What low maintenance colour can I due my hair?

[KatnissMellark]

I currently have bleached highlights but not great at keeping on top of them-would like something lower maintenance. Have been told I have lot of gold in my natural colour and had a disaster a few months back when salon did an all over colour that went gingery and had to be fixed with 4 lots more colour over the top

Hair is shoulder length, thin and fine. Gets ratty very quickly. Poker straight and can look limp/lank/flat if not careful. I'm pale and can look washed out/sallow if not careful (making myself sound a right keeper here!!). Am 32 and natural colour is mousey/light brown.

Any suggestions would be fab- just very fed up with my hair!

Dye my hair, not due!!! Bloody autocorrect!

A root drag which matches closely to your natural colour! Mine was so easy to maintain and didn't need it coloured again for about 4 months!

Mine's mousey and I just keep it natural.

I'd stick with highlights as they sound best for your hair type but have them put under your parting (and / or have them applied balayage style) so the grow out is less obvious and you don't have to be so meticulous about keeping up the roots.

Is a root drag similar to a bayalage? My hairdresser was really not keen on this idea-said my hair would look greasy very quickly

I would ask for a root drag and go a kind of bronde/balayage.

I was the same and it is such a pain - I also have the same problem with blonde it goes 'brassy' very quickly. Since have my roots darker I don't need to keep having it done.

@marvelousnightforamooncup I'd love to keep it natural but it makes me look ill

I have ombré with a few other small scattered highlights
Grows out looking great and I just get it done whenever I have the time not very often
It don't have much blonde left atm but will get it done soon

What about something like these?

A good balayage can last for months - don’t be afraid to ask your stylist how best to maintain it too. Shop around and get second opinions - a decent salon will not book a colour appointment for a new client without a free consultation first, so look around and try to find someone who you feel is honest and transparent about the costs and time involved in upkeep. I don’t understand why roots would ‘look greasy’ tbh - in the pictures i’ve linked here, the before hair all looks like it’s ready for a colour refresh but none of it looks particularly heinous or ‘greasy’ per se. Roots are a part of life and a good stylist will tell you how best to live with them; very few people have the time and money for a 6 weeks on the dot colour appointment

Your own natural colour regrowth shouldn’t make you look ‘ill’, oh dear - a good long lasting colour should work with your hair’s natural tones to complement your colouring, not clash with it. The fashion is currently for very cool ashy tones but people need to be aware that these won’t suit everyone’s natural colouring, same as some people prefer the look of silver jewellery but actually gold looks better against their skin or vice versa.

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself @MadameButterface. I've had my hair dyed varying shades of blonde since I was 15 and just don't feel confident about doing anything different, however, I am just fed up of it at the moment!

I used to get highlights for my mousey hair but I stopped due to extortionate cost of upkeep and have never looked back. If I look ill, I just wear blusher.

Mine is the same OP and I am at a loss too! I agree about the greasy/bayalage thing as I have a fringe so would look even worse. Watching with interest!

Glad to have someone else in the shot hair club @nowifi

I think if I went grey it would be easier then I could box dye it myself!

Everyone hates their hair! You’ve got to stop putting yourself down though. Love yourself! Spend money on your hair because you’re a babe and you value yourself and deserve to feel good, not because you think you’re a hideous uggo who needs a disguise; i bet you’re not. Everyone envies everyone else’s hair.

Lorraine Massey has a new book out about embracing yr natural silver @nowifi, it’s meant to be good. The mission at the salon where i work is to help women feel good about the stuff that grows out of their head naturally, not to be locked in a battle with it. Love yourselves! (Step away from the box dye tho )

I like your thinking madamebutterface ! I've not gone grey yet, impatiently waiting, must be the only person who looks forward to going grey haha!

I have dark blonde hair, which I'd consider a really dreary light brown, which I detest. I never have my hair my natural colour. It does me no favours.
Your natural colour might be not that different too mine. I have been platinum and that suits me well. I'm on the extreme end of pale (think MAC NC10) kind of thing - if you're equally pale that might suit you. But it requires visits every 4-6 weeks for roots.
Plum/mahogany also looks great as it's a good contrast on pale skin. But red needs frequent re-dos as it leaches out quickly.
Probably the easist for you as a natural light brunette, would be a rich brown, that would mean your roots would not be too noticeable and you could leave for 2 months between re-colouring.

I have balayage and it's really low maintenance. I go every 3-4 months, I don't notice it looking more greasy. I used to have highlights and the upkeep was so expensive and time consuming.
Although I had to try a few different hair dressers before I found one that did a really good job of it.

My hair is light brown/muddy mouse and after years of highlighting it various shades of blonde and gold I went for a darker brown colour overall. Wish I'd done it years ago as it looks SO much better, and is a lot healthier too (apparently the darker colours are less drying). Is this an option?

Root shadow in your own colour sounds like a level 6 - 6/16 in wella is a lovely ashy brown with a violet undertone that will give you a healthy look without looking greasy - dry shampoo is your friend for greasy roots and lack of volume
Either balayage or just baby lights through the the rest but with a nice ash toner - use a good quality silver/blue tone shampoo to maintain