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?

Well, I see hair dye as simply a cosmetic for the hair so can't really consider it "tragic". There are plenty of comments on the "Going grey" threads about "needing" to wear more make-up now the gone greyers are grey. If you never ever wear make up and pick clothes based on their function rather than whether they flatter you, or you simply like them, I suppose you could see dyeing hair as "tragic". Few people face the world completely naked, as it were, however.

Grey hair is not a sign of age Yes, yes it is .

I'm 41 and have greys coming through around the hairline and roots, so I use Superdrug's own brand semi permanent hair colour about every 3-4 weeks. I just bought some at the weekend and they were on offer at 3 for £7 - waaaay cheaper than at the salon and it doesn't take long to do. Doing mine tomorrow . Even my hair stylist said he was really impressed with the colour last time I went, so I won't go back to salon colour now unless I win the lottery.

if i dye my own hair at home i get it everywhere last time i had to neat bleach my bath and tiles I used to dye it red and i would do that at home sometimes was like a murder scene

Oh bore off chinachef

I have been going grey since i was about 17 and i didnt really fancy people staring at me because of my witchy hair at such an age. Its just become a part of my life and now at 31 i reckon i am probably about 75% grey but still have a fairly young face and would look like a fucking idiot with grey hair. Its a royal pain in the arse having to dye it, but i dont have the confidence for it to be the first people notice/think about when they see me.

I am pretty sure a lot of these 'dont be a slave to hair dye' types did not start greying in their teens.

Mrs jay-yes it's super drugs own in a brown can.they do other shades too btw. Even my hairdresser uses it

I think a thick grey streak would look cool, but I'd have to use hair dye for that.

I am a hair model, most salons use them to train their juniors - free cuts and colours. Also, tomorrow my junior is coming round to dye my hair at home for me cos she just loves doing hair.

chinachef I feel good when I colour my hair - it's not got any greys and I'm thirty seven but it's the colour of a washed out turd. I've had it that colour, and dyed dark chocolate browns. I feel happy when it's dark and I see it in the mirror. It's important to me to feel happy when I look at myself.

What shade do you use Softkitty ? Mine is freshly coloured at the moment but was £££ a good DIY alternative would be nice.

My mum found getting highlights added to her auburn hair made it less obvious when they grew out and she could wait a little longer.

Coumarin My hair is naturally mid-dark bown with a chestnut hint in the sun. I've used loads of different hair colours in the past and the Superdrug ones are the only ones that neither go too dark or make my roots and greys go too orange. I've used Rich Chestnut before and it's really nice but recently I've been using Rich Espresso (can't find an image of this but box looks similar), which has less of the red tint. Even my hairdresser likes it.

I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one drawing on my roots or spraying them brown!

I use nice n easy as well, and use so little that I have started dividing the mix into four by drawing lines marking quarter measures on the bottles before I mix it up. So it costs about a quid a time! The proportions are probably not that accurate but I have been doing it for a couple of years and it seems (and looks) fine.

I get DS 16 to do the back for me, he's getting quite good!

My parting and temples wash out really quickly so I use the superdrug brown dry shampoo as well. Sometimes I feel like one of those middle aged men with the spray on hair (Donald Trump, I'm looking at you) but hopefully don't look like one.

Now I know that drawing on your greys with eyebrow pencil or mascara is a Thing, I will carry on with confidence!

I have also found that curling my hair helps to distract from the issue.

I'm 44, I have a mixture of blonde and brown highlights added to my hair which is naturally dark blonde/light brown - but I find I go grey around my temples, and that seems to be harder to disguise than grey hairs in your parting?

a woman i know just let the grey through it is a lovely colour and great condition I just think mine is horrible and wiry and I don't think i have the patience for that awful inbetween bit

Hi Mrsjay I have been visiting the hairdressers for cut and colour for the last 10 years, however the grey is now so prominent after 3 weeks I have a badger stripe at the parting. I decided to go grey and in order not to have the growing out line I have had lowlights done it is really effective and looks as if I am going grey naturally. My daughter said I should embrace the grey!! I will be having interesting highlights done when the grey is more established.

I just ask them to do the t-section and go on a quiet day when they are unlikely to have appointments as you can sometimes get a discount.

It doesn't help when the grey hairs have a coarse, wiry texture and stick up rather than laying flat!

I'm a tragic bleached blond mug and I do my own roots.

It's a bit fiddly with all the sectioning of hair but I quite enjoy doing it.

I buy the peroxide and powder online, reckon it costs me about two pounds a time, vs thirty odd quid at the hairdresser.

yeah mine sticks up I might in a few years let it through do the low lights too vain at the moment I have aunts who were grey from as far back as i can remember and it looked fine, thing is my mum refuses to go grey and when she does i will consider it

What's left of my natural colour is dark brown, but now it's more grey than brown, I've started going lighter with even lighter high lights. The roots aren't so glaringly obvious.

I also started going grey at 17 and there was no way I was going to leave it at that age or this age either for that matter. I don't want to go grey

I get it done every 6-8 weeks, hairdresser is a friend so I'm eligible for mates rates and I barely notice the regrowth

I use a lot of those deep conditioning grubbing and my hair's in better condition that it ever has been.

I may be tragic (and vain), but I have fabulous hair

Grubbings - gubbins

Oh Help! Might have to start a new thread...

I'm allergic to those home dyes and root touch up makes my eyes red, irritated and runny.

Is there an alternative?/

Charm, what about henna?

Suzannewithaplan Can you get dark brown henna? I don't want to end up looking like Paul McCartney.

I do it myself.

I find the DIY kits that Boots, Superdrug etc sell terrible. I use the same stuff the hairdressers use, bought from a proper hairdressing shop, or bought online. Just mix 50:50 peroxide and colour in a plastic pot and apply to the roots for 30 mins. It usually lasts about 6 weeks. As I have fine hair I only have to use about a third of a tube of colour, so each touch up costs around 3.

I wouldn't touch a DIY box ever again. I wouldn't go to a hairdressers either because they charge far too much and I can do a better job myself.