Have you had to let your hair grow grey? Support please

[tobee]

I'm looking at having to let my grey roots grow out and feeling fed up.

I've had irritation to patch tests having dyed my hair for years with no problems. I carried on dyeing my during lockdown and patched test every time because I didn't fancy having to go to a&e (and dh vulnerable)

The two bad things will be the interim period and the fact that my hair is thin and colouring my roots look better after.

I'm also annoyed with myself for feeling down about it 🙄 If I'd known I'd have to go cold turkey rather than when I chose, carefully changing my colour, I'd have stopped dyeing yonks ago.

Please tell me your tales of support, and maybe gently kick me up the arse!! 😁

I'm using the root sprays too. Which one are you using?

Several tries here @YabaJaba !

Clairol root touch up spray, Root Perfct, l'Oreal Magic Retouch, Schwarzkopf Root Retouch have been the best overall. But they tend to be a bit too dark or too light. The worst was Moroccan Oil Brown Tones which was really vague gingery tones. Hairdresser at Toni & Guy sold me Label M which was the best colour but it's very expensive and a dry shampoo and I found it a bit itchy.

I like it the next day better really when it's come out a bit and could be perceived to be naturally greying, less dyed brown/white roots contrast. But it definitely starts to streak your face. So you need to thoroughly cleanse your face or wash your hair everyday. Not to mention bedding.

It really helps if you've got supportive people around you - my partner has been brilliant and was all for me ditching the hair dye - Im 55 now and let my hair go natural since Covid lockdowns.

I am totally fine with my hair colour, Im not trying to look younger than my years but anyway I dont think it ages me drastically - I just look my age now. None of my friends have gone the natural route though which I think is a bit of a shame. Like a PP said you do start to notice people that dye their hair as it looks so unnatural past a certain age.

I was complimented on my grey hair by one of the other delegates at a conference today.

After doing highlights/lowlights for a few years I'm now giving up in favour of growing out my greys. I liked the look of the colour and it really helped blend things but it's too expensive and the top layers of my hair which have been repeatedly bleached are fried. I'd rather have soft, healthy hair that's greying!

I'm going to look a right mess until I'm more fully grey, because mine is all in the front, I'm still quite a deep warm brown everywhere else.

You're right about the full dye looking weird though, looking back at photos from a few years ago when I was putting in a brown box dye, it's not a great look at all, especially in the sun. I couldn't see it at the time.

i’m still happily dyeing mine and live in fear of turning allergic one day. This has happened to 2 of my friends.

There are some great people to follow on Instagram who you go to with a bad grey roots situation and they basically strip out the dye and create grey hair with natural looking highlights. You can then just let it grow out naturally.

If this ever happens to me I will knock back a couple of antihistamines and go and get it all done with one of them in one go and then grow it out.

Best way of stripping out the dye?

Oh, I totally get it – the thought of going grey can feel like a big thing, especially when you're used to colouring it! I’ve been in the same boat. The in-between phase is tough, especially with thin hair – it feels like you're in limbo. But honestly, once it’s all grown out, it can be such a relief, and you’ll probably feel way better about it.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, though! We’ve all got stuff we wish we’d done differently, but you’re doing what's best for you right now. Maybe just take it one step at a time and embrace the process – even if it feels like a slog right now. You’ve got this! And hey, you'll save so much time and effort on the upkeep! 😁

Ah! Thanks for the responses.