How to cover just a few greys?

[Idontunderstandmollyandmack]

I’m 45 and have started to have a few visible grey/silver hairs. I have long dark hair and have strands of grey at the top.
Ive tried dyeing it, but don’t like the look as it doesn’t look natural to me, I like my natural hair colour and want to keep this, but how do I get rid of these bloody grey hairs? 😫

@ThankfulForEverydayEspeciallyToday Oh god, really 😂tbh, I’ll be trying it! Can you get dark brown permanent markers 🤔 black would stand out too much I think

@Oblomov23 Thats what I’ve tried a couple of times, a semi permanent one, I still think it looks quite obviously dyed though🤷🏻‍♀️

@theblackradiator Yep, same 😫under my eyes are so puffy this last year, I feel like my greys are at least something I can help with for now at least

I haven't tried this but did read on the S&B board that if you have dark hair and use a semi permanent home dye kit in a darkish blonde colour, it'll turn your greys into nice highlights.

L'Oréal magic retouch hair mascara is pretty good for the grey strands. Prob better than using a marker pen ! The sprays are rubbish for me as I need dark brown and end up with dark spatters on my face!!

I love the colour conditioner. I got on Amazon called langanza. Leave it on for 60mins max and it doesn’t have a smell like most colourants do

I use root spray but I don't really rate it as it goes everywhere I end up with speckles all over my face and my parting gets covered. I was actually looking at these on Amazon yesterday I'm thinking of trying it. Really interested in the John Frieda thing. I'm only 31 and I have a lot of white hairs it's really noticeable against my dark hair. I did go blonde for a while which helped disguise it better but I found the upkeep too expensive so stopped.

This does work but only with the shampoo-in type colours which are designed to last a few washes.

The 'semi-permanent' ones in a box that have a colour and developer will still stain and possibly lighten your hair so the regrowth line will be obvious.

I used semi permanent dyes, just high street ones, L'Oréal casting etc. (until I was about 50 when some more serious action was needed).
If you are not very grey then a box dye can last much longer than the advertised 24 washes. And it blends nicely, can look fairly natural and doesn't show roots. Choose a colour a bit lighter than you think. So if you are medium or dark brown, choose a light brown colour.

I agree with this, hated the red tint it gave my hair, it looked fake imo. I'm in the very same position 45 and I have some greys on my left temple. Seems like overkill to dye but when I pull my hair back the green ages me drastically. I do have some blonde balayage and occasionally get the hairdresser to pull some colour through which covers the grey, it's semi permanent and lasts about 6 weeks, just gives me a bit of polish but it's the exact same colour as my natural hair

I noticed my 1st grey at 23 (same year I met DH!) and am now mid 40's. Well done OP for getting to 45 and only now having a few 😉

I've used casting colours, semi permanent box dyes for over 10yrs. I personally hate sitting in a salon for hours on end , when I can do it at home in 30mins! I have naturally dark brown, thick, wavy hair. A semi will wash out over time, and not leave the line a permanent dye does. If you try castings, buy a much lighter colour than you'd assume. I generally buy light brown, or iced brown- even though I'm naturally dark.

I've tried crayons to colour the greys but it always left my hair stiff and dirty feeling.

Like someone else said, I find this hair mascara is the best thing for just a few greys. I just whack it on then rub it in a bit with my fingers. Although I'm also wondering if a cheap brown eyelash mascara would work as well!
www.superdrug.com/hair/hair-colourants/root-touch-up/loreal-magic-retouch-concealer-brush-dark-brown-8ml/p/771669?gclid=CjwKCAjwiOCgBhAgEiwAjv5whPVidq7BWI31KBljCSHiW2mLtNFN43Yow-BavRLSSRNVTyVVJ4nQoRoCNB8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Yes definitely!
That's exactly what color I used.

Mid 30s and I only had a few greys which I would always trim at the root. Means sometimes I had the hair poking up when it grew and I missed it, but I also have dark hair so understand the issue.

Pregnancy gave me many more white hairs so now I just embrace it. To be honest they are hidden and I do still trim the visible ones on top.

I'm 48 and like you OP, had started noticing a few silvers creeping in.

Recently I had some foils done and it worked a treat. I've got mid-brown/reddish hair, so had reddish foils (half head) a shade lighter put through. Covered greys and gave the overall colour a good lift.

Not sure how that'd work on very dark hair though, but a good hairdresser will know.

The hair mascara sounds good, I was about to dig the sharpies out we've got a brown one 🤣. As for the puffy eyes OP it's so depressing, my friend took my photo the other day and my eyes were so puffy that they looked like they were closed! I look permanently tired 😫. Ive always looked very young for my age but it's really creeped up on me all of a sudden and I'm now looking like a right old woman, I don't recognise the old biddy in photos or mirror 😭. I still look like that fresh faced 21 year old in my head!!!

Have you tried L'oreal magic touch

https://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/hair-colour/magic-retouch

or

Wow Hair powder

https://uk.colorwowhair.com/products/root-cover-up

Both are good but you may need a bit of trial and error to get the right colour.

The L'oreal tends to stick to the hair better I find - if you run your fingers through your hair you get less of the l'oreal but more of the powder. On the other hand the L'oreal is harder to get precisely round the hairline where the powder with the small brush is more precise.