What should I do with my greying hair in my 40s? Has anyone done anything they love with theirs recently?

[whatsinanumber]

I'm 46, originally dark blonde with a bit of red. Spent decades having highlights but got sick of the quick regrowth and the grey showing up more and more. So I went to a fancy hairdresser who convinced me to tone down the blonde and have a combination of toner with balayage or something (I think it was balayage though I'm still not totally clear how that differs from highlights). So her way of working was just to weave in the blonde bits every second or third visit and then treat with toner in the meantime. Sadly, she's now left the salon and I don't really like what the guy who replaced her did. My hair now just looks mousy brown with a fair bit of grey. I'm pale and my hair, which used to be super thick, is a lot less thick now (maybe perimenopause, who knows...) so, one way or another, I look somewhat drab.

I know a lot of people let their hair go grey in their 30s and 40s now but I don't think I'm ready for that, and I don't think it would suit me.

So, I'm starting from scratch and thinking of going back to highlights or maybe balayage or whatever but it costs a bleedin' fortune around here (I live in London) so I want to chose the right thing.

Has anyone else with a similar hair situation done anything that's made them feel great recently? If so, what did you do, how much did it cost and how often does it need redoing?

Realistically I'm never going to do proper blowdrying etc so am looking for super low maintenance.

Thanks v much in advance

I have low lights. So they are the colour of my original hair, maybe shade lighter, maybe similar to yours. My hairdresser says I am 50% grey. I get about 4 months between colours, more in the summer as my whole head lightens with the sun.

I have a half head of low lights. It's not cheap where I live ( £170 including a cut.)

If the roots show I have used some powder touch-up which help to disguise them.

I'm 5-10% grey but on dark hair it really shows, and I use the Josh Wood glosses at home every 6 weeks or so. It doesn't 100% cover them but it blends them in so they just look like lighter brown hairs.

Thanks v much @ChristmasBaublesandMore yes, that's what it costs around here (some places A LOT more). So, do the lowlights cover most of the grey or is there still a lot visible?

@nutsnutspistachionuts that's interesting - I've never tried doing anything myself at home because I feel sure I'll screw it up. I'll look into those.

Just had a look at the Josh Wood glosses - if the reviews are anything to go by they work better on darker hair than lighter hair. Love the idea of being able to touch up at home though

It doesn't cover all the grey but my 'grey' is more very light silvery blonde if that makes sense. Unfortunately, most of the grey is in the centre of my head so it does tend to show along a parting. I get some regrowth after about 4-6 weeks. I was using a good Richard Ward touch up palette, (like eyeshadow) in dark blonde but it doesn't seem to be available now. If I was super-fussy I'd have the roots done every couple months. Unless I'm doing anything special, I try to go 4 months (ie alternate a cut with a cut/ colour.)