Does anyone have highlights & a tint to cover greys?

[Littlemiss74]

I have dark mousey brown hair but am getting more and more grey by the month. I used to have highlights and a tint which pretty much covered them all but then the regrowth was quite harsh and I needed to go to hairdressers every 5 weeks to get roots done or it would look awful.

Last year I decided to stop the tint and have more lighter highlights which kind of blend in with the grey and the root regrowth is less obvious. However the bleach is making my hair so dry and flyaway and the greys that are visible are so wiry! When I look in mirror the greys are so visible to me on the top of my head although they are quite well blended. I hate them all the little short wiry ones that stick up and no matter what I try I can’t smooth them down.

I’m really just after some inspiration as to what my options are and what works well for other people. Should I go back to having the tint in between the highlights perhaps? I just used to find the tint was a bit orangey.

I’m rubbish at all the hair stuff, i just want it to look nice especially as the highlights are so expensive!

I just do a home colour on the roots, in a colour which matches the highlights. I have to do it about every 2 - 3 weeks though, but it keeps it looking smart.

What product do you use Swisskit?

I have a home hairdresser put on a tint every 5 weeks and a few lowlights (as itje ends tend to get lighter and lighter) every few months. If the roots annoy me in the middle, I use half a pack of root touch up at my temples and parting.

I thought about this long and hard and in the end went for leaving it natural. Any other option seemed to be too much faff. And it works for Keanu's girlfriend...

Passthecake30 what colour is the tint you use? I’m just unsure as to what colour I should be going for for the tint as my natural hair colour is quite dark but the highlights are quite blonde. When I had a tint before it looked so orangey that the regrowth looked awful. I’m finding it all a bit confusing.

I had exactly the same problem. My hair just did not react well at all to bleach. Now I have caramel colour highlights but keep the roots dark. My dye the roots myself mostly and use the L'Oréal spray to cover re growth in between. I occasionally use the castings semi permanent to give my hair some gloss.

Girlintheframe this sounds really nice. Does this work with keeping the greys at bay? How do you dye the roots yourself without dying the highlighted parts too? With the castings do you put it all over the hair, so over the highlights too?
I just wish the hairdresser could explain the options to me in simple terms as I never really fully understand what I am going to end up with!

Yes it keeps the greys at bay for about 3 weeks (but I keep it on for about an hour! Discovered this through trial and error. Wouldn't advise it for 1st time tho). I only dye it every 6-8 weeks and use the spray in between.
I use the nice and easy Root touch up which has a small brush in it. I'm quite slap dash with it tbh but it always looks fine. I generally just cover the bits you can see and about 3 Xs a year rope my husband in so I can get the back/top covered.
The castings I use very occasionally and apply it everywhere. I find it tones down the highlights initially but as it washes out they become more vibrant as time goes on.
The bleach really did damage to my already a bit dull/frizzy hair so I try to limit the amount of colour that goes on it now except for the roots.

Thank you Girlintheframe that’s really helpful and I’ve noticed how frizzy my hair has become since having the bleach highlights. Can I just ask, how often do you have the caramel highlights and do you have a t-section, half or full head done? Also is the dye you use classed as a tint, semi permanent or permanent? I thought I read somewhere that semi-perm dye wouldn’t cover grey..

Maybe not for you at all, but have you considered letting the grey grow out and see what's underneath? It could be quite flattering. I have been greying since my teens. The greyer I got, the unhappier I was with any colour as nothing looked right. I ruined my hair. I stopped dying my hair 8 months ago. I'm a bit two-tone at the moment but my hair is sleek and shiny, the colour is nice and I'm freed from having to dye my roots every 3 weeks. I wear makeup and look after my appearance so it doesn't look scraggy. Lots of inspiration on Instagram or other social media if you'd be interested.

The tint is a dark blonde, and I also use root touch up dark blonde. I have naturally dark blonde/mousey hair but lots of grey (mid-40s). The problem I am finding is that my hair keeps getting very light in the sun.

The dye for my roots/grey is permanent. My natural colour was dark brown but I think medium brown now suits my skin tone better.
Highlights done 1-2 a year. I had a full head done last time but she doesn't do my crown as that looks better/is easier to manage if darker.
The castings is semi permanent. It doesn't cover the grey but definitely makes them less obvious.

Yes I do. I went grey in my 20s. I’m in my 30s now and I have highlights and a root colour applied. I have to go every 4-5 weeks and at £80 a pop it isn’t cheap, my hair looks quite light now, so I sometimes have slightly darker streaks put in to try and keep my hair in reasonable condition.

I have highlights but my hairdresser only applies it to the roots so it only has one dose of damage. I won't embrace the grey because I'm salt and pepper. If I was grey and dark or all over grey I'd give it a go.

My hair started out the same colour as yours but root growth was brutal. I started with one visit for a full head of highlights but no bleach. Since then I have only my roots done with a few fresh highlights through the top, the highlights got lighter but still no bleach but I can go longer between hairdresser visits if need be.

I would say at 5 weeks I can see regrowth but you need to look close as the contrast is less I have left them for up to 8 weeks but my hair is losing shape before then so I need a cut.

It’s an expense worth paying, for me.

I had the same problem. This time last year I decided to try a year of not colouring my hair. I don't think I will go back to highlights and hair dyes. My hair feels so much better and is lovely and shiny.