I want to stop dying/highlighting my hair - what are my options?

[LooSeatInTheSkyWithDiamonds]

My hair is long and currently a mix of brown and highlights that always go brassy. Hairdressers always want to put red in the brown, which I hate, and highlights always go gingery/brassy and cost a packet. I've had enough and am considering going back to it's natural colour (brown with grey, yes GREY!!!). Anyone done this? I want to avoid a 2-tone head or cutting my hair short. Any suggestions?

Sorry,no advice,in the same boat as you, so watching this thread with interest!

I am 54. For years I had my hair highlighted, and also got fed up of it going brassy: I always wanted it toned down. About a year ago I thought I'd give it a try, as the roots didn't look too bad a colour. My hairdresser really didn't want me to, but now that it's all grown out she agrees it looks good. I actually love it - I hadn't realised just what bad things colouring does to the condition of your hair - now it's really shiny and soft, and I like the colour - irt what I was aiming for all the time when I had it coloured. I also like the not-paying for colouring... I am naturally mouse but now it looks more like blonde thanks to the white hairs.

I would say go for it - maybe have it coloured nearer your natural colour first, so you don't grimace at the roots, then take a deep breath and grow it. Treat yourself to a good shampoo and conditioner (I like Aveda), to ramp up the improved condition even more - you can afford it out of the money you save on dye!

I've just used wash out colour three times & each time very dry hair so have let it be for the last few months. I don't know about the grey & will let it be and see how I feel on it.

I dyed mine back to very close to my natural colour, and it's now growing out gradually. It was getting too expensive and time consuming post DC to maintain the highlights. I hardly notice the roots and I'm happy with the result, although I hardly recognised myself in the mirror at first! (I don't have grey yet though which I imagine might make it more difficult).

I dyed mine back to very close to my natural colour, and it's now growing out gradually. It was getting too expensive and time consuming post DC to maintain the highlights. I hardly notice the roots and I'm happy with the result, although I hardly recognised myself in the mirror at first! (I don't have grey yet though which I imagine might make it more difficult).

A friend did this a couple of years ago - had a fab short cut, two-tone hair for a month or so (it really was only that long) and now has a fabulous grey bob. I'd say go for it!

I did mine four weeks ago, though I went for a very short pixie to get rid of the colour (I know you said you don't want to do this), but I just wanted to point out that mine is now grey and brown and I have never in all my life had so many compliments on my hair.

few months of non-permanent colour?
I go through phases of colouring and not colouring (just do myself a full head of colour, nearish to my natural colour, at home) but I can't really be bothered, and then don't like the 2 inch roots and do it again.
At the moment I have a non-permanent on the basis that as it fades it will be similar to the roots and then if I don't do it again (after the permanent colour which is on the ends has been cut out) it won't really be noticeable.

I had about 6 inches of brassy, stringy hair cut off a couple of weeks ago. I now have a curlyish shoulder length bob. I reckon within a few months I can get it cut again and all the old highlights will be gone. It was very liberating.
I'm 51 and thinks it's time to embrace the grey! I have a really prominent streak at the front ( that runs into my eyebrow!), so I'm going to make the most of this feature.

It will be not easy to get your natural color without some not quite nice interlude but you can try colouring your hair on your natural colour for all hair or only get some brown higlights.

I'm in the same position here.
I have bra length hair, brown with some grey and highlights that look brassy and frankly vile.
On thursday I am going to have about 6 -8 inches lopped off into a bob-ish shape (going armed with pics!) and then I'm going to attempt to leave my roots for a few months to see exactly what colour I have naturally! I'm nealry 46 and know I have a grey streak at the front and lots of other bits.. but no idea how much.
If I can bare it I am going to go natural. My hair is in poor condition from the colour and if I hate the grey I will have a semi over it as it grows out the highlights..but I am intending to have my natural colour by a year's time.

It may be the year of the hat..

How nice to hear lots of us are going natural. I'm not sure I can bear to cut my hair short although it would be the sensible thing to do. I've only just grown it out and got over the horrid nondescript shoulder-length stage

I'm only just forty. No idea how I'm going to look with my normal hair colour, but that's quite exciting. Looks like I might need to go for some semi-permanent colour in the meantime, if my hairdresser lets me

I think that the grey haired woman they are using in the number 7 ads for Boots looks marvellous. I LOVE grey hair but mine is coming in in an awkward pattern- I have pure white temples and a streak above my right eye and them a smattering of salt and pepper. It doesn't really work with a pixie hairstyle so i am considering growing mine out at the moment but I admire women who have theirs natural and think they always look better for the main part instead of with brassy highlights and streaky green glow/burgundy dinner lady hue hair. There is something really beautiful about grey hair on a younger face.

I will be 41 tomorrow, and have long hair which is pure white at the front and mixed the rest with some silver patches. I love it, and have had loads of compliments since I grew it in.

I used colourb4 3 times initially, then bleached my front white sections and then wore my hair up till it grew through. It took a year, but wasn't that bad tbh

I'm thinking of doing the same, too! (Is it the time of year thats making us think like this??) My hair is dry, frizzy and brassy.

I've just come back from a trip to Bath, and I saw loads of women with stunning grey 'bobbed' hair. They had make up on, and dressed well.

My hair colourist tells me that although I'm grey around my temples, I'm mare 'salt and pepper' around the back. She suggested that I waited a bit longer to go back to my grey colour. I'm 47 and I've had it coloured since I was about 19. GULP

I've been thinking along the same lines. Thankfully, my blonde highlights don't go brassy, I wonder if it's because I go for ash blonde shades, rather than warmer, golden ones? They do dry out my hair though and it's curly, so I don't often have shiny locks. I thought I might try henna if I don't like the half way house look, as it's supposed to be good for conditioning hair.

Dry, frizzy and brassy, yes that's me too! Although my hair was pretty frizz-prone before I started colouring it.

I found ash colours don't go so brassy but the hairdressers I've seen always insist on using warm colours. Apparently it's because I have red cheeks .

So do we think that you need to either have a solid streak of grey or be grey/white all over to pull off the look? Would patchy salt and pepper work? I've just checked out the No7 ad and the - she looks great!

I'm most of the way through the transition. I got fed up of dye always going brassy. The hairdresser has been totally supportive - he found a highlight colour that's an almost silvery blonde to disguise the arrival of the roots. My natural hair is totally silver at the sides, mainly very dark at the back, and salt and pepper on top, but with the highlights it all kind of blends. They seem to only need doing every six or so months. I'm loving being grey - I think my skin had changed, so it actually suits my face better (though was terrified before doing it).