Castings ash blonde on salt and pepper hair?

[Earslaps]

I'm 39 and have had grey hairs for the last 15 years. I used box dyes for ages, then got allergic to PPD (in dark hair colour) so I've been using henna/indigo/cassia mixes the last six years to cover the white hairs. I'm now about 50% grey I think around the front of my head, less so around the back.

I'm finding it harder and harder to get a good colour from the henna mixes as I get more white hairs. I suit cool colours better and henna gives warm colours.

I'm thinking of just growing the colour out and stopping colouring, but not sure I'm ready to be too grey yet! I don't want to spend money on highlights etc and I hate going to the hairdresser.

I was wondering if it would work to use something like Castings in an ash blonde. As it doesn't have bleach it shouldn't affect my remaining brown hairs. Will it be able to give the white hairs a little bit of an ash blonde tone so they just look like ash blonde highlights? Has anyone tried this way to gradually ease into going grey?

Thank you!

I’ve just used that exact one and it’s ginger! It is not ash at all, I would avoid. Waiting for mine to wash out now.

I mean ginger may have been a slight exaggeration but not much. Even the pic on the box is a v v warm colour. My cool brown and grey hair is now a very very warm dark blond with a definite ginger tinge. Ash it is not. Why is it so hard to find an ashy hair dye?!

I’ve tried the nice n easy ash blonde for the same purpose. Looks ok when first done but after one wash looks ginger too. Think I’m just going to let it grow. Nothing I try looks good. I’m 38.

I could have written your post word for word! think may have to be salon visits from now on 😣

Argh, knew the idea was too good to be true! Really do not want to be ginger.

Luckily thanks to the henna I don't have a definite line like you get when growing out a box dye. I'll keep letting it grow for a bit and see if I can cope!

I got the ash blonde too but it was more a dark brown Do lo lights work if going grey or will they highlight the grey more?

By the way- if you've got too much orange you can try using a blue shampoo and conditioner to neutralise the colour. Might work ok whilst you wait for it to wash out.

I used a purple shampoo today as that's supposed to help the greys look better. Not sure it's made much difference. Perhaps I should just bite the bullet and go full purple rinse already

I was looking at the Bleach London purple shampoo, the ashy one (there's lots of different tones) and wondered if it would take on grey hairs ...

I might speak to my hairdresser and see what she suggests. Maybe some ashy blonde highlights will help a bit. Strangely there is no line on the top of my head but I've got a fairly obvious inch of regrowth at the sides (can't see it as long as I don't put my hair up).

At least my hair is reasonably short so it won't take long to grow out.

I have had this problem for a while and have tried a few different things. The problem with any colourant that has any peroxide in it (so not just bleach) is that it will lift your dark hairs, which is when you get the ginger. This happens with any peroxide of 20vol or above. I think Casting is semi permanent isn't it, but if it still uses developer then this is what causes the ginger because its lifting the dark to ginger.

The only way I have found to do it, without going for super expensive highlights is to bleach the whole head, and then use various toners/purple shampoos to give the right shade. You can get salon grade stuff online and it's actually more economical as you buy it in bulk. However, I have very, very short hair, which I am growing and I'm not sure how all the bleaching will go when it's a bit longer (obvs I only bleach the roots to refresh, not the whole hair) so I might need to review. But for now it's working for me, and the bleached dark hair/light hair gives me natural highlights.

You could try some deposit only dyes (eg. Loreal dialight which is a salon product but you can get it online) but Im not sure how well it deposits onto white hair that hasn't had bleach put on it?

Thanks for the suggestions but that L’Oréal one says it doesn’t work on white hair at all

I’ve checked and the semi I was using was nice and easy, not castings after all! So I’ve unfairly been mean about castings, no idea if it is gingery, sorry! I suspect from the other answers though, that it is either too gingery or too dark

I’ve got long hair and have been having blonde foils in it for years. I’m now prob 60% grey so I’ve decided to stop dying my hair, the condition is terrible and, quite frankly I’m fed up with it. What I’m doing now is using Milkshake silver shampoo and conditioner. It’s not cheap but it makes my blonde a really ashy colour, almost grey, which is fairly close to my natural colour. I’ve about an inch and a half of natural hair come through and I think it looks loads better.

@Rooftree that would have bleached your hair a bit, hence the orange tint. You should be able to neutralise the orange colour with a blue shampoo and conditioner. Or go to a hairdresser and get them to lighten it further.

That milkshake shampoo looks good but pricey! I might stick with the cheap provoke silver shampoo for a while I'm such a cheapskate!

I really don't want to start down the route of having highlights etc, it just seems such a hassle and no guarantee that it will work to blend the greys anyway.

Just be careful it will still have ppd in it.

If you have a PPD allergy you need to stop dyeing your hair.

There are no dyes that will cover grey/white hair and leave darker hair untouched. No over the counter dyes have enough peroxide to lift dark hair beyond one or two shades and before you get to a light enough blonde from brown such that it can be toned - it goes through orange.

This is why you get brassy results.

Another consideration is that hair that has had henna doesn't respond well to bleach/peroxide dyes- so I think highlights are out.

Have a look at grombre on instagram - lots of young people/middle aged are going with their natural grey hair and it is really helpful in countering the 'grey is old' mindset.

That milkshake shampoo looks good but pricey! I might stick with the cheap provoke silver shampoo for a while smile I'm such a cheapskate!

I’ve used the cheaper versions and find they don’t work anywhere near as well as well as the milkshake ones

I use this, Joanna Ultra Color System Hair Rinse Toner Spray SILVER 150ml www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073TXDFFV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LO39CbQQKGBHK?tag=mumsnetforu03-21. Works a treat

Thank you for the Grombre thing, I had a look and I am all the more determined to just grow it our now. I'll experiment with various silver shampoos to keep it looking good.

My hair is usually around chin length and grows very quickly, so it shouldn't take too long to grow out really. I suppose I'm quite lucky in that my hair is very fine (fine hairs but lots of it!), and strangely it seems to have got softer recently even with all the greys, so the greys aren't too wiry and my natural brown seems to have got lighter over time, so hopefully it will look ok.

Excuse awful pictures, but here you can see the current roots situation.

On the top you can't see a line, the hair is generally pretty brown and the roots seem to blend in.

On the sides the hennaed hair is a lot redder and there is a very definite line from when I last coloured a couple of months ago. I guess that is because I am a lot more grey around the temples so the hair took up the red of the henna a lot more easily. I really don't like the red colour in that bit, which is why I want to stop using the henna before I get too much greyer!!