Best dye for dye resistant grey hair?

[GlitterGlue]

Urgh, just coloured it (using a Schwarzkopf permanent dye and left it on for longer than it said) and the bloody roots are still a patchy grey. Any recommendations? I've just bunged on some nice & easy root touch up, but even that doesn't seem to work as well anymore now I'm very, very grey at the front and top.

We do have a Sally's in town if they might have something better, although I probably can't get there until next weekend.

I can't afford to have it done every three weeks at the hairdressers (it grows fast). Please help.

Right, google tells me it's majirel that the hairdresser uses. Can I use that myself?

Yes - you'll need to also buy peroxide. If you look on eBay some helpful sellers bundle the two together for around eleven quid. Majirel from Sally's is about that on its own, although you can check their colour book while you're there . I would rec going lighter than you think you need, you probably do that already but this stuff won't fade as quickly as box dyes so you want to get it right.

Super, thank you. I'll pop to Sally's at the weekend and try and work out what they use. I think it's a 6 or 6.5, but they seem to be blonde and I'm not.

Looks bloody awful right now, the roots look darker than the rest. Don't feel ready to go grey though.

A 6 will just be natural and a 6.5 will be a rich version. Both darkest blonde technically but definitely look brown. A .0 is designed for resistant hair if it is actually resistant as opposed to the home dye you're using being too weak. So 6.0 instead of 6, though if it covers the greys well when your stylist does it- maybe just stick with a 6. You need 20 vol/6% peroxide for white coverage.

This is a brand I don't know but the swatch is roughly what I'd expect 6 to look like.

It's probably slightly darker than that. I think she mixes two together?

Now you mention it, they do use something different now for grey coverage, maybe that's the .0?

Maybe 6.5 is the target shade and they're using 1/2 6.0 to target the greys as 6.5 wouldn't give blanket coverage to resistant hair alone. The .0's do come up a tiny fraction darker. Maybe by a 5.5 and 6.0 to take it a half shade darker if the level 6 seems too light.

OR just google a pic of dark brown close to what stylist does and post it here then we can tell you if a 6 is too light.

If I were you I'd stick to the home colour, a shade darker than your target shade. Alternatively buy the shade u want and apply the colour neat, (contents of tube) without mixing in the developer, leave for ten mins, then mix colour as directed and apply over it, it's called pre softening and should help colour take better. You can use majirel yourself but just so you're aware if you have a reaction, or anything goes wrong you won't have a leg to stand on its for professional use, also if you're going the professional colour route Schwarzkopf igora absolutes, excellent coverage made especially for resistant hair.

I think it's about this colour. hennacolorlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/medium-brown-henna-hair-dye_HCL.jpg (The colour it looks on the woman, not the swatch.)

Ok. Without seeing your natural depth, I'd go with a straight 6.0. But that's just for white hair, so your regrowth. It may be too matte on your midlengths and ends- I don't know your existing colour- but the .0's are formulated a bit differently to penetrate a resistant cuticle. If you were a client, your hairdresser would be mixing the same shade in semi permanent or lower peroxide for midlengths and ends.

Is it ash or warm, eg golden tones to it? I now use 6.03 after some trial and error, this is technically dark blonde but is definitely brown. Excellent grey coverage and slight golden tones ( but not as pronounced as the 6.3 variants I had been using before).

Just to mention too that 6.5 is not half-way between 6 and 7. 6 is the depth on the light-dark scale (10 lightest blonde and 1 black) and the numbers after the . are the tones. So 6.0 is natural, 6.5 is (I think) dark blonde with mahogany tones, 6.3 is dark golden blonde, etc. Google the colour chart or majirel numbering system. If you're not sure what's been used already and you want to match, diy may not be the best solution tbh.

It's definitely more golden than mahogany. I must have misheard.

It already looks shit now I've coloured it. I (hopefully) can't make it look any worse, and I'm unlikely to be able to get to the hairdresser this side of Christmas.

Thanks for all of the advice.

OP the Loreal Excellence permanent dye (in a box from Boots) is practically the same thing as majirel: same manufacturer, same colour, even same smell. Use a bowl and a brush to apply it like they do at the hairdressers, there are YouTube videos showing you how to do this on your own hair. I mix colouring my own hair with Loreal Excellence and Majirel at the hairdressers, colour is always the same. I'm 6.0, a natural medium brown and it covers grey completely. Colour may fade a bit after 4-5 weeks but by that time, it's time to do the roots.

Oh really? I might give that a whirl first then.

How dark is the medium? I tend to find that they come out too dark these days, except on my roots.

Right, the excellence stuff is on my hair right now. In 15 mins we'll know if it is excellent or not.

It is not excellent. It might be better if I wasn't starting from shit hair?

It's too dark, and the bits where the root touch up were are way too dark. I look like a patchy witch. SOB. I'm not sure I can get to the hairdresser this side of Christmas either. It'll fade, won't it?

I've thought about using colour b4 or similar, but I know you can only use an 8 wash dye for a while afterwards and there is no way that will cover the massive grey.