Embracing the grey - advice please!

[Sidebeforeself]

I cant bear the constant maintenance any more so have decided to go for it. However hair is quite dark so already I have a significant stripe. Cant decide whether to brazen it out , or as my hairdresser has suggested, go a few shades lighter to help the grey blend in. Thing is I don’t really want lighter hair and think it could look naff. But equally I don’t feel nice with such an obvious stripe. At the moment its looking really scruffy and I have to look smart for work

Sorry ..meant to ask ..should I keep the current look and just grit my teeth or go for the expensive but less dramatic option?

Just brazen it out for a while. If you hate it you can always lighten bits to soften the look but personally I love the stripe look.

Growing gray out from an ashy blonde is way easier to do. Easier still is to go light and chop it short.

Use the L'Oréal root spray for the initial stages, but really it's a 2 year project- so 2 years of having pretty awful looking hair. I'm a year in and have no regrets at all-just wish it would hurry up!!

I've done it bleached blonde and dark and it's not great either way, but the bleach completely ruined my hair.

Could you cut a good chunk off to get you started, make it feel like a definite decision as opposed to just ignoring it ifswim.
I chopped a good bit off mine so it was a choppy bob just above my jawline. Took about 14months with various cuts along the way, some slightly shorted than the original as I was getting impatient.
I absolutely love it, I'm 47 and had been dying my hair since my early twenties.
If you hate it you can dye it again or grow/get it chopped.

Oh and the stripe looked most awful to me I think. And as it got bigger I changed the style to mix it up a bit.
Choppy cuts or curls disguise it compared to sleek and smooth.

Maybe put in some highlights to lighten the overall look and blend in the grey stripe to the darker hair? Also go for a short haircut to speed things up. I brazened it out but it was during the pandemic and I wasn't going anywhere!

Would you consider getting a short cut? Not for everyone, but it's definitely the quickest and cheapest option for people with naturally dark hair when they go grey.

I was dark brunette and went very grey at roots and round face . I had a few fine ash blond highlights put in which just disguised the grey ( didn't cover it ) but could still see natural hair colour. I too was bored of getting it back to "my colour "

I must admit I was going to brazen it out & did for many months but got bored. I did have a decent cut beforehand so less time for growing out. I was concerned but a woman who came in the hairdressers ( & it is her choice ) asked them to make it back to dark brunette. I think ( this may not be you but it was me ) as you age your skin and hair look more natural If they are closer to what nature is doing. So maybe a few fine highlights or just get hair cut in a good way & it doesn't matter if some grey in it.

Best I can offer @Sidebeforeself

Luckily I decided to do mine in lock down! But as a pp said, it did take a couple of years to fully grow out. Do you ever wear your hair tied back? It doesn't stand out as much then I think. I don't suit short hair at all so that wasn't an option for me.

I don't regret it for a second though. Its so nice not to have to worry about roots anymore. Even when I had mine professionally dyed the roots would be coming through in a couple of weeks.

My mum in her 70s still dyes hers dark brown. Absolutely her perogative but she'd look so much better if she didn't!

Thanks everyone. Already had it chopped shorter than usual so thats a start! I just don’t think i can face lots more bleaching and dyeing, otherwise Imight as well just keep having the roots done.It’s too widespread for root spray now I think. It’s the cost and the time that I cant face any more! Im booked in next month for highlights but im not sure I can visualise it. The dark colour has lots of red in it too which i hate so i am worried I’ll look like the Technicolour Dreamcoat!

There’s a hairdresser on instagram, nancystripecolour who specialises in ‘embrace the grey’. I think a makeover is around £350. I don’t think she’s taking new clients at moment. Her posts might give you some ideas.

I like the idea of this as I hate spending time having colours done. My natural colour is mouse, and I am probably salt and pepper now. I saw someone with what I imagine mine would look like recently and I did not like it at all. I think Nancy’s methods involve a bit of face framing colour and blending etc.

This is a good time of the year to grow out the grey as you can stick a beanie on and forget about it - well, outdoors anyway! I didn't do a thing, just let it grow. Mine was dyed medium brown (it was naturally black back in the day) and the colour faded quite significantly as I wasn't topping it up. So it looked ok. Some people asked me if I'd had it done like that deliberately😆 I kept it about shoulder length as I don't suit short hair at all. Wish I did. And I don't regret it, even on days when it looks a bit shite. It still looks ten times better than when it was dyed.

@Tessisme Thanks! Good to hear the natural way can be done!

I did mine by having a really short style initially and now it’s grown again but I was and still am salt and pepper vs fully grey. When I get it done at hairdressers they always comment that they love the colour

I also have stripy grey which I don’t like, with a streak at the front - I am a natural dark blonde/light brown. I found highlights are v expensive and the roots show quickly.
I have pretty good results using a mixture of Plantur 39 brown shampoo and a purple shampoo to tone it. I put it on each time I wash my hair (I mix the two half and half) and leave it while I get washed then rinse out.
I had similar positive results from John Frieda Defy Grey, especially with the mousse as well.
I feel a bit embarrassed that I go to all this faff but much as I love grey hair on others I just don’t like it on me yet.