DIY hair dyes

[DumbledoresGirl]

What do you use? I started by using a non permanent dye, just to get rid of my greys. I don't want to change my hair colour. I am naturally very dark and want to remain that way. After a bit, I progressed to so called permanent dyes but the one I use just does not dye my hair permanently. If it did, I would have roots to retouch every so often, wouldn't I? Instead, I find that after about 6 weeks, all my greys reappear, and not just at the roots but throughout my hair. Plus, once they start to reappear, they do so quite quickly, say within one or two washes which suggests that the dye is simply being washed out. Can anyone recommend a dye that really does stay in permanently and that only requires you to retouch the roots every few weeks. If it is particularly good for dark hair, so much the better.

Oh come on now! I know some of you might not need to get rid of the greys, but you can't all be young and free from this concern!

I am most certainly not, but I am soooooooooo grey (80%) that I have to pay my hairmesser £40 every 5 weeks to keep me looking blonde.

I use belle color and have quite a lot of grey but can't say I notice the grey coming back all over, only at the root.

Thanks LGJ, I feared people might say that!

Belle Colour JT? Easy to use?

i think i use recital preference, which is permanent, only the grey roots come through

Have been using one for about 12 months. Thing that makes me larf is the fact that I couldn't tell you what brand/colour it is, I just go by the lady's face on the box!

The one I use, Loreal Excellence Creme, is supposed to be permanent and contains instructions for using it when only touching up roots, but it just does not work that way with me. Am I doing something wrong? Or has anyone else found that supposedly permanent dyes wash out?

I use Clairol Nice n Easy to cover the greys. They do grow back at the roots, but not the rest. It's dead easy to use but I do have to leave it on for the maximum time (45 mins) to get the best result.

Are you using yours for the max time, DG?

I have used it both ways too - all over and just roots. I put it through the rest for 10 mins when I do the roots.

I would say I do keep it on for the maximum time, but I must admit I hate dyeing my hair specifically because it takes so long, so I wondered if I was skimping some important bit or not doing something properly.

DDG, my lady's only half an hour!

Carla, i am the same about the brand i use, i look for the picture!

And mine only takes 20 minutes, so dying shouldnt take too long.

I only know the name of mine because I have it in front of me now as I type. In the shop, I go for the familiar packet, but I think I am going to try another brand now. Any other brand in fact.

Belle Color is dead easy - but they all have more or less the same instructions. I use the nozzle and start where the grey is worse and basically use the nozzle and part my hair whilst at the same time squeezing the bottle (lines all over my head ) then when the bottle is well and truly empty I massage in the colour then gather my hair into a cone shape and wrap round the top of my head - I then spend the next 45 minutes on mumsnet!!! (medium blonde is anyone is interested - I'd call it light brown myself but there you go!)

Do you have problems with it staining your skin? I used to with the non permanent dye, but I find the permanent dye just washes off skin with no stain. Surely something is wrong there?

no I don't. I'm not that messy doing it though. I just use a tissue to wipe of any excess round the hair line and ears.

off!

i smear vaseline or something similar round my hairline to make sure the dye doesnt stain

I am so cack handed, I always get some somewhere! And when I have finished, there are always some uncovered greys but then I think that makes it look like I haven't dyed my hair and only have a few greys which is infinitely preferable to the truth!

ditto DDG

can't be faffed with Vaseline, staining isn't a problem for me.

i never used to til a bit of hair fell on my face while the dye was on it, and i had to use nailpolish remover to get the dye off my skin

Oops!

They fade that's why the colour changes. Theya re permanent in that your hair has been stripped of it's natural colour and a replacement added (even if close to normal one), but the colours fade- particularly iirc in reds, as the red hair dyes have larger particles.

Staining skin easily sorted by applying vaseline or hair conditioner around face and hairline before use.

have been dying my hair all manner of shades since I was 12. Allergic to it but do it anyway even though I did suffer extreme burns on one occasion. I tried to stop but coldn't- addicted!

They fade that's why the colour changes. Theya re permanent in that your hair has been stripped of it's natural colour and a replacement added (even if close to normal one), but the colours fade- particularly iirc in reds, as the red hair dyes have larger particles.

Staining skin easily sorted by applying vaseline or hair conditioner around face and hairline before use.

have been dying my hair all manner of shades since I was 12. Allergic to it but do it anyway even though I did suffer extreme burns on one occasion. I tried to stop but coldn't- addicted!

Ugh PC, the way you describe it is rather offputting! I have never been inclined to dye my hair until I started going seriously grey. Are there any products that just cover the grey without stripping the hair of all natural colour?