Covering grey in naturally brunette hair - is there an “easy” option I’m missing?

[Iorderedyouapancake]

Hi all, I’m mid 40s and while still mainly dark there is now enough grey in my hair to be pretty noticeable if I don’t cover it up - I’m not ready to go grey yet so recently I’ve been putting a brown box dye on it which does the job but I’m not keen on the “flat” effect I get from it. I’m open to the idea of getting it coloured professionally but worried about getting on a treadmill of constant expensive appointments, and also of damage to my hair if I get some blonde put in (which I’m assuming would be the “best” way to make greys look less obvious as they come through).

For the ladies with brunette hair who’ve chosen to cover the grey- how do you do it? Is there an option I haven’t thought of between box dye and highlights?

I find root touch up dye, or semi-permanent that lasts up to about a month/28 washes for a more natural look that isn't a flat colour like a box dye is. Or you could pay lots to go to a salon every few weeks.
Highlights cover and blend grey hairs, amd probably work well on lighter hair colours, but having dark hair I then have the root growth to contend with too, which is far more obvious than a few grey strands.

Another vote for Plantur Brunette Shampoo. My hair is mousy brown with grey, I started growing it out as my highlights always felt too brassy and I thought I would give the grey look a go. Grew it out down to my ears then started feeling too self conscious about it (I'm only 38!). Used the plantur brown just once and after the first wash the greys just looked like highlights. So natural and multi tonal (easy and cheap too) and never have any noticeable regrowth

I’ve got similar sounding hair OP. Very little grey but evenly dispersed.

I get a semi permanent colour done at the hairdresser every 3 months. My hairdresser used to use a product that was actually marketed for men (Aveda) but they don’t do it any more so he mixes up something similar. It works really well and grows out nicely. No flat uinform colour.

so the Just for Men might be a good shout to try at home.

I use Crazy Colors and mix with white conditioner , put on damp hair for an hour and it washes out completely within 8 weeks of everyday washing. I have white streaks and it doesn't stain.

I use mainly purples, pinks and reds. Won't touch the blue ones as they fade to green and then can stain white hair.
The colour starts out very vibrant and fades nicely through various shades until pastels before vanishing. No growth line to be seen on mine.

What I'd love is if I could find a reddybrown product that will do the same thing.

I used to use Castings but it just wasn't covering the greys after a while. I moved on to Majirel but mixed with a v low level developer. It works really well and doesn't look flat. I have to do it once a month to cover new growth.

I forgot to say that I ound Defy Grey stained my white streaks which isn't what I wanted. I've spent 2 years growing out permanent and semi permanent dyes (which lighten) , so I didn't want regrowth again. I like to have the option to change colours and have them fade completely so I can always decide to be grey/white whenever I choose to.

I use henna and indigo - the henna 'sticks' to the hair and the indigo makes it darker so not typical henna orange!

Semi still uses peroxide as developer-albeit at a lower strength-so will always ‘lift’ your original colour. It will never look like virgin hair. I really dislike L’Oreal Casting-it looked very dyed on me and the colours looked off. The only one that worked is the clairol-but only the ash browns light or medium. Tried the mid and reddish brown and looked awful.

I started to get lots of greys after having my DS in my mid 30s. Not ready to go grey yet! Tried balayage but it didn’t feel like enough coverage for me. Recently my hairdresser has been “painting out the greys” which I guess is a slightly more professional version of the just for men mascara wand mentioned earlier. She colour matches to my hair and I need to have it done about 3 times a year. It is expensive and I’m not sure how long it will be feasible. At the moment I’ve been able to move my parting to hide any roots coming through, but as the grey spreads and increases I’m not sure it will work.

I tried with my hairdresser for about 3 years, but finally gave up. My mum is a ginger nut (or was until she faded out to blonde/grey). My dad was a blonde child that turned into a brown.

my hair looked a lovely brown with highlights until the grey crept in. Everything we tried was a nightmare, mostly going a nasty blonde/ginger.

I've been embracing the grey, but it's starting to make me feel 'old' and I want my colour back (it's mostly just the front but has begun to spread, that mixed with it being pathetically thin now... arghhhhhh

@Dinosaurus86 have you tried getting a consultation with a colourist?

I have been using this too and found it good in the expresso colour.

Do you use developer as well as the shampoo?

I wish I'd never got on the dying merry go round. There are literally no good options for stepping off.

I also regularly use a lighter shade of semi permanent and it looks so much better.

my hairdresser also gave me a tip - do the roots and crown - and instead of then putting dye on the rest of the hair, run a bit of water from scalp down, so the dye runs into the rest of the hair and you cover it that way. Leave for another bit of time. Rinse off. You end up with a more natural look - a less dyed look. Works for me! And I have a shit loads of grey.

I feel exactly the same as you do. Hate that I no longer have virgin hair. Have asked and asked for my hairdresser to dye it as close as possible to my natural colour (light mousy) but I always get coloured a warm blondey brown that somehow looks brassy and orange after a while with salt and pepper grey at the roots. Hate it. Hate the expense, too.

Brown or chestnut henna

I've used Castings before. Found it very good but now just use it for emergencies ie can't make my appointment or have more than my usual weeks between appointments. I started off years ago using Castings but eventually found a hairdresser who was good at his job and the colour he uses doesn't seem to damage my hair. Always get comments on its good condition. He did some cool toned highlights. During covid I started using perm colours ...just did what hairdresser did....roots then brushed through. (Looked up youtube for guidance) Always grew out well and the highlights growing out mDe it look neural and not too blocky. A colleague asked me how I managed to avoid the roots due to my age, which i took as a compliment that i had managed it where others couldnt or didnt. I'm 58 now btw so i have more than a few. I'm a brunette, still!

My hair is dark brown and same grey situ. I get the roots done properly every 10 weeks or so and we've gone a shade lighter brown so the regrowth is better. I do top up in between with a root kit in the same colour.
It works in the main!

I do this, you can get the hairdresser to do a Demi- permanent which seems to keep going longer. I also like to wash in colour glaze which doesn’t claim to cover greys but seems to ( my hair turned white rather than grey though and isn’t course but same fine straight texture as my hair so perhaps more porous) also adds volume and shine.

I have dark brunette hair and some grey. I don't mind going grey but want to manage the transition. I use John Freida shampoo (Defy Grey or Midnight Brunette) which, as others have said doesn't completely cover grey but makes them look like highlights rather than grey hair.

Sometimes I use a colour gloss to smooth my hair and add darker tones.

To me the key thing is not so much covering the grey completely but working with your hair as it transitions.

For those of you who have suggested balayage - how does it hide grey regrowth, isn’t it usually brown at the roots blending into blonde as it goes down the length?

So you’ll still get the brown/grey demarcation line at the roots?

Can anyone post a pic? I just can’t imagine it, but would love to try it if it works!

My hair is at a similar stage, OP.

I use Henna, the Khadi ones that don't all have red in them. They bring out natural highlights and condition the hair, as well as thicken it slightly. The grey hairs go a dark honey blonde.

I use Light Brown, which has a bit of red warmth to it because it suits me, but I've also used Golden Brown which has no red in it at all.

I do one of two options, I switch depending on which look I prefer.

My greys are actually more silver so I have metallic highlights put in my hair, so the grey looks intentional. Or I have a semi-permanent dark put on the top and a permanent dye balayage on the bottom. In between, I might use a box dye usually semi-permanent and in the colour closest to my natural. The L’Oréal casting crème seems to keep some of the permanent colour visible so it’s not too flat but I have quite a bit of hair and only use one box.

based on some of the recommendations on this thread I bought the plantur shampoo yesterday and used it for the first time this morning and quite impressed so far - I only left it on for a couple of minutes but it has definitely had an effect on my greys already- they are definitely a bit more “golden” and less noticeable - I really like it so far - going to keep using it!