Does a decent subtle ash dark blonde box hair dye exist to cover grey, white, blurgh hair?

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I’m 61 and have been grey for nearly three years. I’ve enjoyed the freedom and convenience of it. But I’ve come to the conclusion that it really doesn’t suit me.

My hair was mouse colour before it went grey.

I have green eyes with fair skin but a tendency to be red in the face. And grey hair just ages me horribly. Plus my hair is not a pretty grey. It’s dark at the back, mid grey at the sides and white on top. It is ageing.

(Btw, before anyone comments, I absolutely love grey hair on other women. I have two friend similar to my age who look stunning with all-grey hair. If I thought it suited me I would definitely keep it all grey!)

The trouble is, I dislike hair salons; the smell, the sound, the heat. I go in for a regular cut and blow dry and emerge 40 minutes afterwards. I do not want to stay longer in the chair having my hair coloured.

So my question is please, is there such a thing as a good quality, subtle ASH blonde or mouse hair dye that does not contain any traces of gold or red? Does such a thing exist please? And if it does, which brand do you recommend Mumsnetters? Thanks in advance for any advice or info!

Quite honestly I've never yet found a blond that covers my whiter than white hair. It's gone after one wash. It's the salon or nothing. So I've gone with nothing. I'm not happy about it but I too loathe the fuss and expense of the salon. I think I've tried every box dye on the market.

No I'm sorry, it does not exist. I am exactly as you describe yourself, albeit a decade behind you, and I've tried them all. They all turned my hair a horrible orange blonde colour.

It took me many years to find a hairdresser who understands what I need and buys the right toner for the ash colour I want. I grit my teeth and go every 10 weeks for a half head of foils. Two or three times a year I get a full head of foils. This blends in the grey and the mouse brown with the ask blonde and looks good.

That being said, you may have fewer red undertones in your non-grey hair. But I still don't believe it exists - dying grey hair is a skill. The texture and porosity is different, and a box dye just won't cut it for an ash blonde.

L'Oreal Excellence Dark Ash Blonde. Or Light Ash Blonde, if you prefer. I have found their dyes come out like the colour on the box.

I’m in exactly the same position except my hair is generally the same colour all over. It just makes me look washed out. I would ask for highlights but don’t know what to ask for.

This is all food for thought! Thanks so much for the replies, even though they are largely confirming my worst fears! 😄

thebluehour
I did previously use L’Oreal Excellence dark blonde with mixed results. Mostly they were fine but did go a bit brassy eventually. I notice they have introduced a couple of ash shades since then though. I have learnt to look at the guide on the back of the box, rather than at the model on the front, as that generally come out darker than depicted. But overall, I haven’t been thrilled with the results.

Kleptronic
That’s a really interesting post, thank you! I don’t even really know what foils and toners are tbh I am so ignorant on this subject! But that’s hopeful that you have found a solution. I might have to succumb to sitting in a salon for longer! And pray I can find one which is fairly calm and airy with a view of a tree 😆

Lushvegetation & Gettingbysomehow
Its interesting how many of us are in the same boat!

Btw I have been exploring E-salon and Josh Wood box colours which offer a slightly more personalised service than buying off the shelf.
I’ve noticed that they refer to “icy” tones but I don’t know quite what that means!

Has anyone had any luck with these brands?

I have never got brassy tones when using ash shades.

Was mousy, now - older than you - about 90% white. Unlike you I have blue eyes. Go a shade lighter than you were and always wear a sunhat in strong sunshine to avoid fading. Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Crème (permanent so try it on a slim strand) in number 6 Light Brown serves me well. I have used 6.3 - there’s a difference in ash tone and warmer tone between the 6 and 6.3. The fading and root touch up tick me off so I do muse quite often about going natural but my DH has far less white and I don’t want to be considered his mother which happened to my in-laws.

I'm about to try https://www.gentlehairdye.com/colour/water-colour-gel/

I often end up with a reddish tint when colouring my hair, I'm told that these are more ash so fingers crossed.

I used to use excellence dark ash blonde and it was fine.

Getting it done in the salon is 100x better though and its now a non negotiable for me. I've found a really inexpensive hairdresser who does my grey roots every 8 weeks. Twice a year I get highlights. Im 58 and it makes a huge difference.

Thanks for this link!

Appreciate these tips thank you!
I don’t know why the numbering of the box colours is so user-unfriendly! I will look at the Nutrisse range thank you!

And thank you for all of the replies to date!

Thx! I like the look of the barley shade!

Looking at gentlehairdye shade chart, mine’s quite similar to Wheat if that helps.