Talk to me about going grey if you a brunette please

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Just dyed my hair with a different dye to usual, and it's not covered the grey at all (Clairol Nice & Easy; I usually use John Frieda). I'm sick of dyeing it every four weeks but also really can't face just trying to grow it out for months and months and months.

Has anybody managed to go grey gracefully? Or find a way to look half decent without dyeing it every few weeks?

I don't mind going to see a hairdresser. In fact, I'm half tempted to go and ask somebody to just dye it all grey for me!

My hairdresser told me that if I went lighter my roots would be less obvious so I'm now dark blonde with occasional highlights. My hair is so grey now though it's hard to see the brown through the grey! I'm 44 and my hair started going grey at 25. I can only afford to get my roots done every two to three months.

I am going for the longer look that @Yorkshiremum17 is sporting. I am only in my 30s, but started going grey about 5 years ago!

I have long hair and have a balayage, I am gradually adding more ash pieces to blend out the grey. Although skint after Christmas so tempted to get a very light box dye. Loving the suggestions.

I stopped colouring mine in June of this year and decided to also cut my hair from bra strap length to shoulder and then to chin length. I was planning to just let it grow out, but it looked really shit. By October I had about 4 cm of grey and white hair and asked my hairdresser for a very short pixie cut (she basically shaved the back of my head). It is about 70% grey and silver at the front and about 30% at the back. It is short and spiky at the front and I love it.
Contrary to looking older, several people told me I look 10 years younger. I love the fact that it completely suits my skin tone.

I'd put a mid brown through it Remus to reduce the contrast

I used to try to dye my hair dark when I first started going grey. I got fed up with the dye getting everywhere, towels, clothes, tiles in bathroom, hairline... I even got it all over a lampshade once.
I have now let my grey come through naturally. I had every intention of having low lights or whatever to disguise them but have never bothered. Lots of people have complimented me on my hair colour.

I would love to give up the faff of dying my hair and grow it out gracefully, but I’m very dark haired (think darkest brown before black) and am only grey in patches so I would look piebald. I’m in my 50s but most of my hair is still my natural brown colour and the grey is only at the temples, creeping further along my sides, with the odd patch on top, to the extent that if I change my parting my hair colour changes. I also have grey tufts at the back, at the nape of my neck.

I’ve tried going lighter but quite frankly it looks a bit crap with my olive complexion, even light brown makes me look more tired, blonde makes my skin tone look grey. The only answer at present is highlights a tone lighter where the grey is more prevalent, but it’s even more of a faff and costly.

Does anyone else have contrasting patches? How did you solve it? Am I doomed to dye into my 80s?

I’m 45 and have some grey hair but it’s mostly brown. For years I’ve been highlighting it every 3 months and getting the overall roots painted every 6-7 weeks in between.

Such a faff.

I love my hair and it’s very important to me! I’ve started only highlighting and the “stripe” is way less obvious. I’m only getting highlights done every 3 months and the grey is mixing in really nicely through the Highlights, not really noticeable to be honest. I prefer when I have my natural colour next to my skin, it just looks better. This was my hairdressers idea and it’s working.

No way would I try manage grey hair with box dyes. You need to avoid that hard shiney uni-block of colour - it just really emphasises the grey.

I'm going for only colouring my parting,so when it's grown out everywhere else, I will cut into a sharp bob and change my parting so it's grey.

Can some explain - I'm mousey brown and going grey at the roots. I'm having to do a whole box dye every 4 weeks and root touch up every 2 weeks. I'm dying it dark blonde. What do people mean when they say "go blonde" though, should I just keep going lighter and lighter with the hair dye to disguise the grey? And then it's less noticeable because the grey shoes against blonde rather than my current mousey brown?

I have 3 colours ( a warm one, a brownish one and a blonde one) put through my hair as highlights. I have very little problem with roots and have it re-done every 12 weeks with cut in between. I'm sure in time the grey will increase but I think it will still look quite good with this, or perhaps I'll up the blonde colours and take out the brownish one. I'm 63 and maybe 20% grey. I do;n't really like grey hair and to go grey would be a last resort for me.

I'm naturally a dark brown but had been bleaching my hair to platinum. I stopped dyeing it around march. The contrast with the white coming through was annoying, my dyed bits looked really brassy next to it.
I ended up shaving it to a number 2, it wasn't too much of a shock as I always have very short hair.
It's all natural now, still darker towards the back. I'm growing it because I like the different shades and it looks lighter the longer it gets. It feels amazing

Yougotanuglyboatrace, I take it to mean that people go lighter so the grey isnt as noticeable as it is on dark hair, especially as dark hair is usually a more flat colour than highlights.

I'm late 50's, dark brown hair, eyes, eyelashes and eyebrows, with olive skin. I dye my hair every 4 - 6 weeks. I'm not brave enough yet to go for the natural look - I've been dying my hair various shades of crimson/red/scarlet/mahogany since I was 15!

My sister, a bit younger, decided to abandon the hairdye and embrace the grey 3 years ago and she looks stunning, her hair isn't 100% grey but still has streaks of dark hair and silvery highlights. It looks like a very expensive colour job.

This thread has inspired me to look again at stopping this silly regime of colouring my hair so regularly.

The women who have posted photos, you all look fabulous!

I have dark brown eyes and brown lashes and brows, I was a bit worried about looking like Alistair Darling but I like the contrast .
Going Gorgeously Gray, Silver Circle and Silver Revolution on Facebook have loads of women at different stages of going natural if anyone is looking for inspiration.

Some growing in photos

I'm mousey brown and going grey at the roots.

You're probably not going grey at the roots. As my hair dresser said - the good news is that you have lots if new growth, the bad news is it's all grey.

I decided to do so during pregnancy- I have always hennaed and with the dark lush ones it would cover enough to work. I then carried on during maternity and it's recently all gone out.

I'm only about 5-10% grey, more in a mild streak at the front.

Some days I'm happy with it, some days not. No one else around me is doing it and I feel a bit of a frump; I'm starting to wear lipstick for the first time ever!

I think it looks loads better if I messily tie it up on top of my head, and I have a long fringe.

On the up side it feels thicker! Still undecided if I can cope as I miss my solid brown hair. But I don't really want to get into hair dresser dye, financially (I get annoyed men tend not be required to sped as much by society).

I am however, experimenting with a bright wash in wash out pink! It makes the brown richer and the white pink (doesn't take as well as with bleached hair apparently.)

My hair progressively has gotten greyer over the last year. I now use superdrug wash in wash out shampoo, I leave it in for 20 minutes and then rinse it out afterwards - it lasts a couple of weeks. You can always do a quick touch up in the shower or whatever.
I find it covers the greys sufficiently.
I'm going to try different brands and colours to try out different looks.
Perhaps wash in and out might be a better options for you instead?

It really isn't ageing, I stopped dying in my late 30s - dyed too dark hair is actually more ageing. Lots of young girls have been dying their hair grey in the last few years which makes it the perfect time to transition. I still have dark brown brows and eye lashes, it doesn't look as weird as you'd think! A lot of friends were appalled at the idea of me growing out the dye but now I've done it I only get positive comments.

I henna mine, I'm pretty dark brown naturally and the greys just turn a coppery colour.

Not the best photo.

I'm now considering growing mine out - I've got about an inch of grey roots atm. The rest is box dyed dark brown. Would it be worth colour stripping my hair do you think?

I was reading about colour strippers but it sounds as though they turn hair orange.

I wonder if stripping then using the blue shampoo might help to tone down the orange? 🤔 It's such a big difference between the dyed and the natural colour.

I was having to dye my hair every 2-3 weeks too (particularly dreadful if you use any dye with a red tone).

Anyway, said I'd do it till my 50th. Got parting only highlights just before my birthday, then just grew it on out. Quite painless really.

Have to say, have never had so many compliments. People often seem to think I've dyed it, others are a bit gobsmacked at first but then really like it. I've really needed to review my wardrobe, wore a lot of grey before and that really doesn't work - colour in clothes is needed, rich jewel type tones really work well for me with my Irish fair skin and blue/grey eyes.