easter chick glo blonde. Red will turn ginger at the side and wash off and dark isn't working because of the grow through. With dark hair I look like I'm turning bald after a week because of the patches of grey at the sides and towards the top.

The white hair seems to clash with my skintone andis draining.

[LeChatRouge]

From what you say, I am leaning towards a straw yellow to white blonde. It would look fab as it grows into a pixie cut and with your red lipstick - think Gwen Stefani. Grey would show through less as the colour grows out, but you would need to re do the roots every 6-8 weeks. I think this will be your re-dye schedule whatever you choose, due to the natural hair growth rate.

You might be able to get the lift you need with a home dye kit, but if your base colour is towards the darker end of the scale, you might be better off going to a salon.

Have a google of Kate Lanphear, she's my hair idol.

[practicality]

Thank-you LeChatRouge. Think you may have helped me find a way forward.x