Greying hair - pros & cons of colouring?

[1000piecejigsaw]

I'm 53 and my dark brown hair is just starting to go grey at the temples. My hairdresser says that in these early stages she can match my colour and paint dye just on the grey hairs, but as it spreads I'd eventually need to decide whether to grow that out and embrace the grey or dye the whole head of hair. I've never dyed my hair before, so need to decide whether the ongoing maintenance is worth the hassle. If you've gone down the strategic hair-painting route at a similar age, how much time did it buy you before you had to go for a whole-head decision and, whatever you decided, what have been the pros and cons?

@AmazingGraze I get it done at the hairdresser. She uses a blend of 3 blondes - an ash blonde, a gold and a caramel. I've got short hair so have them all over, and it really helps blend the greys. It only needs doing every 6 to 9 months so is very cost effective.

@1000piecejigsaw I’m not very experienced at this but my hairdresser recommended a whole head to begin with. I’m not sure why as I didn’t ask/wasn’t bothered.

It's so much easier to go grey gradually by never colouring it.
It will be sprinkles now and then just gradually increase. You'll never have that tricky demarcation line if you dye then stop dying.

I'd just leave it. It can look so elegant and sophisticated

i’m 41, natural black hair and no end of sodding grey. I have to colour the roots every 3 weeks, drives me insane. I refuse to go grey at 41. Unfortunately it’s hard and very tedious to keep up with

Wow @Thecatistheboss , that’s frequent isn’t it. I’m ok with 8 weeks.

I’m really happy with my decision to take the plunge and colour my hair.

I’m a similar age to you and only recently started dyeing it. It’s fine!
my hair doesn’t grow that quickly, I’m not that grey and the regrows is manageable.
I think it’s very different with people who were grey from a young age.

I meant to add, that there is a vast difference in time and cost from colouring in a salon every X weeks vs a box dye at home when you want. I box dye, because I WFH, have little spare time and can't stand sitting for half a Saturday to have it done. If I could only have my hair dyed in a salon, I don't think I'd bother.

This is the brand I use - worth a try before you go permanent if you ask me? As I say I can get 3 dyes out of it and they last around 4/6 weeks before noticeably needing another use.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marion-Shampoo-Sachet-Lasting-Washes/dp/B01LJSP1RI/ref=sr16?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ysVqRvupfGviCZdbZKso5KnlPu-5S0CxLMAn-0eAJRbKgKVYr3nUOTx8PxmajiePChhLUplnNkgGhC0kgQeMDbPkSb5dc5BGfo4LSLGhLN12NhNEgo6PHS9J1-2JIpdV9IZojwpT8dtw3XlIxeW1MCJQMhY17Ws-djZ2Vv3wlzK1xPypy4MXFSdSV7CQ4Rb9pn1yaR8oIWhlfPOH7BWagTeWo-1vIDhKGN-T8hDmkADhu6v2xy2CoxrmYwVghF8nV5GB3iQR1UhNHxpvRkxU5YcYzVnwXhljXkli9mqIzCFLZv5kV14WCCHQUBMonohdJuovTXjDySOcLQChk0e6A5P7UuhwlR3gWRBbLEpVeKmkz3YkoBbmv7gVB4g-vwy8DUMDRkUkcg8iPpD6Dlef4lkofSUTVpOTfbJRZNa5qUBeuBAlayTCegVDCVl.rkY69NYIQNKiKcq9iQmGG5ncmisdlqx4u-PCigx9CsQ&dibtag=se&keywords=hair%2Bcolour%2Bsachet&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1734947034&sr=8-6&th=1

I work with a majority of older female colleagues. I'm 50 and peppering quite nicely at the moment but it struck me in our recent whole staff meeting how fake some of my older colleagues look with heavily dyed hair.

I decided to stop box dying before COVID. It's a bitch to keep up, expensive to do professionally and it only looks good for a few days before roots come through.

Get a great hairdresser and a great cut instead.

@NordicwithTeen Those sachets look interesting- and much cheaper than the casting colours I use.

Do you just use it like a normal shampoo in the shower, or put it on like a dye and sit around waiting for it to work, before washing it off?

I am 67 and starting dyeing my hair 25 years ago to cover the grey. My natural colour is a chestnut brown.

I started off having a coloured rinse then highlights and low lights. This looked great and was a bit lighter overall than my natural colour. However, having it done every 6-8 at the hairdresser became very expensive. I used to alternate with the whole head and then just the roots.

I started dyeing it myself using Nice and Easy in a similar colour to my natural colour. This was OK for about ten years but my roots were becoming more obvious and I was doing them every three weeks.

One year we went on holiday to a sunny location and the sun lightened my hair quite a bit. I used this as an opportunity to start using a lighter colour so that the roots would be less obvious.

A couple of years later I thought I would try going even lighter - still using Nice and Easy but now No.8 (Medium Blonde). Overall, this has been a good colour solution. The colour makes my hair look highlighted as the grey/white hair picks up the colour differently to my remaining darker hair.

The only unfortunate side to this is that the dye has bleach in it. I did not realise this. I normally just do my roots but every three months or so I will streak some of the dye through the rest of my hair as the ends seem to lighten. The condition of the ends of my hair is now terrible. I have a shoulder length bob and my hair is reasonably thick. I am now in a cycle of having to use straighteners on my hair to stop it looking like candy floss at the ends. I have only recently started using hair protector on my hair. I use hair masks as well. I am hoping this will improve my hair plus having it trimmed regularly

I suppose I am stuck with this now. I have had loads of compliments on the colour. I can't bring myself to go grey.

Yes, it's like shampoo but you leave it on for up to 20/30 mins (I usually get bored and wash out around 15). I find them really subtle compared to box dyes too.

Non permanents don't fade on my hair, just a word of warning

Coloured shampoos are great for grey hair, like the Plantur. It gently builds, doesn't fade at the roots and the greys end up a different tone to the rest so you get a highlight effect too. I use it once a week and leave on for around 5 minutes in the shower or bath. It took around 6 to 8 weeks to be noticeable but I'm really pleased with it.

Does it contain sulphates? Which one is best as there seem to quite quite a few.

If you've never had dyed hair, I wouldn't be starting now. It's a PITA for regrowth when you go grey. Just leave it and see how it goes. You can always have high/low lights later if need be. You may need to inject some more colour into your clothes or make up though.