Grey hair. What should/can I do?

[nkf]

I'm going grey. A few strands but I don't like it and obviously it's going to accelerate. What are my options? I cannot afford salons so that's out. It needs to be as easy as possible because I am fairly low maintenance. But low maintenance and grey hair is not a good look.

grey hair? live with it. first grey hair spotted at 14.

i don't mind the grey hair. its the fact that its thinning rapidly that bothers me.

Lush Caca Rouge

There must be other purveyors of henna - Lush is just the only one I have bought from so far. I am not an expert, just a newly enamoured enthusiast

Ooh no hope for the undyed, uncut then!!

I don't want to live with it. I don't mind it on other people. I don't complain about ageism. I don't mind being the age I am. I just don't want grey hair.

pacific is the brun chest nutty ? I'm that naturally and want to keep my natural colour....not too red but not too dark.
Thanks

If you neither cut nor dye your hair then you are making a statement just as surely as someone who does both. But as far as style & beauty is concerned, a cut is more important. In my view.

Drywhite, my hair is naturally mid-brown, not too dark (I am caucasian and blue eyed - you get the picture?). I use 1 square of brun and 2 squares of marron = chestnutty colour, more brown then red until the sun hits it, then the red is more obvious.
They do say you MUST do a strand test, but who has the patience...?

Thanks pacific we have similar colouring, will give it a go.

I'm going to give henna a try. Thank you, ladies.

Can't find it on the website Superdrugs colour effects is brilliant for a few greys, you can build up the colour or use a few different shades, it is very cheap, way easier to use than dye or henna and is also very cheap.

I'm dark brown haired with pale skin and green eyes and use the Lush Henna, half and half Brun and Marron gives a hint of redness in a nice warm brown. I've tried each on their own, Brun is fine but Marron on it's own is definitely too red for me. I used to grate it, but it takes ages, now I just pour boiling water on and leave it for half an hour adding a bit more hot water and stirring as needed, then give it a quick zap in the microwave to reheat it before using it. I use a shower cap and a towelling turban to keep it all in place. I shower to remove it, it does take a good 20 mins to get it all out and shampooed. Leaves it in lovely condition.

Where do you get henna?

If I may, ladies...

I see your lush caca and raise you a BAQ henna application.

Body art quality henna from Pakistan or Yemen or Egypt etc, (the stuff used for mehendi) is pure, finely sifted henna powder. Nothing added. (Lush add some other bits and bobs, I believe)

Add water, mix into muddy gloop, wait for dye to release, stick on head, wait an hour or two or longer, wash off.
Completely permanent, natural copper / red.

Test it out on some strands from your hairbrush before you put it on your head in case you don't like the colour. Because it's bomb proof once its in your hair.

And how I didn't find this sooner after years of trying to give my red bonce a bit more vavavoom with salon dye I don't know. My hair is reverting to the glossy silkiness of my youth. Amazing.

there's a very informative website called www.hennaforhair.com which has a lot of pictures and research, but there are UK websites selling the stuff. I got mine on ebay, a brand called Jamila.

I was going to suggest superdrugs colour effects shampoo as well WKWTM, they're like the old toners you could buy in a sachet... I would go a shade lighter than your natural colour, ie if your light brown go for a dark blonde base... I switch between mahogany 5/5 and copper gold which I think off the top of my head is 7/73... the longer you leave it on the deeper the colour, it blends in the grey with no regrowth as it just fades out, and the shine looks fab...

Oh, just noticed you didn't want red hair. Do ignore me. I get excited.

Having just grown out years of hair dye (started going grey at 17) I'd say don't dye it if you can bear it at all. Honestly,, it is a total treadmill which in a few years will see you constantly cursing your roots!!! If you possibly can just embrace it! I'm not a very groomed person but do manage tinted moisturiser, blusher and a pair of earrings which goes a long way to helping the whole look be unusual as opposed to old!!

Is there a henna dye that doesn't take hours?

I was really tempted until I read you have to leave it for 4h!! I have neither the patience nor a 4h child-free window to do it because you know the dc will stick their fingers in the brown goop and decorate the house

Don't do anything to it. IMO people age so much more elegantly with grey hair.

I'm letting nature take it's course on my hair and looking after my fitness + diet instead.

Could you manage to learn how to do an elegant or arty "updo"? grey hair always seems to look quite nice that way.

whenis try superdrug's colour effects it takes 5 minutes

I stick the henna on after dinner about 6pm when the DCs watch a bit of telly, takes about 20 mins including cleaning up, then stick on my showercap and turban for the evening and wash it out before bedtime, so it doesn't interfere with other actvities much.

I wear my hair up.
I have to agree that scraggly grey ponytails on the over 40's are not a good look.
Then again so many women in their 50's and 60's would look better with grey hair than clearly fake chestnut (with roots)

HennaBoy does BAQ henna too, but I was not brave enough to go for it as the colour seems to have the potential for being a lot brighter. Like I said, I am not patient enough for strand tests .

I am growing my air to be able to do with 'elegant hair up' thing. It takes times though, doesn't it?? (see remark about patience above).

I have wavy/frizzy hair and I do look ok with a short crop, but I get bored.
And I either need to do a lot styling (no patience, and just not important enough to me) or look a bit dishevelled...

I do mine when littlies are in bath, then do bedtime with clingfilm/towel on and wash out before bed. Or go to bed with it...

The colour is, as you say, brighter, PacificDogwood, although I understand that repeated applications take it through darker red shades even into burgundy, and using it in conjunction with other natural veg dyes like cassia, indigo and buxus can pretty much produce any shade as long as it is the same or darker than your natural shade.

I did do strand tests though, I was very cautious at first. I just add one or two tbsp to conditioner and that gives me plenty of colour and fab conditioning. I am becoming slightly hair obsessed though. I can't believe how glossy and smooth my un-dyed new growth is compared to the dyed lengths (which actually I thought were pretty nice anyway). Can't wait for it all to grow out so I can have inappropriately long, swishy over-40s hair.

I used henna successfully for the last fifteen or so years. Started with an auburn colour (Lush caca marron) then in my late thirties changed to a more subtle caca brun.

I have now decided to let the grey grow out. I am forty this year and was starting to have roots showing about two weeks after hennaing it. I want to be able to grow it out without an obvious line where the grey starts, so it's now or never. I've been growing it out for six months now and it looks fine so far, but if I'd waited another couple of years I think it would have been harder.