Talk to me about dyeing hair.

[legojunkie]

I'm pulling out more and more grey hairs. I've got mid brown hair and I don't know where to start with dyeing it. My mum had a massive swelled face reaction to hair dye once so I'm a bit worried about it.

I'd have it done at the hairdressers first and then maintain it yourself at home.

Any decent hairdresser will get you to go in beforehand to do a patch test - check you aren't allergic to their products. After that if you want to DIY invest in a pack to do a test with then just go for it. DIY is hugely cheaper than hairdresser.

I am a fanatical convert to home dying. L'Oreal Excellence for me every time.

If you go to a hairdresser, they should do a skin test to check for allergies when colouring for the first time so you would probably have to have the test and return next day to check no reaction. Much more expensive to ave it done in salon though. Maybe go for highlights first which should hide the grey, that's how I started off with colouring. Also my mum had a reaction as you described but I have never had any problems.

If you buy a home kit, it will explain how to do an allergy test first (usually you test the dye on your arm and wait 48 hours). I would actually do that anyway, whether you go on to use the kit or go to a hairdresser.

The first time, you might want to try a temporary dye rather than a semi-permanent or permanent -- it will last about a month. These are gentler, and also this way you can experiment with what colour you want and it's not a tragedy if it goes wrong.

How long is your hair?

You could always NOT dye it. Radical, I know.

I don't want to go grey yet, so I will need to dye it.