Those that colour their hair to blend in greys, how do you avoid the 1D dye effect?

[Naicecuppatea]

I am 39 and am pretty white haired now. I am not quite ready to go natural yet. I have to colour my roots every 3-4 weeks to blend in the startling white which first shows at the temples. My natural colour is medium brown and this is the colour I use to dye it (permanent).

Today is the first day after colouring and it doesn't look natural at all (never mind the fact I've dyed my scalp in places too). I think the white has gone a more goldeny colour in areas. I am hoping it will settle down once I've washed it a couple of times.

Any advice to avoid the unnatural fake dying to colour my white hair look?

I wonder if it would be an idea to go for a lighter colour? That way the difference won't look so stark.

I have a similar issue I use the clairol root touch up in 6 which is slightly lighter
But the thing that works best is getting subtle highlights every 6 months so hair isn't all one colour
The ends look trashy and bright at the end of the summer which I quite like but otherwise it is a good compromise
I cannot afford more frequent highlights but the hairdresser will often do the roots at the same time
It is a good mix, but may be less natural looking than you want

Sounds like you're at one of the stages I was at before I decided to give up on the dye.

My hair is naturally dark brown but dark brown dyes were too harsh and a block colour that gave me what I call "Lego hair".

I tried lighter browns but they just went too red as they faded or didn't cover the grey/white. I also hated that harsh line that appears when the roots come through so I moved onto temporary dyes as at least they faded more evenly so I didn't get the harsh line, but of course they definitely didn't cover the grey.

Finally I decided "sod it" and have given up dying it - best decision I made!

The so-called "temporary" colour has almost grown out now but it's taken a lot of hair cuts and patience. The grey seems to grow through in such a way that people have asked if I've had highlights! I'm happy with it and my family and friends say it looks great so I'm sticking with it.

Thanks for the advice. Highlights might be an option. Norbert, I have been finding if my roots are showing through an inch's worth it makes my hair look like it is thinning terribly at the scalp (it is thinning slightly too but that's a whole other problem!). Did you find this when growing your grey through?

By the time I started growing it out I'd had a spell of using the temporary dyes rather than permanent so I don't think it was too bad.

I had to grow out my grey before they could lighten my hair.
I hated it but others thought it was OK.
Once grown out I went blonde.
The roots don't show any where near as much as they did when I was dark.
But I do always go to the hairdressers for hair colour now.
I ruined it dying it myself for so many years (going grey from mid 20's)