Colouring grey hair

[stickybun]

Think hair is grey in parts but previously natural colour brunette with copper lights. Currently colour at home close to original shade. As am just over 40 (nearly 42) want to get to a lighter toffeeish colour as understand this makes you look youthful and untired altho obvously want to avoid greige (a la Alison Steadman). Am thinking Ruth Kelly stylee (only in terms of current hair colour obviously). P.S. paleish skin with freckles in summer but not in winter. Please help - is this something I could do myself or do need to spend £££ at hairdressers but once done could maybe maintain at home? Do not want to go grey.

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i think its best to go to a hairdresser as an all over colour only works if you are under 22.
i have warm tones added to mine to cover the grey, i have whats called a t section, its not the whole head.
i usually have mine done every 6 to 8 weeks, 3 hours, with cut and blow dry its £115.

don't you end up with stripey hair then?

I have an all over colour because I am completely grey and I don't want to be. I am over 22, although I was actually younger than that when I went grey . I have it done every six weeks at the hairdresser for £42 including C&BD.

I say pah to all over cover for under 22's. When you're as grey as I am there's no choice. I have to colour it every 2 -3 weeks to avoid looking like a skunk! I think you're best getting it done at first by the hairdresser and getting their advice about how to maintain it if its too dear / inconvenient to get it done at the hairdressers all the time.

Ta for advice - v. helpful inspecting roots think I may be completely white in parts. Cannot have white hair will look Mum who is 80 she has hardly any wrinkles owing to puritanical lifestyle and sweet rationing during war.

I would go for highlights,so you do get some grey still but it looks much more natural - I don't like the look of colour over grey because it's pretty obvious once it starts to fade a bit - I have a half head every 8-9 weeks

Good idea MM - I think that would be a good way to go for me. How do you get from where I am (grey hair dyed dark) to where you are. Would they just do highlights over what's there or do you have to have all the colour stripped out - if so does it wreck your hair - or ok?

This is my pet subject, I have struggled with my hair for ages....I am almost completely grey and am 40, and have agonised for ages as sometimes I love grey hair (I have a very inspiring lady at work who went grey young and she has a sharp haircut, all grey, and looks SO glamorous every day and does NOT look old...) and other times I feel, well, I actually DO look old and I'm not ready.

So I have dyed at home and done what you are thinking of stickybun and gone for a lighter colour, but I find within 3 weeks A) it's gone a kind of brassy colour that I would NOT choose and B) the roots are REALLY quick to show and I can't be bothered, or arsed, or have the money to be doing my hair all the time....

Also find unless I condition like mad my hair looks in awful condition

Therefore HAVE to wash hair daily as conditioner makes it a bizarre mix of greasy/dry, no chance to be lazy or slack off!

I have also tried highlights but again found within weeks I had that brassy colour again

Sorry to waffle on - I guess my point is:

Dye or highlight if you want but this will have to be very regular and I'd go to a GOOD hairdresser to try to avoid the brassy blonde look - I can't afford to but would it I could

PErhaps you won't be surprised to hear I am growing out my colour and embracing my grey

Grey hair and a sharp,chic cut can look fab - I suppose it has to be the 'right' kind of grey though !!
stickybun - I'm not sure what they'd need to do - my highlights are on my natural hair - there isn't much grey, just bits at my temples - I'm not sure whether they'd need to strip the darker colour off - I think they'd just choose a few different colours (I have about 3) to blend in...I certainly don't think it gets brassy though, it just looks like natural hair with a few grey hairs here and there. I think the thing is to find a good hairdresser !

sometimes, the greys are very coarse and wiry.

God, I could have written the OP almost word for word. I, too, have always died at home since regular salon upkeep would cost a fortune. I always use semi-permanents to try and reduce teh build-up. But still think the ends end up very dark, especially at the front. So have tried, at least, to get it cut more regularly to get rid of this. Last night, coincidentally, I used a light chestnut for teh very first time (Movida one). I didn't leave it on as long as I usually would since was terrified I'd have orange roots. But, it's come out ok; certainly not as dark as teh usual chestnuts I use. So, I'll try again in 2 or 3 weeks when it'll have washed out/started to grow out.(I don't wash my hair often enough for them all to wash out )

I hate it all though; there is no straightforward answer is there?

Dyed not died

tinker !

I am watching this with interest, as I recently posted a thread about Lady Grecian, and was it any good.

Is there any over the counter hair dye, that doesn't make it all one colour?

A colleague at work uses brown henna on hers, and it looks really natural

Also haven't got a clue what coour to look for. My natural colour is chestnuty, with a lot of red in. But I suit cool colours, and look awful in red or orange, so totally confused

I don't think you can use henna on grey hair - can you ?

Oh? Why's that?

Oh? Why's that?

well I was talking to a friend about it and she has a fair bit of grey and said shje can't use henna on it anymore - it just goes orange

Am off to the hairdressers in the morning. I actually went back to work so I could afford to sit there and pay someone else to do it, rather than making my bathroom look like the texas chainsaw massacre every six weeks. I've recently had to upgrade to the permanent dye - worth every damn penny IMHO.

'i usually have mine done every 6 to 8 weeks, 3 hours, with cut and blow dry its £115. '

FDucking hell hifi,that is a hell of a lot of dough.

blimey - mine';s about £60

I am very grey/white (age 43), from a natural dark brown.

I have now gone blonde - I have about five colours put into my hair to break up the obvious roots. I used to do home colouring to match my natural colour but the contrast with the new growth would have meant having to recolour every 3 weeks.

I get it done 6-7 times a year, and the cost varies from £50 - £110 depending on whether they are doing a box section, half head or full head. The alternatives are to do the Clairol home jobs, or go grey. I feel I am too young to go the grey route, but will have to make the decision sooner or later.

well if you dont have the cash i think you have to do it at home

i do and people have said it looks nice

i do it about evry 6 weeks with loreal magic wand thing

i think it looks quite natural and does make me look a lot younger than natural

not sure it is toffee colour tho

it is on my profile

if i could afford it i would go to the hairdresser but unless i remarried my exh that i left nearly ten years ago no chance of affording it lol