I need a hair dye that actually covers grey white hair!

[greenbirdsong]

I've been going grey, well pure white, since I was 18 (thanks dad). I'm 35 now. My natural colour and the colour I want the roots is a dark brown (level 5).

I had white hairs all over but the main offenders are on my temples. I have pure white skunk stripes on both sides of my head at the temples.

This hair is incredibly stubborn and resistant to hair dye. If my hair is coloured then after a week on those white patches it seems to wash away and go opaque.

I have had it salon dyed and tried box dyes loreal excellence, nice & easy and garnier nutrisse.

I have also tried highlights but as these are 2 very big bold white stripes coming in the highlights don't blend it and are also expensive.

I like my hair as a dark brown root and blonde/caramel balayage ends - but dying my roots every 2 weeks is driving me crazy and costing me so much money. I've tried the root sprays but they make my hair sticky and greasy.

Has anyone found a dye that really covers stubborn white hair and will last longer than a week?! Send help!

Photo for reference. These roots were only dyed 2 weeks ago!

Interested that you say highlighting doesn't work on it.

I'm having a similar issue. My usual dye isn't taking to the stubborn greys anymore. (Cheap and cheerful Live Colour BTW). I've been thinking about bleaching my hair because I have dark ends but my roots are mainly light grey now. I'm now thinking that won't work? I might just be better growing it out completely? I'm 42 BTW, not sure I'm ready for that!

Highlights just didn't seem to blend it for me. As whilst I do have white hairs growing all over my hair my main area that's a problem is the temples at the front which are just 2 huge white patches.

The highlights didn't seem to blend it and also I don't really want highlights to the root as it's too expensive for me to maintain and I like the look of dark roots and highlighted ends.

I just am desperate for a hair dye that will cover the white and last for longer than 2 weeks.

I'm also not ready to embrace growing it out as I'm only 35 and it would look awful as it's mainly the 2 patches.

If your hair is mostly grey then bleaching / highlights might work to blend it.

I think because mine is so concentrated in these 2 strange patches it didn't work for me x

Just an idea - and I get that you might not like this - but what about a look that works with your natural (grey) roots eg something like this:

I've moved to semi permanent as I found it too hard and expensive to keep up with the roots. Semi will make the white less obvious plus it's easy enough to mix up a batch at home and cover the front.

My long term goal is to completely grow out the perm dye and then go lighter, so the grey is easier to blend in/disguise.

The roots grow out and there is nothing you can do about that. This is why I stopped dyeing my hair. I am also white/silver and am think of adding a colour to lift my spirits !

It's my thinking that you should just go for highlights that blend with your colour and leave the brown as it will always need to be redone.
See a hairdresser who is good at colouring. You will get the best advice there

Do my own roots with eSalon - more expensive than box dye, half the price of a hairdresser and the colour sticks.

Maybe try one of these wash in colour conditioners from superdrug. They are easy to use and you can just apply them to your roots. I have been using them for greys at my temple and they cover it ok. You'll need to use it once or twice a week but it's only for 5 mins when you wash your hair so pretty low maintenance.

www.superdrug.com/Hair/Hair-Colourants/Wash-In-Wash-Out/Superdrug-Colour-Effects-Chocolate-Brown-6-7-75ml/p/794730?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqPGUBhDwARIsANNwjV5sfi07kAxR01ytfoKel63PE1IX-J8umZxik07V6PCrkltbA_oEQ9UaAhkWEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Inoa will cover iti if that's wgat you want. I get it from Amazon. Mind you I have so much grey hair that I still need to do it every 2 weeks to keep up with the roots. But it's growth, not the dye fading.

Go to your nearest branch of salon services. Qualified helpful staff

You need majirel 5.0 (the .0 is a "double base", more intense than 5 and designed for white hair)

Try 20 vol/6% developer with it. If that doesn't work well, you may need to go up to 30vol/9% to make the dye grab better. Another trick is to pre-treat your roots with developer for (10-20mins, but I'm not exactly sure about these timings, you should check) to open the cuticle to allow the dye molecules in.

@LaCerbiatta can you give some more details about how you're getting on with Inoa? Do you have resistant white and how do you find the condition of your hair with long term use?

I have exactly the same issue. I use hair salon products at home. Goldwell TopChic permanent hair colour (with a 6% developer) but roots still show through after a week ( and this happens when I have it dyed in the hair salon). What helps me is a few highlights and using Josh Wood hair colour - the hair brush dye is fairly effective on wet hair and then when I have dried it I try and cover up the remaining greys with colour wow. I have accepted that this is just what I have to do as the greys around my hairline always come through so quickly. Think my only alternative is to go blonde.

The obvious answer is to go blonde

Very few people don't suit it even if you're very dark - it will entirely blend in

I use L'oreal excellence creme semi permanent as the regrowth isn't so obvious. I personally think you need to go lighter. I'm naturally very dark almost black now I use light brown or nude ashy brown. Dark brown and white roots really is a hassle to maintain

I gave up in my late 40s and have white hair. I became too damned hard.

I think my shades are 4.0 and 4.35. But I'll double check.

No resistant white whatsoever. If I do it right it covers whites/ greys 100%.

I've been using it for maybe 15 years, once a month at the beginning, recently every other week 🙁. My hair is in very good condition, no problems. Actually I live how it looks straight after, shiny and fuller 🙂.

I get a semi permanent due from esalon which seems to work well.

Just so you can see colour and condition. This is Inoa 5.0 mixed with 6.0.

Disclaimers: Haven't even combed it yet this morning so could look better 😉. And the greys you can see at the back are not stubborn, I don't have many at the back so dye mainly the front. Which I suppose shows how well the colour blends in!

I agree, my hair is like yours but the re growth showed through after a week, I reluctantly went blonde, I can now go 6 weeks between colours and dark roots (at the back) is a lot less ageing than white roots on brown hair imo. I have also grown it out twice and gone natural which from a feminist point of view I wholeheartedly loved but it put ten years on me so I'm blonde again. I sympathise but there are few options

I think sadly I'm one of those few who doesn't suit blonde. 😕

I go to the hairdresser every 5-6 weeks and touch my roots up in between because they grow out enough to be noticeable, it doesn’t fade. To touch up I use what the hairdresser uses which is wella koleston perfect pure naturals in 55/0 and 6% developer. I think the colour is very intensive. My hair is completely white but this is my natural colour from before I went grey. I tried blonde 15 years ago and honestly when I look at photos I look older then than I do now, too blonde hair can be very aging.

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies this morning!

I have been all over blonde before but it didn't suit me. It's also the cost of trips to the hairdressers every month-6 weeks I can't afford at the moment.

I have balayage highlights which are done at the hairdressers every 4-6 months but the roots are driving me mad.

I'm going on holiday next week and literally need to dye the roots on the day I go to make it last the week I'm away

I have a salon supplies store near me. I might go in and ask for some advice. My hairdresser uses Loreal MaJirel but I'm not sure on the formula only that it's level 5 brown. But it just seems to go opaque on the white hair within a week, like it's washing away despite being permanent colour.

I'm only 35 and really not ready to embrace the grey - especially as it's concentrated in certain areas I think growing it out would look awful, I'd be cruella de-ville x

My shade is 5.0 and 5.35.

I've got it completely wrong, here's mine, I'm in Egypt and it's called light brown here.

www.loreal-paris.co.uk/casting-creme-gloss/500-medium-brown-semi-permanent-hair-dye