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Original poster

Talk to a hair dye virgin about going grey.....

30 replies

lechatnoir · 11/06/2010 21:42

I'm having to pluck grey hairs out every few days now & just wondering at what point I should stop pulling them out & start dying my hair? I have seriously loads of hair so thinning isn't an issue at this stage but it somehow doesn't seem right to keep on plucking

Presumably a shop bought hair dye that you wash in all over is designed to cover existing grey so not really much point for me at the moment as they are no grey hairs left to their own devices? And once you've dyed it, new grey still comes through - roots only or like the hideous long wiry ones I keep discovering?

I assume the only other option is highlights which presumably mask grey as it blend with blond/white highlights? Pros & cons: less obvious re-growth, more natural tones & shades but best done in a salon so pricey and not ideal for people with dark hair like mine?

Any thoughts comments and advise for a sightly traumatised 30 something

LCN

OP posts:

LimaCharlie · 11/06/2010 22:04

You have my sympathy as I have been doing this for years!

The thing I found about plucking was that the hair would regrow straight upwards and be very noticeable, whereas if I keep on top of the colouring then the grey is less obvious.

A lot of hair dyes are multi tonal now so dye the grey a slightly different colour so your hair looks less flat

Magicmayhem · 11/06/2010 22:19

I've started to buy a coloured shampoo from superdrug, its their own make, and only a small bottle with I think 3 washes in, you can leave it on up to 20 mins I think... although I just leave it on for 5 mins... they have several shades of brown that will give you different hues, ie, mahogany, red, chestnut, and copper,I use this twice a week now and it gives my hair a lovely shine and blends the grey in a treat!

AnythingsBetterThanTheLastOne · 11/06/2010 22:30

Not sure about the dyes but saw a lady recently at the school gates with brown hair who had obviously gone through a plucking stage some years back, given up, and now had a noticable amount of grey hairs growing, pubic style, thick, wavy and upwards on an otherwise head of reasonable brown hair. If she'd never had pluckedin the first place these hairs would have been much longer an dbarely noticeable.

I'm a highlighted blond with grey and planning to go blonder towards ash and embrace it.

Seriously I think depending on original age trying to hide it can be more aging than accepting and working with it.

bibbitybobbityhat · 11/06/2010 22:34

I found my first grey hair when I was 31.

I am now 47 and only about 5% grey, most of it underneath, so still hardly noticeable.

It doesn't necessarily mean a descent into complete all over greyness within a few years.

niminypiminy · 12/06/2010 08:55

There is an alternative which is learning to love your grey hair. I gave up dyeing about five years ago and I've never looked back -- now my hair is anthracite streaked with silver and it's really distinctive. I was inspired by a friend of mine who has amazing white hair. You could look at a site called Going Grey Looking Great which, though it's very American, is full of pictures of women looking much younger and more attractive with their natural grey hair well cut and looked after than in their hair dye days.

shushpenfold · 12/06/2010 08:59

Bibbity - you lucky thing...I started to see grey about 3 yrs ago and now the underneath (which I don't dye) is about 25% grey, the top, 75% and the badger stripes at the side are 100% white!! I roots dye mine every 4 weeks - one day I will just go grey gracefully but not at only just 40.

MagalyZz · 12/06/2010 10:45

Wow. Great thread, I was only wondering this yesterday. I'm 40 and I pluck out about 3 hairs a day and there are always ones that I miss. I pluck out the ones which jump out at me. I wouldnt even be 1% grey yet. I was wondering what the 'progression' is/ How long does it take?

But I am thinking, oh great, another 5 minutes of maintenance to add into the routine every morning! just to reach a very low standard of presentable!

I think I would like to be silver. Not quite yet, but at fifty I want to be silver. I think it looks lovely so long as you have a flattering cut, wear earrings and a bit of lipstick just so that it looks silver on purpose, not frumpy grey.

darkandstormy · 12/06/2010 11:45

I love the webite going grey looking great.I wish I had the guts to do it.MAGALYZ you are right though about the earings and lipstick etc.

OhExpletive · 12/06/2010 11:56

I started going grey at 21

I'm 29 now and it's really obvious if I don't colour for a few months but I just use home kits which are often on offers in supermarkets, every 2-3 months.

It's not a big thing really - despite the roots, someone told me the other day I didn't look old enough to be doing my job - wasn't sure whether to be , or !

If you have the budget and it bothers you go and see a hairdresser for advice. If you haven't got the budget and it bothers you try some Nice 'n' Easy or something. If it doesn't bother you then go with it, it's quite chic if you have a good cut I think

PS Don't pluck, the new ones will be like wire wool and will grow straight up!

OhExpletive · 12/06/2010 11:57

Christ, check out all those smileys ...

[Googles "netmums"]

AlaskaNebraska · 12/06/2010 13:43

i only started this year.
i use a shade lighter than real one
dont do stripes imo

cybbo · 12/06/2010 13:49

I foolishly dyed mine a lighter brown and now have yellowy grey roots

AlaskaNebraska · 12/06/2010 13:49

YOU? have a HAIR disaster cibbo?
never
how are oyu fattie?

cybbo · 12/06/2010 13:50

oooh the mufins are looking GOOO-OOOD today

AlaskaNebraska · 12/06/2010 13:50

hahaha

Curiousmama · 12/06/2010 13:55

If you do want to colour your hair you'll only need a semi-permanent at the moment. Or if you want to go to a salon lowlights in one or two shades to blend with your natural colour will be nice. An all over 'block' colour can look very fake and wiggy IMO.

I am a colourist/stylist and have seen some disasters in my time. Colour can make you look fantastic and also the opposite as I'm sure you've seen?

Good luck hope you're happy whatever you decide

diddl · 12/06/2010 14:06

I´m going grey & my biggest problem is that I love my hair colour & what I want is something that leaves my hair alone & just colours the grey.

Stop the plucking OP.
I´ve done this I know have some short grey hairs at the front.

Much more noticeable than if I´d left them to grow in imo.

So I want to dye until they are grown I think.

I did use a reddish colour once & it wasn´t really for grey-they ended up a lovely pink!

Takver · 12/06/2010 14:17

I wouldn't assume that anyone else notices the grey hairs. I've got quite a lot of grey - no idea on %, but have had loads for years (40 now), but when I've commented friends have said they've never noticed (and they are friends who I am pretty sure would be honest). DH notices but then he sees them a lot closer up

Having said that I have had my hair dyed at the hairdressers (to a completely different colour to normal) and it was quite a great thing to do for me as I never can be bothered about faffy clothes, makeup etc. But for the price of a colour & an afternoon in the hairdresser you get a change that lasts for ages, IYKWIM.

Magalyxyz · 12/06/2010 17:53

wow, i'll have to stop plucking my grey hairs then??? not sure I can stop!

BelleDameSansMerci · 12/06/2010 18:04

I started going grey when I was about 32 - I'm now 44 and approx 75% grey. Home colours are ok if your hair doesn't grow very quickly but if, like mine, it grows a good centimetre in two weeks, you'll get colour build up and won't necessarily be able to ensure you've got all the regrowth at the back, etc. I get mine done at salon every three weeks... Not cheap but I'm not, not, not being grey!

MmeRedWhiteandBlueberry · 12/06/2010 18:13

I am very grey. I used clairol nice and easy for several years but my hair is fast growing so roots would be really bad within three weeks. I now have it done at the hair dresser every six weeks with several colours which help to break up the regrowth line.

deaddei · 12/06/2010 18:22

I have very dark hair, and have it coloured every 6 weeks with Aveda colour. Grey hairs are a smattering, and as I'm tall, nobody sees them when they begin to show. [smile}
I hope I end up like Niminy- anthracite- lovely!
I'm 50 and proud.

CarlaBruni · 12/06/2010 18:34

Anthracite would be lovely if you have olive skin and sleek, shiny hair. I have neither so have to keep dyeing it. And I'm another whose roots show before any colour can be washed out in time. Total pain, the whole thing

Original poster

lechatnoir · 12/06/2010 21:18

Cool thanks for the tips everyone. Off on hols for a few weeks with the family so will try & resist plucking the entire trip & then assess the damage. I like the idea of semi-permanent whilst it's still minimal but think I will almost certainly succumb to salon lowlights before too long. Ask me in 20 years & I might feel more comfortable embracing the grey but not a hope in hell just yet (plus my hair is too thick & wiry to ever be that lovely soft, silver mane some lucky buggers are blessed with )
Thanks again for the advice.
LCN

OP posts:

diddl · 14/06/2010 11:56

Magicmayhem

The shampoo you use-does it come in a bottle & you use it like normal shampoo?

As opposed to the "Re Nature" type thing that comes in a tube & you need to use gloves?

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