Managing greys in dark hair

[Smallfry79]

Hi

I'm 42 and have dark brown hair naturally but Im getting increasingly grey. Have been managing this with brown box dyes at home but now im needing to do thus more often, greys are resistant and more plentiful and my once healthy shiny hair is drying out.
I dont have a regular hairdresser i can chat to. Infact i haven't been in almost a year so def overdue a cut too.

I feel when i call to make apt they will expect me to know what i want and the troublevid i don't.
Would highlights help hide ir blend greys better?
I think I want the imposdible, a colour that will keep me largely brunette but help some of the greys bkend in but yet is not so light as to cause very obvious root regrowth.
I feel I will eventually go naturally grey/platinum but Im not there yet and think with my colouring it would be aging and besides im still mostly dark.

Any suggestions from hairdressers/colour specialists or fellow mumsnetters with a similar problem? Do I need a full colour then highlights? Will just highlights work? Or are they a waste of my time just causing another issue with roots?
I really dont have time or money to get hair done every 6/8 weeks.
Im a pretty low maintenance girl preferring a more natural look but at the same time like to look well and not like I dont care or have let myself go completely.
I attach some pics but lighting isnt great and frontbif my hair is dry and faded so i feel in reality im a bit darker than the pics suggest.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Really need to get an apt made but keep putting it off as dont know what to ask for.

This really made me laugh. I wonder why there aren't more colour shampoos and conditioners for women that work. I tried the John Frieda one during lockdown and it didn't cover my grey.

Great ideas thanks. Ive looked up a few products mentioned. I think first I will try the shampoos mentioned and one of the root touch ups. I have tried the spay l'oreal one but dont like it, feel i get as much scalp as hair but I see some alternatives here.
I guess it is normal enough to only get a couple of weeks out of a colour so and its not just me. All the ladies I see with great hair and no greys must just put more effort in. Its time to invest some time in my hair.

Thanks for all the suggestions, plenty of food for thought.

I was you op a few months ago. Naturally black, I was covering my greys with box dye. My hairdresser encouraged me to lip it off into a bob and start highlighting. It was weird at first but now Im used to it, and after three sessions of foils ( I get it done approx every 3-4 months ) I'm a sort of caramel ash blonde and my greys barely show.

*lop it off

This is the solution I arrived at after trying more or less everything else that has been mentioned. I've tried salon permanent dye, salon root touch up only, highlights to blend in roots, salon semi-perm, esalon, home box permanent dye, home root touch up and all combinations of the above.

All of them left too much time with visible grey roots between dyes.

Now I do semi-perm at home (I use casting) about every 3-4 weeks. It's not as damaging to my hair as the permanent dyes were, and it can be repeated more frequently without hair breakage.

I can go longer if I can bear to, but I tend to do the dye right before an event so I never have visible roots when I'm "dressed up".

I'm really happy after all these years. It does take about an hour every month, but it's a small sacrifice.

I have similar hair to yours and I went the highlight route. Having all over colour meant I would have a band of grey after 3 weeks. Now Im on week 6 and the roots have blended really well into the highlights. I’m going to go back for a half head of highlights to get it a bit lighter (if you have mahogany or any red in it it’s harder to lighten so mines more of a caramel blonde).

@WhereAreWeNow
which Oxydant developer do you suggest? How long do you leave it on for and what ratio is it please?

@alwaysontheloo my hairdresser used a really weak developer (1.9% I think). It looked great - much better than the box dye I was using before - but there were some stubborn ones that didn't take so well and faded a bit after a few washes. I've just ordered the 3.75% (the Oxydant 0 one) and I'm going to give it a go next week.
Everything I've read suggests I should be using a stronger developer to cover the grey but I trust my hairdresser (I think) and she seems to think I should start with a weak one.
I think she said 1 part dye to 1.5 parts developer and leave it for 30mins but I'll check that before I do it!

I do the dark blonde method too. I have medium brown hair and I've been using Clairol Natural Instincts semi permanent in dark blonde (7) mixed 50/50 with light golden brown. It covers well.

Remember if you use box dye, that it generally comes up darker and redder than the photo and description. I might try mixing the blonde with a light, more ashy brown next time, as I like the slightly warm tiny, but the ashier brown is nearer to my more neutral brown .

Mine is dark brown with isolated greys, probably about 10 each side above my ears and a similar number around my parting. For years I pulled them out but decided enough's enough a few months ago. They don't show too much when my hair is in it's natural wavy state but if I straighten, blow dry or put it up they are really noticeable (doesn't help that they are shorter than the rest of it).

I have used Lush Henna for many years in brown which is close to my natural colour (regrowth doesn't show on my dark hair but it gives it a lot more depth of colour), but it makes the greys a bright coppery colour that fades and does show regrowth (also it takes hours so I normally only do it a couple of times a year).

I have been using a L'Oreal root touch up comb (a bit like mascara), it's effective but it's messy and goes a bit crunchy and is quite hard to use on longer hairs. Overall though it's a good solution for those with just a few greys.

I get grey roots coming through every two to three weeks. I have medium to dark brown hair. I was using the Clairol root touch up permanent dye in medium brown but it's quite dark. I can't do the back of my head very well.

My hairdresser has offered to do just roots for £20 and I can blow dry my own hair so I don't have to go home with wet hair. I think this is a good plan. She will also cut my fringe.

I'm thinking of having roots done every 3 weeks and then roots cut and blow dry every nine weeks.

Could you find something similar?

Same boat here. I was thinking of trying the semi-permanent blonde method. However where I live it’s hard to find semi-permanent colours. So stupid question - why not do it with a permanent dark blonde colour?

I agree, nothing wrong with grey hair but apparently I'm wrong, the comments I've had about hair is ridiculous, people have to deal with real issues and problems but seems a grey hair is on par with getting cancer to some people. Honestly they can't cope and it's not even thei hair

I think grey hair can look absolutely stunning on some women but I'm not yet ready to embrace the grey. I think some women just prefer not to go grey.

Same age and had some, also hair totally changed texture. I went fully blonde! And longish pixie cut. It's my favourite hair ever! Though way more to keep it up.

I tried Daniel Field copper blonde as it said fully natural. I wasn’t wowed tbh. First semi permanent colour that I have had which left my hair feeling like it was in worse condition. And it seems to have lightened all my hair (and my natural hair colour is very nice, I just wanted to tone out the white hairs). So I’m not sure what to do next time once this washes out and I have massively remoisturised my poor hair.

Does this stain pillowcases or towels? I have a lot of grey at the front of my hair and would like to try a natural method like this, but am worried about staining.

Surely it must smell of coffee?

I did the semi-permanent dark blonde thing (Castings) for many years, until the regrowth meant I needed touch ups too frequently - 3 weeks or so.

Just be aware that it does permanently alter the colour of both your grey and your natural hair, so unless you use it forever, eventually you're going to need to bite the bullet and grow it out.

I'm now doing half head highlights/lowlights every 4 months, using root powder to eke out the last few weeks. I'll keep doing that to soften and blend the different colours in my hair until the regrowth line is gone and my grey streaks are full length.

I just used Naturtint but it looks like even that can damage your hair over a long period of use. So am thinking will try a blonde henna from Holland and Barrett next. That is meant to coat rather than penetrate hair follicle. Will see how it goes