Does anyone use the ‘colour’ shampoos that are available rather than box dyes?

[thenewaveragebear1983]

I’ve always used box dyes but it’s just so messy and I have to do them every couple of weeks. I can’t afford Salon colouring and I don’t want to start. Just browsing and I see JustForMen do a shampoo that tints greys, there’s also plantur39 brown and others- so I just wondered if anyone had any luck with these? I have a fair amount of grey. Now my hair is getting thinner, I am finding it impossible to get the edges of my hairline without colouring my face/scalp and it looking really harsh. I have dark brown hair. If I dye my hair I end up with it everywhere- my neck, my ears, my arms, my face. I’m so over it but I’m not ready to go grey or to go short. From what I’ve read these shampoos don’t require gloves or any kind of covering, just shampoo and they tint the greys gradually?

Yes I sometimes use a Superdrug one that was recommended here. It makes my hair really hard to comb after though.

@NetZeroZealotdo you use a conditioner afterwards?

You need to leave them on for them to work, they don't colour just by washing (no matter what they say). They're ok for a hint of colour to shade in greys, but you won't get full coverage. I also have (dyed) dark brown hair, and use them when I'm going out somewhere I want to look my best but am due a colour soon.

I like the Glaze one at the moment. (It's a conditioner, not shampoo)

I’ve used Plantur brown. I have black hair so knew if wouldn’t match my hair but used it as a way to soften the greys. It made them blend in slightly but wouldn’t say it was a massive difference. I got sick of leaving it to work during every wash and hair got to a point whether greys woundn’t go darker after a few months. Then got it dyed at the salon, even then they had to do a strand test to check colour would work on top of it, but it was okay.

Does the Plantur look orangey at all?

Yes a little bit after a few washes, another reason why I stopped

I'm trying the superdrug one at the moment. The problem is that the colour has taken on my roots and is a lightish brown, but the colour of the old dye on my lengths is darker than that. Fortunately that was a semi-permanent, so I'm hoping it will fade soon and it will all blend. In the meantime I'm using a root spray to blend it all. I'm so fed up with dyeing it but this is still a bit of a faff at the moment.

I left the brown shampoo on for a while the first couple of times I used it - at least ten minutes I think.

There was another thread about this recently. I tried the John Frieda defy grey months ago but I hated how it left my hair feeling weighed down and chemically. I have grey framing my face which grows through dye really quickly. Brown hair.

The problem I have at the moment with box dyes is my hair is so frizzy with lots of short growth, I have to use a lot of products to tame it, so I have to wash it, dry it, then dye it the next day. I don’t wash it every day, I never have, but now it falls out so much I just don’t want to risk it, so I end up needing a really complex schedule of washes, dry, no products, etc and I kept missing the opportunity to dye it on freshly washed hair. I also have very thin hairline and the box dye is just too hard to get a natural edge, I end up with loads of white still left because if I go to close to the root I am just painting my scalp/face.
plus I’m messy, and totally bored of the mess and the rigmarole every 2-3 weeks.

I have used the plantur shampoo and conditioner since April. Works great for me covering the grey but also have dummed down my frizziness.

I stopped dyeing my hair and have been using Plantur39 brown for over a year now. I think it’s brilliant. I put it on, then leave it while I quickly wash myself, then wash off and condition. So it’s on for at most 1 or 2 mins.

Now and again I do a wash with a purple shampoo if it starts getting a bit brassy. For me it’s been a miracle not having to dye my hair. In fact my hair now looks far better. The colour looks more natural and my hair is in much better condition from not dyeing it every 4 weeks.

A few votes for plantur39 then, do you use a conditioner as well?

I found the Defy Grey quite harsh too, this Schwarzkopf one is very moisturising and comes in a few colours. I don’t actually have a lot of grey, but my hair had started to look almost flat as though I had box dyed it a dark colour and I found the dark blonde lifted it and blended the greys in a bit.

I've been wondering the same so this is useful.

But if you do go back to dye, put vaseline on the skin around your hairline (and your ears) and then it will just wipe off.

Yes I use this one too, I have mousey hair with greys and had more success with the light brown than the dark blonde for coverage.

I bought the Plantur conditioner but didn’t like it very much, so I just use my regular one. Like a PP I used to have frizzy hair - but now I’m no longer dyeing it that’s not a problem any more. I wish I’d been brave and stopped dyeing my hair years ago tbh.

Plantur is not without messiness though. You have to leave it on for some minutes, I can’t remember how many because I’ve stoped using it, then it’s really brown when you rinse it out. You have to make sure it’s all out and that there’s none in your ears or left in the shower.

Oh @Teathecolourofcreosote I wish it was this easy but seriously I get it everywhere- the soles of my feet, my arms, my ears, my neck. The floor, towels, grout. Seriously it’s like a scene from a horror movie in there I don’t know what happens.

I think I’m going to try one when I get paid, see what happens.

I’ve been using the Plantur 39 one for almost a year now and it’s doing a good job of letting me grow out the dye. I don’t totally love the colour - it’s not orangey on me but is a little brassy. But it matches well with the box dye that is still on the bottom few inches of my hair and when that’s all been cut out I might stop even using the Plantur.
I occasionally also use the Fanola conditioner (can’t remember the exact shade right now but it’s something coffee related - espresso or cappuccino!) which gives a lovely colour but is much more of a faff as I leave it on for 40 minutes.

Do you have a stainless steel sink in utility or kitchen? I dye mine wearing an old dressing gown so I'm covered.

I rinse it off in the sink (with an old towel draped over the front so I can grab it) wrap it up and then shower. Very little comes out in the shower.

Tempted to try the Schwarzkopf one.

Have you seen the Polar shampoos? They are expensive from the main website but about £15 on Amazon. They are ok but need to use a lot more and leave on longer than the 10 mins they advise.

Evenstar thanks for the tip for the Schwarzkopf gloss colour conditioner - bought it yesterday and first go suggests it is just what I need.
Greying at the temples and switched from perm to semi perm box dyes about 3 years ago, but the roots need attention after a few weeks. I find the spray colours too obvious, like a block of one solid colour, this seems to have faded in the grey to a pale brown. I left it on for about 3 minutes will try a little longer next time. Available in my big Boots, there were three different browns.

I remembered I had some ‘defy grey’ conditioner in the cupboard and just used it.
i Forgot how much I hate it! It made no difference and afterwards my hair wouldn’t dry because it obviously didn’t wash out properly so i had to use dry shampoo to stop it looking all greasy!
ill be putting what’s left in the bin!!!