Grey hair nightmare

[Sholkedabemus]

I’ve dyed my hair for years but recently I got sick of it. I had it cut and it’s now pretty much grey all over. I hate it! I’m reluctant to go back to dying it with all the palaver of touching the roots every five minutes.

I’m going to grow it again, any ideas on making grey hair look good. I’ve wondered about having it purple or pink, or something. Help.

Hi OP
I hate dyeing my hair so much! Depends if you want to blend it somehow with another colour or go wild and pink
or embrace the grey
I’d say take a look at silversisters hashtag and silver hair and other tags on instagram. If you don’t have an account it’s worth joining just for that - so many women looking fabulous with their grey hair at all ages. Often look way better with natural hair than when it was dyed.

Speak to a few hairdressers. I was in once and the woman next to me had let the grey come in and she was having something added to brighten it up. Everyone was full of compliments.

I don't like the pink/purple look. It's a bit try hard for me, in an aren't I wacky sort of way.

Ooo I have to dye my hair every couple of weeks now too. What do you mean by pink? Like a blue rinse grannies used to have? I quite like the idea. Post pics.

Definitely look at getting a rinse, maybe some shade of silver.
The only problem is you'll have to keep it up.
You could try Silver Shrine Drops, Boots £8.99, you add it to silicone free conditioner and it tones your hair.
I use it as I have a balayage as it brightens the blonde, the more drops you add the more silver / grey it becomes.
It's quite good and it washes out after a few washes so it's not permanent if you don't like it.

Is it definitely just the colour you’re unhappy with? You say you had a cut so maybe it’s the cut or the combination of cut and colour? Would you feel differently about the grey if you had a different style?

Thanks everyone for your replies. It’s both the cut and the colour. I’m definitely growing it longer again but I don’t know what to about the grey. I just don’t think it suits me. I look old, compared with when my hair was dark blonde.

I agree with this.

What do you suggest instead?

Im in exactly the same position. I have decided to let it go grey and see how I feel in the New Year. The problem is there’s no solution that doesn’t involve dye . My hairdresser suggested highlights to blen the grey in but to me that just more of the same problem - faffing about and £££! Im 12 weeks in now and its ..er..interesting

When I was getting used to my new silver colour, I wore bright lipstick and more dramatic eyeshadow and it helped me feel more positive.
Purple shampoo will help silver it more naturally.

When you are changing the colour ie from dyed to grey, it will affect your overall colouring. So, you want to look at what it's affecting - brightness, contrast, warmth or coolness.

So, for me, I had very dark hair and very fair skin, so I lost a lot of contrast. That means, what I wear and make up needs to be adjusted. As pp said, a brighter lipstick, more dramatic makeup or purple/black/silver shampoo.

If you don't like the colour, and it may look different as it grows, a toning shampoo is a great start. I really like Jean Paul Myne in either Grey Pepper, fir more silvery tones or Black Poppy Seed for more Pewter.

I've got long grey hair. It's quite fine. I use purple shampoos. Particularly important at the front of hair if you wear makeup as grey hair stains easily. I also experiment with a variety of leave in conditioners. I've found that toners you can buy in Boots don't work - they only work if you use them with peroxide. If I leave my hair to dry naturally it looks very blah. What I find useful is rough drying with hairdryer then using the Dafni straightening brush. It polishes the hair and makes it look so much better. Obvs this won't work if you've got curly hair! Also wear a hat in the sun as it makes it yellow. Avoiding the yellow tinge is key.

It's a "shock" to see yourself with grey hair. I still am not used to it after 5 years. However what I think helps is having a bit of tan on your face if you are pale. I also don't go out without makeup now! Darkening your brows is also helpful. Yeah - it's a trade off. I don't miss the colouring every 3 weeks but it's a massive change to how you perceive yourself. I wouldn't go back to colouring now. Also I think wearing your grey hair long is a bit of a statement. It's saying "I'm not going to have it short or in a bob just because that's what is deemed acceptable by others".

But you now feel unable to leave the house without make up in order to feel 'accepted' by others?

I started going grey in my 30s (now early 50s); I have found that semi-permanent hair colours work well (ie the ones that last 24 shampoos), as they don’t entirely wash out, they just slightly fade as your hair grows out, so the roots coming through grey are blended much better with the rest of the hair (I think permanent hair dye leaves a very obvious line when it grows out to grey). It is much quicker than permanent dye as well. Ie 20 mins. What I am also doing is gradually shifting the dye colour to a lighter one (sort of honey blonde), as I think as you age your colouring changes, and it can be tricky to pull off darker shades of dye. And it means that any roots that grow through are also less obvious!

I got converted to use henna (dark brown) and will never go back. It's amazing! I only have few grey hair but they are on the partition and SO visible. The henna covers them gradually: basically on the first application they get dark blonde/reddish and on the second application proper dark brown. I like that it doesn't dye my hair one single colour, but keeps my natural highlights in, so the final result is very natural. And it really nourishes the hair and make it glossy!