Please help with hair dye info (lots of gray hair)

[Anonymous]

I use Madison Reed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm similarly low maintenance and around your age and use Clairol Beautiful Collection Semi-Permanent Color from Walmart. I wouldn't dream of spending that much money. I started getting greys in college, and, like you, did not care until I was late 30s and people started saying stuff to me about it and I decided I had to.

People can tell.

So what?

Well, you don't want that. If you look like you used a drug store bottle dye you look like you are wearing a helmet. It's ugly. You don't want to dye your own hair.

What are you blathering about?

[Anonymous]

I use box dye at home but only dye the roots every 3 weeks. It doesn't have the helmet look because i never apply color root to ends. The rest of my hair has variation in the color

you get the helmet look if you color your entire head.

[Anonymous]

I use Ion Shine demi-permanent (made by Clairol) with 10 volume developer (low ammonia) from Sally Beauty. My hair is dark brown and I use the light natural brown color mixed with dark natural blonde, which comes out quite dark. There is a learning curve with coloring your own hair, but I save a ton of time and money doing it myself. My stylist told me that box dye has a higher ammonia content because people are impatient. Demi-permanent needs to sit on the hair for 30 minutes, but it is less damaging.

[Anonymous]

First, those prices seem high. I pay about $95 for single process color at a middle of the road salon. I have dark brown hair and my roots are terrible. I technically should go every 3 weeks but stretch it to 5 because it’s expensive but also I don’t have the patience for sitting in the salon. I have used Excellence hair color at home with success. I don’t agree that people can tell. My grays are lighter which creates a highlighted look. I actually got a lot of compliments on my color when I did it myself in my early 40s and then again during COVID. I am constantly debating going back to doing it myself. The 2 reasons I stopped were the mess (I fear dripping on our nice tile) and that I now have a lot of gray in the back that I can’t clearly see to cover it. I don’t think my salon color looks $80 better. If DH were willing to color my hair for me, I would switch back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do grey blending. Do not, I repeat, do not, get a single process color. You will regret how horrible the roots look.

I've been doing this. I don't love it, my hair is still too gray, but i agree it's the best approach if you want to avoid terrible looking roots. (
--> IF ANYONE has hints on how to not make it SO gray and every-color of the world, I would be very eager to hear!

[Anonymous]

Clairol offers a temporary color too. These wash out in 6-8 hair washes. This might give you the opportunity to figure out which color is best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been greying since my early 20s and coloring most of the time since then too.

At times I paid for salon color but I really think it is entirely unnecessary, I got as many if not more compliments when I was coloring with demi/semi permanent for $10 from the CVS - I typically have used Clairol but I’m sure they’re all fine.

The bonus of using a semi/demi applied at home is that the grey won’t absorb the same depth of color so you’ll end up with free ‘highlights’

This exactly. Use the shade or two lighter than your natural color. I have medium to dark brown hair and use dark blonde Natural Instincts. I end up with a lot of color variation. It’s also easy, fast, and cheap!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been greying since my early 20s and coloring most of the time since then too.

At times I paid for salon color but I really think it is entirely unnecessary, I got as many if not more compliments when I was coloring with demi/semi permanent for $10 from the CVS - I typically have used Clairol but I’m sure they’re all fine.

The bonus of using a semi/demi applied at home is that the grey won’t absorb the same depth of color so you’ll end up with free ‘highlights’

This exactly. Use the shade or two lighter than your natural color. I have medium to dark brown hair and use dark blonde Natural Instincts. I end up with a lot of color variation. It’s also easy, fast, and cheap!

prior poster here who was saying how she didn't like the "gray blending" at the salon but that's what i do becaue it seems like th ebest alternative (in my case, "gray blending" = highlighting in light blond so that the gray coming in blends with the blond). i wonder if your approach would be just as effective and how i could try it. Maybe I just start doing it with a cluster of hair and see how i like it working...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got my first gray hair in middle school and I never thought I would dye but now in my late 30s I am not enjoying how much the increasing gray is aging me. I am super low maintenance and have never dyed my hair and often just cut it at home.

I am assuming it would be better to go to a salon vs do it myself? I am confused reading up on it - I don't know anything. For example I looked at one salon and see this:

SINGLE PROCESS $125 – $150
EXPRESS COLOR $60 – $85
FULL HIGHLIGHT $195 -$300
PARTIAL HIGHLIGHT $150 -$240
SHADOW ROOT/ROOT SMUDGE $45 – $70
BALAYAGE $225 – $340
GLAZE/TONER $40-$65
DOUBLE PROCESS $175 – $225

What am I looking for? I have very dark hair fyi.

I have never been charged the low end price at any salon. I just had partial highlights with root coverage, no blow dry and it was $230. Single process is $130.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been greying since my early 20s and coloring most of the time since then too.

At times I paid for salon color but I really think it is entirely unnecessary, I got as many if not more compliments when I was coloring with demi/semi permanent for $10 from the CVS - I typically have used Clairol but I’m sure they’re all fine.

The bonus of using a semi/demi applied at home is that the grey won’t absorb the same depth of color so you’ll end up with free ‘highlights’

This exactly. Use the shade or two lighter than your natural color. I have medium to dark brown hair and use dark blonde Natural Instincts. I end up with a lot of color variation. It’s also easy, fast, and cheap!

I’m guessing it looks brashly or orange tint. Dark hair is hard to get right and lighter often makes it get that brassy tone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am italian/very dark hair. Probably 70 percent gray now. I go and get a single process color every 3-4 weeks. And I've done it for 20 years (except during covid and it looked awful).

I found a salon that is relatively cheap ($95 per process) plus blow dry ($55) and I like the dye they use (Vitality from Italy). My former salon was almost double that and they used INOA that made my scalp itchy.

Dying your hair sucks. It's a lot of upkeep with dark hair. It's a commitment - time wise and financially.

I’d lose the blow dry. It’s throwing away $55 each time.

[Anonymous]

I started using color from eSalon during the pandemic and like it very much. They work with you to find the right color and to adjust it if you don't care for it.

I use a demi-permanent (not permanent) color because I prefer for it to fade over time between dyeing, versus the sharp line of the dyed/not-dyed hair developing and being visible. Not everyone likes that so YMMV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm similarly low maintenance and around your age and use Clairol Beautiful Collection Semi-Permanent Color from Walmart. I wouldn't dream of spending that much money. I started getting greys in college, and, like you, did not care until I was late 30s and people started saying stuff to me about it and I decided I had to.

People can tell.

So what?

Well, you don't want that. If you look like you used a drug store bottle dye you look like you are wearing a helmet. It's ugly. You don't want to dye your own hair.

What are you blathering about?

Is this the default insult from those of you either on the bell or to the left of it? When you disagree with someone? Where did it come from -- an episode of The Golden Girls or something? Clearly I'm not "blathering." I'm telling the OP that drugstore dye looks terrible. Which it does. Box dye has no dimension, so OP will end up with a flat brown helmet of hair. Not good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been greying since my early 20s and coloring most of the time since then too.

At times I paid for salon color but I really think it is entirely unnecessary, I got as many if not more compliments when I was coloring with demi/semi permanent for $10 from the CVS - I typically have used Clairol but I’m sure they’re all fine.

The bonus of using a semi/demi applied at home is that the grey won’t absorb the same depth of color so you’ll end up with free ‘highlights’

This exactly. Use the shade or two lighter than your natural color. I have medium to dark brown hair and use dark blonde Natural Instincts. I end up with a lot of color variation. It’s also easy, fast, and cheap!

I’m guessing it looks brashly or orange tint. Dark hair is hard to get right and lighter often makes it get that brassy tone.

+100
Bet that PP's hair is a brassy mess.