Hair dye that stays on greys

[MrsCravensworth]

I’m 45 and if I didn’t dye my hair, it would be almost completely white. I am not having white hair for anyone, please don’t try to convince me to try it, if I live until 100, I will still be dying it brown!

I’ve tried all the big brands, but I always have a good 2/3 inches of white showing 3-4 weeks in, so it’s not just roots, it’s not staying on the white.

I could never dream of going to a hairdresser- I could probably save up for one professional dye, but I wouldn’t ever have a hope of going regularly. I have my hair cut at the hairdresser down the road for £10, once or twice a year.

I wash my hair about 3 times a week, and I use the shampoo and conditioner that’s £1 in Aldi. I can’t justify spending any of our limited shopping budget on shampoo.

I always look shit and it’s getting me down. My hair will look okay for a few weeks (I mean, it’s never okay, it’s a bad home dye job), and then I look like I going bald, with the white temples which seem to appear over night and I can only afford to buy dye every other month, 6 weeks at a push.

Am I just doomed to have shit hair due to lack of money, or can anyone recommend a dye?

I recommend buying professional dye from a salon supply shop and learning how to mix and apply it to your roots yourself. Or roping a friend or relative into helping you.
I buy Majirel dye and mix it with 20vol developer and apply with a brush just to my roots. It lasts better than box dyes and it works out cheaper (I just use half a tube of colour each time and the tube costs about £7).
You can find lots of YouTube videos on how to mix and apply it.

As I said you probably just need Colour Wow root touch up powder - just paint it on those lighter bits.

Any permanent dye you use will build up and make your dark look much darker and the undyed bits will look lighter and whiter in comparison. It’s a lose lose situation.

Oh and I know some people find grey hair less aging than a shit dye job. I just don’t want to be grey. I’ve got two friends who are totally grey at 45, it’s just not for me.

Mine does the same @MrsCravensworth, and through the lengths I get patches of reddy brown even though I have never dyed my hair that colour. I used the think I was just doing an awful job of dying it but it can’t be. I have realised it is just my hair. A couple of tips from me: wash then straighten your hair without products the day before colouring so that you can get the roots properly. Start at the bottom and back (nape of your neck) not the hairline, and always buy the same dye - just find one you can stick with and only ever use that. I tend to switch brands because they are always on different offers, but this isn’t helping the multi coloured look. I try to do mine every 3 weeks. When it’s freshly dyed it looks lovely, so shiny and healthy. It just doesn’t last.

Ugh. I know. Mine goes patchy all over though. It doesn’t help that I am partially sighted (which is why I won’t entertain the idea of trimming my own hair, it would be a shitshow!), so I do my best to brush all the dye through to make sure it’s even.

The hair dresser told me to alternate between doing roots and all over, but the trouble is, if I do my roots it looks like a darker line as a lot of the colour fades off all my hair quickly.

When I win the lottery, I shall have beautiful hair!

I also don’t want to go grey/ white- I’m 41!! My sister has let hers go ‘salt and pepper’ and to be honest, it’s very aging and I don’t want to let mine go yet. I’d probably be Snow White as my grandmother and mum have the same, my roots are white not grey.

Totally understand OP, grey is definitely not for everyone. But you’ll have to accept and live with your white roots/stubborn grey if dyeing is going to be the hill you die on. Dye on, even.

A few others have mentioned Henna
i can’t use chemical dyes due to allergies so buy a block of Lush Henna
I have fine shoulder length hair and a block does my hair three times.
Henna does not shift! My white hairs take forever to come through, I usually re do it more for intensity of colour rather than trying to cover re growth

But can I use it with dye build up?

My mum was white early on too, although she died in her early 40s. But I remember her dying her hair a lot when I was a child.

My daughters are lucky - they didn’t inherit the dark, Indian hair. They are dark blonde, hopefully, they will have an easier time of it if they go grey/white young.

What is your hair like? Dry, curly, oily straight? I use ogx which doesn't have sulfates which is the harshness that strips your hair. It's often half price which is £4ish. Only wash your hair once (not rinse and repeat) and keep it only for you and it will last months.

It’s got a lot more corse as I’ve got older. It’s never smooth and sleek, it’s a bit of a frizzy disaster.

If I leave it to dry naturally, it goes curly. But it’s not a nice curl, it looks awful and my hair is quite thick so I look like a bush and I feel so uncomfortable with “big” hair. And the texture is like straw when I leave it. If I’m just staying in the house (a lot to be honest!), I let it dry naturally and just tie it up.

People are always saying I should get curly hair products and embrace it and do the curls properly but it’s not for me, I have no interest in doing that.

But if I want to look less like stig of the dump, I have to blow dry it and later on straighten it. I use heat protector spray.

I bought a wig

However, its really for ABBA Voyage next week

I have a similar issue to You, Op. Its driving me nuts..
The front (fringe I suppose) has grown out blonde, when I was brunette all my life unless I bleached it.
Now though its blonde fringe, brown and silver roots and its horrible.
I hear You . It Sucks.

Is it black , OP ?
Black is notorious to colour .

I believe that you can henna over coloured hair but you should then stick to henna (don’t use a box colour over the top) but I’m not a hairdresser.

I feel for you! It is expensive to keep on top of and if you just don’t have the money it’s shit.

Ah, mine is the same, I call it triangle head. It just expands.

I fixed that element by using ogx shampoo, only once and then ogx argan oil. I apply the argan oil from about middle ears to the roots. Don't brush your hair, use a comb. I don't blow dry my hair, just comb it when wet and then tie it until it's dry. I only wash my hair about twice a week. You have to stop using the shit shampoo.

I also have the very fast growing very white hair line and dye build up nonsense. I'm going to persuade my dc to apply it with a brush and try to section it (or myself) and do it properly.

I know you're broke, me too, but find that £4 for better shampoo. I'm sure someone else can suggest a cheaper sls shampoo. I noticed in the world products aisle some oil products that looked possibly Indian (?) they might be cheaper than argan oil but I don't know.

No, not back. It’s dark brown but not really, really dark brown.

My natural hair colour was lovely. A darkish brown with a slight hint of red (my dads family are mainly all red heads!)

I would love to try a slightly lighter brown, but I’m stuck with the dark now as I can’t remove it.

I tried a colour remover, one for black/dark brown dye a couple of times and it just lifted patches and looked worse when I tied to go to medium brown.

Yeah mine just goes really big.

Being partially sighted as well, I know it sounds daft, but curly hair that sticks out is just another thing to get in the way of my limited field of vision and makes me disoriented. I can only wear it down when it’s straight.

Long hair is the other hill I will die on too. I got talked into an awful bob with a finge in my late 30s, it was hideous. So now, I just have long, layered hair that looks okay going a year between cuts.

I will get a proper shampoo and hide it from my family!

Yeah
I had black hair when born, lots of it, but my hair settled on what DM refers to as Chestnut . However, years of dying and bleaching etc saw paid to that shade in the end.
I have a wig, as I think I mentioned, and I find that is ok , for now People might tell its a wig but they would be rude to mention it imo ..
Best of Luck love... You are not alone .

I believe so but check with the staff in Lush
When I first started using it they were really informative.

Yes it worked for me. I put henna on first then a couple of days later put the indigo mix on. I always get compliments as it conditions my hair beautifully.

I use Herbal Essences Colour Protect shampoo and conditioner and it works well for me.

How long have you been using the grey defying shampoos? That's what I was thinking of trying next.

I’ve been looking into Henna dye, Holland and Barrat do them.

I’ve already got a box of dye for later, but might give it a go next time.

Do you put the box dye on your roots only or all over OP? I remember I used to leave it on the root area for ages and then comb it down to the rest of my hair only for the last 5 mins or so to avoid the colour build up issue a bit.