At a cross-roads with grey...

[momercize]

My hair is very dark brunette..and in the past year, I have started to really get A LOT of wiry, grey hair in the part and crown. I tried having it highlighted to cover it, but the darn things won't hold color and seem to grow at twice the rate of my other hair.

So what do I do now?? Is it time to seriously consider all over color and commit to a lifetime of that hassle? Do I have other, less time consuming options? The grey is very noticable and makes me feel so old. I am NOT OLD!!

 

[mandy_]

I'm not really sure, but I am sure that one of the lovely ladies here will be able to help you!

 

[susanks1]

I would like to know too. My gray hair isn't wirey, but my roots show gray one month after I color my hair and I don't want to be coloring my hair that often.

 

[Aquilah]

Grey hair is apparently extremely stubborn. Clairol Nice n' Easy is recommended for grey hair. There's another at-home product too. I'm not really sure what to tell you. Even though I'm not even 27, I've already found about three in my head! Luckily mine are "under" the top of my hair. If you haven't tried Clairol, then you might want to see a professional. I really don't have any great advice

 

[Princess6828]

I probably wouldn't notice any in my hair, but Nick has them. Hee hee...I found his first one like 2 years ago and for the longest time he insisted it had been like a dog hair. So finally I started pulling them out and showing them to him. He's accepted it. His hair is BLACK so they show up like crazy. He only gets them in the front. We pluck them as they come.

 

[Dragonfly]

I know how frustrating it can be to have grey hair. I decided long ago not to let my hair go grey. I dye it myself every 4 weeks. My hair grows quickly so I have to keep on top of the dye schedule.

What about making your hair a medium brown? There wouldn't be such as contrast when grey hairs show up.

Two other ideas - use a neutral hair colour (I use medium neutral brown by Nutrisse). There are crayon-like sticks that deposit colour to dry hair. These can be usefull if you can't dye your hair regularly. Hope my ideas have helped.

 

[monniej]

i hear you ladies! my grey is all around the edges of my face and i wear my hair natural. looks very aging imo. i put in a rinse one a month to try to keep it neutralized. i did try a permanent dye once and it fried my hair. never again!

 

[Tina Marie]

Originally Posted by Princess6828 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I found his first one like 2 years ago and for the longest time he insisted it had been like a dog hair. Haha! Thats cute

 

[Dragonfly]

Have you gone to a salon to have your roots coloured? They can show you how and where to apply the dye, so you don't dry out your hair unnecessarily.

A big mistake is "dumping" dye all over the hair.

I only dye my roots and I use half a box. I save the other half for the next month.

Clairol's Nice n Easy has a "Touch Up" kit to use on obvious regrowth.

This product would be good for the temple areas and edges of the face, where grey seems most noticeable.

 

[selene]

I must admit, I like the idea of only dying the hair in the parts where the gray is showing up. Think of where horns would be if you had them coming/growing out of your head, and that is where my gray has mainly decided to show (though for some reason, my right side has more strands showing up than my left, which only has like... one...? lol). Lately, I've been thinking that they are due to my stubborn streak, and they are my "proverbial" horns.

Ok, so anyway, I thought I'd at least share a post that a woman shared with me for low-maintenance gray coverage. (copy/paste below)

"... my stylist always puts in two colors of highlightsand a lowlight, too. The trick is to get one shade just a skosh lighter than your natural color), one shade as bright as your brightest highlights by the end of summer, and one shade a couple of shades lower than your natural color (fewer of those).

If you get 'em slim (no chunky streaks), there's very little upkeep.... it'll just look like hair growing out after the summer. And here's the beauty part: Highlights done this way hide grey like nothing else. When greys start to come in, unless you're looking very VERY VERY close at the top of your head, it looks like the sparkle of a highlight... at least for a long while.

Good luck -- I love love love mine, and you can play with them and adjust the shading as you get new ones (absolutely no more often than every 3 months, though you don't have to do them that often... keep your hair healthy."

 

[dlb04]

I have to color mine every 3 1/2 weeks because it grows very fast and the grey is very noticeable. It's wiry and there is a lot of it! I only reapply the color to the length of my hair for the last 5 or 10 minutes though.

 

[lynnda]

I have to color my hair every 4 weeks as well! When I started going grey iI tried highlighting for a while but it became too costly and I needed it every 4 weeks as well! I have tried them all and I really prefer the l'oreal hair color line (preferance and excellance are my faves)!! My hair is a dark to med brown as well! I have been coloring my hair every 4 weeks for at least 5 or 6 years and my hair is still very healthy!