Help - middle aged hair!

[nickEcave]

I have very thick, ever so slightly wavy shoulder length hair which is probably around 50% grey by now. I've been dying it with semi-permanent home dye for years and over the past year or two it's been getting drier and drier. I get the ends trimmed every 3/4 months, use a colour protecting shampoo, conditioner and serum and only wash (and blow dry) it twice a week but it's getting crispier and frizzier. Has anyone else in their 40s with hair like this found a way of making it sleek and youthful looking again or am I asking for the holy grail? Going grey is not an option I'm afraid

Why don't you look into one of those Brazilian/keratin treatments that straightens your hair permanently?

My local salon charges £120 for that treatment and I think it lasts about 8 weeks. I was thinking of something a little cheaper

Get the £30 kit from Amazon.

Try supplementing your diet with fish oil and B vitamins. You will need to be patient to see results but they will definitely make a difference. Perfectil is quite good as a multi vitamin, my favourite though is by Terra Nova, I can honestly say it has improved my skin and hair over the past few years (I'm mid 40s). Also try putting coconut oil on before bed and wash it off in the morning.

I've never taken a supplement (apart from folic acid at start of pregnancy) and think I have a fairly healthy diet but perhaps it would be worth trying something specifically targeted at hair. How long were you taking the supplement for before you started to notice a difference?

The cheapest thing to try first is to try a different shampoo and conditioner. My hair is a similar texture to yours and, even before the grey, some products left it like straw, or worked great for a while, then stopped agreeing with my hair.

Supplements won't change the hair that you have, but will effect the new hair that grows out of your head.

I'd say play the waiting game, get your hair trimmed regularly, and aim to grow new better hair.

I have hair the same as you op, mines in an a line Bob just below jaw. I hVe a lot of grey around my parting. Used to colour but grey showing through so quickly I used course b4 dye stripper and was left with more or less my natural course which is auburn albeit faded compared to how it used to be. I use Aussie moisture shampoo and reconstructive conditioner. I only wash twice a week. I try to get my ends trimmed every couple if months as they go crispy and very dry. You could also try coconut oil on dry hair leave overnight and shampoo off the next day. Or use olive oil which is also good.

Color not course

Get yourself a permanent colour at a salon that also does olaplex treatment. It really improves the condition of coloured hair.
You could also try a cream cleanser instead of shampoo like Wen.

Forgot to mention you could try semi colour instead if permanent it's not as harsh And drying and it fades without leaving hard growth lines. I used to use Castings and it's longevity is quite good for a semi. Im thinking about having a few highlights to camouflage the grey

It's the Castings semi-permanent that I've been using for years. I tried the Naturtint from Holland and Barrett as I thought it might be gentler, but it didn't cover the grey. Maybe I'll try a different conditioner. I've used L'oreal sulphate free shampoo for the last couple of years as I used to get eczema and going sulphate-free made a big difference. I currently use Elvive colour-protect conditioner and Aussie colour-protect serum so will maybe try changing them around. Not prepared to pay for salon dye jobs yet - I'm only 41 and I think once you go down the salon-dye route there's no going back.

Try Schwartzkopf q10 shampoo for mature hair.

I was getting a bit dry and fluffy but it's sorted me right out. It's cheap if you shop around.

Go silicone free. If your hair is coated in silicone build up no amount of treatments or serums will make any difference. Get the pantene clarifying shampoo (£5 in tesco) and then silicone free shampoos (google for a list). Made a big difference for me.

Oh and the amazon keratin kit is brilliant too. And moroccan oil.

I've been wondering about trying the Philip Kingsley Elasticiser. Does anybody use it? Is it worth the money?

my rather frizzy damaged hair was transformed last week to sleek shiny real hair again using the 24.99 brazilian keratin kit off amazon.

I find mine looks far shinier and more healthy if I use my Babyliss Big Hair. As my hair is quite fine, it doesn't add as much volume as I'd like, but makes it really swishy and gloss, like I've just been to the hairdresser's.

Can the amazon keratin kit be used on coloured hair, and can you colour over it?

I've been wondering about trying the Philip Kingsley Elasticiser. Does anybody use it? Is it worth the money?

It did bugger all for my hair and I persisted for months with it. Other people like it though.

I've just started using Redken Frizz Dismiss range, really good so far. SLS free too I think.

Thanks, Mrs Bo (nearly called you Mrs BJ then - please forgive me!).

Haha, I've been called much worse

The keratin treatments fried my hair, had to have 6" off but mine was highlighted with bleach. I now get olaplex done every 8 weeks, £30 and it's lovely, shiny, frizz free and no heat so no damage in the long term

funny olaplex did nothing for me
Can the amazon keratin kit be used on coloured hair, and can you colour over it? yes to both, it can strip a bit of the colour when you do it and they recommend not recolouring for 2 weeks but I have done it after a few days and been fine.

The only thing to remember is that you cannot use shampoo with sodium chloride in and it is quite hard to find one without. I use sainsburys cherry shampoo for kids, cheap as chips and no sodium chloride. there are lots online but I prefer this one with a good conditioner.

I have switched from permanent box dye to Daniel Field hair dye - no peroxide or ppd. The colour is lovely, there is no smell at all and it does cover my grey and I have a lot of grey.

www.danielfieldmailorder.co.uk/natural-hair-colour/

I am hoping that because it doesn't have peroxide that there will be no damage to my hair - so far so good but too early to say for sure. Also, I have found that I need to leave it on for a good hour to get enough intensity to hide the greys.

Oh, and importantly, the hair dye won't make your hair lighter, only darker or the same colour, so it won't work if you're going from dark to blonde.

Now I am just waiting for the crispy old peroxided ends of my hair to be long enough to cut off!