Dark hair : best options for early grey coverage

[stevalnamechanger]

I am at early stage of getting greys in dark hair , not sure if the best route to go down is ;

A) blonde highlights

D) full head semi perm of dark regularly until the grey increases then will do perm

I want low maintenance!!!

( it is not an option for me not to dye! I don't want greys yet :( )

I've been using demi permanent (L'Oréal Casting) for years and it still looks good. I recommend going for a shade lighter than you think you are and just focusing on the roots rather than applying to the lengths every time. I also recommend using a brush to apply it.

If you've literally just got a couple of greys, you might be better off blending in with a few highlights and lowlights.

The odd grey can be blended in using highlights or lowlights. An overall colour will need re-doing more often because the colour will leave roots, but you can manage this yourself at home. This will be OK until you have grey roots - at that point you will ned to re-do them every few weeks, which is a bind.
I think, with hindsight, I would go for occasional highlights/lowlights. You'd need to get them done professionally which is expensive, but if you don't have a lot of grey , it won't need to be very often.
If you do decide to dye at home, remember that there is very little difference between semi-permanent and permanent - I am still growing out semi permanent dye from 2 years ago. I thought it would eventually fade/wash out but it hasn't.
You might find that henna is an option.

If I could click my fingers and turn back time I think I'd go for the lowlights/highlights option. I'm very dark (naturally almost black) and it's a real struggle. I've found that semi permanent hair dye works better as the regrowth blends in better than a permanent, which gives me a horrible blocky line from dye to regrowth. I'm also going from dark brown (4) to medium brown (5) which is more flattering. Always go for an ashy brown as it doesn't turn ginger after a few washes.

This may help. I'm currently using 513 which is called Nude ashy brown (l'oréal castings semi)

www.lorealprofessionnel.co.uk/hair-advice/hair-colour-advice/what-do-the-numbers-in-hair-colour-mean

My natural colour was black, and when my grey began to show too much, I used to dye it all black. That then became such a chore and looked really harsh as I got older. Two years ago, I decided to strip the whole lot (It took about 4 packets of stuff) and go blonde! I'm 62 now, and still blonde. The grey blends in fine, and I'd never go back to being dark.

I get highlights which aren’t much lighter than my hair colour. A full head of highlights in the summer topped up with a half head of highlights before Xmas. It covers the greys pretty well, especially if the hairdresser makes an effort to pick out the greys on top and make sure they’re in the highlighted sections.

When I started getting greys I’d have a colour in pretty much my natural colour. Was fine for a long time. Now, because of the amount of grey and how awful the regrowth looked against dark hair, I’ve slowly progressed to blonde highlights. I find it less maintenance than keeping on top of the awful regrowth. I think there comes a time when we just cant be dark anymore (unless you don’t mind the stark regrowth). FYI I’m under 40, started greying in my mid 20’s

Thanks for the tips !

I think I'm going to have one more go with my semi perm glossing treatment which weirdly doesn't seem to stay in my hair anywhere near like perm and see if that covers it .

I reverted to natural colour after getting rid of years of expensive , hard to maintain blonde highlights ... seems like I will be heading back that way 🤣 well to some kind of lighter brown lowlights if that's the right term.

Thanks for the advice !

( only doing this as I have one to use Up and seems like a waste - it's the revlon colour gloss thing )

I’m going through exactly the same dilemma at the moment! I have a few greys - maybe about 20?! But because I have dark brown hair they are becoming more noticeable so I used a supermarket hair dye with a colour I thought would match and it turned my hair black. It looked so awful, made me look ill. So I guess the answer is to go lighter than your actual hair colour?! And then it’ll hopefully match…

It’s all such a faff but I’m like you OP and having grey hair isn’t an option!

Yes, always go lighter, even medium browns can come out very dark, hence why I now use light brown (number 5s).

I have naturally dark hair, borderline black and have recently started semi's at the hairdresser. No colour it seem so far can imitate by natural colour and I'm hating the wash out red, followed by more semi shite slapped on six weeks later for the sake of a few greys.

A question to the people suggesting highlights/lowlights; would that be done directly on the natural hair rather than a colour underneath?

I'm a virgin to all this and am missing my own glossy dark hair which I once possessed.

I started going grey very early (late teens) and have been using a semi permanent dye for at least a decade now. It does require quite a bit of upkeep as my hair grows fast and obviously grey roots are very visible. I am naturally very dark and use Nice & Easy medium ash brown which is the ‘coolest’ brown I’ve found and avoids the reddish tint that can come with a lot of box dyes.

I’m not really sure what my exit strategy is, I can’t continue having hair this dark forever but while I’m in my mid 30s I’m sticking with it as the alternatives seem ageing. My sister went the highlights/lowlights route and it’s expensive and I’m not convinced it looks much better than mine.

Highlights.
I started off covering my light brown hair with box dye but it ended up where I was needing to redo everything 4 weeks as the odd grey really stood out against the flat brown.
I now have darkish blonde highlights running through my hair and the grey is unnoticeable. Had it done 7 weeks ago and I can't see any grey's at all. I've another appointment next week but really don't need it.

This so far works well but I'm very lazy at keeping it up myself .. as it's super messy due to the blue undertone

Makes hair soft and shiny but it's only a semi perm gloss kind of thing ...

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Revlon-Nutri-Color-Creme-250-ML-Nuance-411-/263256835378?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338268676&toolid=10044&customid=EAIaIQobChMIl-T6-5798wIVumDmCh197Q5iEAQYBiABEgLuDPD_BwE

If you can afford it, let your hairdresser deal with it. They will be able to advise you what to do and use the best and kindest products to your hair.
I used box dyes for years which were fine until the greys needed constant attention which was time consuming and took it's toll on my hair.
I had to stop. I couldn't afford to go to the hairdresser so I gave in to the grey which is for me a really nice colour (luckily)
I am probably older than you but I am glad I do not have to go to all of that fuss any more.
I co-wash my hair about twice a week. It is in fab condition. There is no frizz and every so often I get the hairdresser to wash and dry it and it looks really good.
All I have to work on is a new style. Going grey does not mean you can't have good hair :)

Leganza colouring conditioner. Can get it on Amazon. I think it's Italian. It is epic! No other product like it on the market. Wash hair towel dry. Put the conditioner on -with fake tan gloves, it stains. Leave for 30mins. Rinse out. Greys gone for a couple of weeks. It improves the hair. It's amazing!

I'm in my 30s and already have a handful of greys 😫

They seem to be clustered in one area so I just pull them out!

I also have a balayage which helps.

I've been having blonde highlights for more than a year now. My greys are scattered across my head, rather than me going grey from the roots. So far they're doing a fairly good job of disguising. I occasionally use John Frieda's Defy Grey shampoo & conditioner, too and I've been having the highlights redone every 6 months.

@Anordinarymum

If you can afford it, let your hairdresser deal with it. They will be able to advise you what to do and use the best and kindest products to your hair. I used box dyes for years which were fine until the greys needed constant attention which was time consuming and took it's toll on my hair. I had to stop. I couldn't afford to go to the hairdresser so I gave in to the grey which is for me a really nice colour (luckily) I am probably older than you but I am glad I do not have to go to all of that fuss any more. I co-wash my hair about twice a week. It is in fab condition. There is no frizz and every so often I get the hairdresser to wash and dry it and it looks really good. All I have to work on is a new style. Going grey does not mean you can't have good hair :)

I can afford it , it just seems an unnecessarily expensive habit if I can ward it off for a few years !

I'm glad the grey is working for you! I've seen some amazing ladies all grey recently however at late 20s I'm not ready yet 🤣🤣

The conditioner looks good might give that a go in bitter chocolate !!

Yep bitter chocolate is what I use. Every other week, leave on for at least 1/2 hour with a shower cap on. Rinse out, amazing silky brown hair. I just can't believe it