Dark brown hair going grey. Blonde balayage?

[Gardenerboo]

I have dark brown (almost black) hair and have had all my life. My greys are increasing quickly, probably around 30% grey now.

I keep reading about people who go lighter/blonde to blend the greys but I’ve never had light hair and don’t know how to do this.

I have pale skin and if I went blonde I’d look washed out. What’s the answer? Balayage? what do those of you with dark hair do? Simply embrace the grey which I am happy to do if that’s best for my skin tone. Just wondered if I’m missing something.

Sorry for not being clearer.

Yes, naturally dark hair. Ash blonde highlights to blend the grey rather than attempt to completely cover. Much more forgiving with regrowth now it’s growing into highlighted hair - no more chasing that ‘badger stripe’ every 2-3 weeks!

After successive rounds of highlights it’s generally lighter but looks much better than I’d hoped. Every 3rd or so visit I have one ash blonde highlight to one dark brown (close to my natural shade) lowlight to make sure I don’t go too blonde.

I had very dark hair, years of dying it dark brown it had got darker and darker. My natural colour is darkish brown and I have pale skin and dark eyes.

I am about 70% grey now so had a big grey streak along my parting after 2 weeks or so of colouring it.

After years of deliberation I finally went to I see the colour specialist at a good local salon, She bleached it and it originally went orange. Then luckily she toned it down and it looked fine. A few weeks later I had some highlights put through it to lighten it further.
The next couple of colour appts I had root colour and highlights.

It's now a light brown colour with some natural looking blond highlights.

Due to the light (grey) roots I no longer need highlights, just a root colour. The grey variation gives the natural highlights.

Here is a pic. I'm really pleased with it!

@ChocAuVin I think I understand now. It’s what I suggested to a DD to let her naturally dark blond hair grow into her dyed light blonde until she gets back to her natural colour all over. I have the additional impediment of usually having reddish dyed hair, but I can see how your way of doing things would work.

@Teddypops your hair looks very nice, but do I understand that in effect your entire hair is dyed now and you’re letting it go grey? Does look v nice.

I have celtic skin. Very pale, blue eyes and almost black hair.

I recently had highlights a few times and they turned brassy very quickly and made me look so strange. I thought it would help blend the greys

Apparently I should have asked for "baby lights" / extra fine highlights.

I absolutely hate it and wasted SO much money on it all. I have blue shampoo that turns the whole shebang into a dark blonde ashy colour which is actually very pretty.

Purple shampoo just turned my hair white and lilac!

I had long black glossy wavy hair. And due to bleach damage its been cut into a short bob as it was coming out while brushing.

Babylights and blue shampoo x

Thanks. No I have no intention of letting it go grey for many years yet (only 45).

I have to get it coloured every 6-8 weeks.

However, it lasts so so much longer between colours. The grey roots come through but they are barely visible as there is much less contrast in colour.

Before, I would have a big white streak on my roots from about 2 weeks after colouring. Now it's barely noticeable.

@Teddypops I understand now. I don’t suit lighter hair. I mean everyone said I did when I had it but I didn’t like it. I have no idea if I suit grey hair either 😁

@Meadowsandtractors what a nightmare. Are you pleased with it now?

@LadyWithLapdog well it is pretty but I need fake tan to pull off the look.

I'm basically Monica with Rachel's hair. 😂

These are great! Loving the photos too.
Interested in the required uptake.

@Gardenerboo I also have very pale skin but I think it's more about the tone

The online reviews for him are ‘interesting’ too.

Who is Jack Martin? Never heard of him. Off to Google 🤣

All the "before" pics look Plain Jane and all the "afters" have full on glam makeup 🤣

I have hair similar to yours, I've just embraced the grey. I miss how it was before, but I also miss my pert tits. C'est la vie. I'm 43.

I put a gloss through it regularly to stop the greys being too frizzy. I did some neutral colours and now experimenting with some tinted ones. Mixed bag so far. The Josh Wood brunette one turned my hair green. I have a curl so I looked like an Oompa Loompa 😂

You could try John Frieda ‘defy grey’ shampoo - should turn your greys a more golden colour, which you might prefer.

@79andnotout ooh which gloss have you found works well?

Which gloss do you use, please?

Glaze seems to be doing the trick at the mo. My hair feels a lot less flyaway. I've got one of the brown ones at the mo, and it definitely damped the greyness a bit, although not as much as I expected. It feels nice, though.

I had caramel highlights to do this. Hated them, was way too light - my natural colour is almost black, I've been box dyeing gradually lighter over the years but to a medium brown. It just didn't look like me.

I had babylights about 18 months ago for this reason, caramel colour. I hated it, was way too light, got it toned down at my next appointment 4 weeks later.

One of my colleagues with natural dark brown did the same but really gradually - started with highlights underneath and worked up to all over. She's gone lighter and lighter and is now a dark blonde. But she has a tan pretty much all the time which I think helps. And just generally looks glamorous and put together (I do not).

Do you think blondes never have pale skin?

I'm going through the journey shown in the photo, started with dark brown hair probably not quite as dark as the OP,.

Started at 8 with caramel & cinnamon highlights, plus a few blonde ones to blend in the grey. I'm now at about a 3 on this chart after 20 years

Balayage is generally done on the lengths so most would get their roots done the darker colour. This means you're going to have the same issue with a grey regrowth stripe as if you dyed all your hair dark.

I've gone for very fine highlights (quarter head so front, sides and part) from the roots. My hairdresser does half in brown and half in a pearly blonde. So I have a mix of different colours in my hair, all toned to be more ashy than warm, and it kind of blends together so the greys are more or less indistinguishable from the blonde. I have light 'money pieces' around my face which is where my hair is almost 100% grey anyway - now it looks deliberate and on trend!

I can easily go 3-4 months between colours without the regrowth looking too bad.

I think it’s the missing contrast. When you’ve been used to seeing your face a certain way for 40-50 years, you can look washed out.