Np. I have black hair naturally and have been using at home revlon natural black or soft black. The gray/white roots are jarring. I’m 47 and thinking of going gray since I don’t like the chemicals and then the harsh line, but I may try Demi for a which. Any recommendations?

PP here, I tried that but it was neither gray nor pepper/salt and just made me look washed out.

I had dyed brown hair and went gray, and for me, what worked best was to just grow it and get it overwith and don't do all the blending etc, because it just drags it out for years.

A ponytail helps a lot during this stage, because the dyed hair ends up in the ponytail (and before that, at the back of your head also, but away from your face at least)

I think when you just grow it, everyone knows what you are doing and that it's a phase. I see women doing this all the time, or just wearing it down, with the demarkation. It's okay!

Anonymous wrote:I have dark brown hair and tons of grays (started early 20s). I wanted to keep my regular color but hate the gray and don’t have time or money to go to stylist often. My solution has been blonde highlights (painted on) and my stylist makes sure they’re not brass/orange. It’s not ash either but golden blonde. I get them redone 1-2 times a year maximum. So yes you do go over the same strands eventually but it works for me. The grays are still there but the blonde overpowers them and they just look like more blonde highlights. Eventually inches of new growth drive me nuts so I get the highlights redone once or twice a year. It has worked well. My hair is healthy and the color is pretty. I just had to accept the beach look as I didn’t want to dye my overall hair.

Where do you get this done?

I have dark brown hair and tons of grays (started early 20s). I wanted to keep my regular color but hate the gray and don’t have time or money to go to stylist often. My solution has been blonde highlights (painted on) and my stylist makes sure they’re not brass/orange. It’s not ash either but golden blonde. I get them redone 1-2 times a year maximum. So yes you do go over the same strands eventually but it works for me. The grays are still there but the blonde overpowers them and they just look like more blonde highlights. Eventually inches of new growth drive me nuts so I get the highlights redone once or twice a year. It has worked well. My hair is healthy and the color is pretty. I just had to accept the beach look as I didn’t want to dye my overall hair.

Anonymous wrote:When I decided to let my hair go gray I decided that the easiest way was to blend more gray throughout so that I didn't have the obvious gray root growout. I thought about getting professional gray highlights, but instead got a temporary gray hair crayon and made some gray highlights every day until hair was grown out.

This sounds like a huge pain honestly. Does it look good?

I think it can really depend on what your base color is and how the grays come in and also your overall appearance. I tried letting mine go gray but the issue is less the gray hair itself (I think gray hair can look great) and more the fact that I'm pretty fair to begin with and age is washing me out and then the gray and white in my hair is making it worse. That's the aging part -- I just look kind of ghostly especially because all the gray is coming in right at the front around my face.

Ultimately I decided I needed to choose between wearing a lot more makeup or dying my hair if I wanted to feel good when I looked in the mirror. I am not a makeup person and live in DC where humidity makes makeup hard to make last for 4 months of the year. I went with demi permanent dye that does not totally get rid of the grays but makes my hair look a lot richer and healthier and provides better contrast with my face. I can get away with a bit of mascara and some color on my cheeks and lips most days and still look professional and attractive. I don't look 30 but I like how I look.

Wear a wig while it grows our.

When I decided to let my hair go gray I decided that the easiest way was to blend more gray throughout so that I didn't have the obvious gray root growout. I thought about getting professional gray highlights, but instead got a temporary gray hair crayon and made some gray highlights every day until hair was grown out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a stylist who does gray blending; she added a gazillion of highlights and lowlights of various colors. It’s been about 2 months and the gray and brown that’s growing in, is blending. I’ve used a shampoo for colored hair avoided being in the sun, and it still looks non brassy.
Drawback is that it cost me over 500 with a quick cut, before tip.

OMG. How often will you need to have this done?

I know. I was shocked by the price.
No idea how often. Supposedly, subsequent touch ups are less expensive and maintenance too.
After 2 months, it still looks great.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've just started with a new stylist, and we are a couple of sessions in with demi vs. perm color. So far, I'm really happy with how graceful the grow out/fade has been compared to the harsh line from perm color. The new growth is nowhere near as warm as the old color. The gloss tones down the warmth on the length of my hair but it is going to be a long process to grow it out, but I'm very happy with it so far.

The Demi color will fade warm and brassy too in time and will need toning. Maybe not as brassy as the permanent, but there is no good way to keep gray hair a medium brown

That’s discouraging. Really??

Yes, really. And the demi the salon used was actually a gloss, so a super low volume of developer; half that of a traditional demi. I’d go in every 6-8 weeks for roots and would have the whole length toned about every other appt. Still gets warm as it fades and leaves ends dry and processed. I’ve never used permanent dye so I guess I can’t do a fair comparison, but as someone that didn’t start dying my hair until 35, it was not as heathy as my natural hair for sure. I’m 40 now and gave it up last year. I love having longer hair, and think having healthy shiny hair streaked with a few grays is a better look for me than the warm toned dry hair I was getting.

I do all over tint, partial highlights in a few colors and toner.