How the hell do you keep on top of roots?

[monkeynuts123]

It's £40 a time at the hairdressers to do my roots and my hair grows so quickly the grey roots are visible after 6 weeks (I'm only 30!). How do you do it? I don't want to dye all my hair every time otherwise it will go like a brush but how do you just do the roots?

[AdventColander]

meddie doesn't the dye go off if you keep it? The instructions say you have to use it straightaway. I'm interested because this could save me a lot of money.

[mrsjay]

my hair isnt all that shiny really

[stopgap]

Dark brown mascara for me. I also get visible roots after three weeks, but dye my hair every six.

[sebsmummy1]

I have naturally dark brown hair but went great in my late teens. I find what works for me is having highlights and lowlights put through. Then I just have them touched up every few months. I think roots tend to look really bad if you are quite grey and have a dark cl

[sebsmummy1]

Colour put all over. It will always look better to go lighter the greyer you are.

[ilovepowerhoop]

you only have to use it straight away if you have mixed it. If you mix the right quantities into another container than you could save unmixed stuff for another time. I wouldnt trust myself to get the proportions right though

[ACED]

Hi monkeynuts123 I have the same problem as you with grey hair showing through but when I explained to my hairdresser I couldn't afford to get my hair done every 3 weeks she suggested having a parting only colour after 3 weeks which means I can stretch the full colour process to every 6 weeks. Parting only is £10. : )

[smegheeeeeed]

I agree with seb, I have dark brown hair ,so I have blond highlights on it and then when the grey roots come through it is barely noticable, I can go 3-4 months in between salon visits (my friend does it for me at home but she is a top stylist and uses salon products ) when I had full head colour the roots were way to glaring , now no one can even tell unless they really look closely.

[MassiveCockSilverFox]

[Musicaltheatremum]

I've gone lighter now plus high lights and rarely see my roots although I find that by 6 weeks they need doing. One of my luxuries so do enjoy it.

[KittensoftPuppydog]

Garnier. Really easy. Just put it on dry hair then rinse off after 1/2 hour. Piece of piss.

[AdventColander]

Ilovepowerhoop thanks. I will try that!

[KinderBoris]

I have black hair and ash blonde highlights. Tis a nightmare but I really like the colour. I couldn't do my roots at home as I suck at anything fiddly.


In between every half head of foils I only have "t section" foils, down the middle and back a bit. Costs much less and gets rid of the obvious roots with less damage too.

[Yonineedaminute]

I do it myself every few weeks, but i never get my hair dyed at tge hairdressers anyway, its a rip off if you have dark hair i think.

However,

Recently i have also discovered another way of covering dark roots in the form of the simple brown eyeliner pencil. Seriously, you just draw it onto your roots and it covers them a treat. I thought it would look greasy or something because of tge waxiness of tge pencil, but it doesnt its great! Much better than those mascaras or dry shampoos. I can get another couple of weeks between dyes if i have to.

[CrispyFB]

I've been using this recently: www.amazon.co.uk/Roux-Tween-Time-Crayon-Medium-Brown/dp/B000TC198Q?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 - there's a bunch of different colours.

It's not fantastic, and it makes the hair feel a little cloying/greasy where you use it, but it covers enough of it to make things not look too bad to the casual observer. It buys me a few more weeks.

I also dye at home, never had an issue. Sometimes I go to the hairdresser but they rarely seem to do the colours I want - they're never red/purple enough or whatever it is I fancy at the time. Not that I want to go totally funky or anything - I'm perfectly happy with off the shelf L'Oreal stuff or whatever - but the shades are always rather conservative and almost too natural! Maybe I go to the wrong hairdressers. I only use hairdressers if I'm getting highlights.

[ChinaChef]

Jeez, listen to you all.

Talk about brainwashed.

Dyeing your hair in a desperate attempt to appear younger isn't 'confident' or empowered in any way. It's tragic, and it's a vast waste of money.

Many people start to go grey in their 20s and 30s. Grey hair is not a sign of age: it's just a sign of maturity. If you never let your hair grow out naturally, you'll never know what you really look like, and you'll never know how beautiful you can be with your own hair colour, not Clairol's.

Ditch the dye, grow your hair. Be yourselves.

[olympicsrock]

Another fan of Colour Wow (the brush on solution)- expensive but it does a good job. Brilliant to brush on hair line and temples to extend the time between root colourings. Easy-peasy , quick and rainproof jist shampoos out.

[bump6]

for £20 go to Toni and guy modelling sessions!
Yes it's a student but you always have a pro checking everything.
You get time out, lovely head massage.
It's great.. That's how I afford to keep the greys out the way:-)

[olympicsrock]

I'm using a semipermanent to do my roots as not too many greys (L'oreal Nice and easy). If you've got less than 50% greys it works well. Easy to do at home and £5 every 6 weeks.

[merrymouse]

The thing is many people dye their hair even if it isn't grey, and when I decide to go grey I fully plan to have the colour enhanced ala helen mirren if I can afford it.

Hair dye is a relatively cheap way to change your appearance. If you don't want to be salt and pepper why be salt and pepper?

[Chippednailvarnish]

Welcome to MN Chinachef

[optimistmum]

Change your hairstyle. I have messy/curly hair and the roots don't show for months. It is the only advantage in having curly hair.

[Tiredtomybones]

Another who uses eyeliner here.

[mrsjay]

if you say so chinachef

[Latara]

I get my hair highlighted every 6 weeks - going blonder makes the greys less obvious.

Chinachef I'm only 37 and look too young to go grey, anyway I'm looking for a boyfriend!