Rejected by hairdresser

MillieBoris

Surely as long as you get a regular trim and use good products and strengthening treatments on your hair then professional colouring shouldn’t be a problem? I have difficult fine shoulder length hair but will continue to have my roots done every six weeks. I’m 72 and wouldn’t think of letting my hair go grey - sorry - we’re all different.

I used to think I would never let my hair go grey but during lockdown when going to the hairdresser for my usual highlights was impossible I took a long look in the mirror and decided they no longer suited me. They no longer looked right. I don’t regret going grey at all, and it hasn’t made me look like a tottery old biddy who’s given up. I have shoulder length hair and wear some eye makeup every day. Grey is right for my skin tone now.

Nansnet

Summerlove, it's not just older people who have problems with porous hair. Many young people, who dye their hair regularly have the same issues. Why don't you go back to the salon and ask what they CAN do to help your recover and regain a good condition so that you will be able to have your hair coloured without having bad results. I'm sure they can recommend some great hair treatments to help condition your hair back to being healthy, so why not treat yourself to that instead for the time being?

Where did I say only older people have porous hair?

I was advised by my hairdresser to give up having lowlights when my hair started to go white. I took her advice and am so glad I did, as I have had compliments on my white hair and of course, saved money! I agree "reject" sounds rather harsh, even if she was right.

Surely as long as you get a regular trim and use good products and strengthening treatments on your hair then professional colouring shouldn’t be a problem? I have difficult fine shoulder length hair but will continue to have my roots done every six weeks. I’m 72 and wouldn’t think of letting my hair go grey - sorry - we’re all different.

I'm sorry you're upset. Failing the strand test because your hair was too porous would be quite logical, home colouring can be quite harsh. Perhaps the salon could specially condition your hair, then colour?

I've my silver hair balayage with colours of blonde. Great care is necessary as I have fine hair, the results are beautiful. Perhaps ask for blonde balayage after conditioning.

Trust the staff to know their job.

I decided over a year ago to stop dyeing my hair and embrace the grey. Fortunately it didn't end up grey but almost white. I have regular trims by my mobile hairdresser, who herself commented on what a great colour I have and that people pay her to be my silver white. That was compliment enough for me.

Summerlove

Sounds like they are both trying to protect your hair and their reputation.

Try another less scrupulous salon perhaps?

Ohhhhhh!!!!😙

I got rejected for highlights when I was going to have them done at a local college by a friend and she wasn’t allowed to do it anx only 58 after years of home colouring ! It happens !

Would you rather they ruined your hair? According to Mr Google ...........Yes, a hairdresser can absolutely refuse to color your hair if you fail a strand test, as it means your hair might be too damaged or could react poorly to the intended color, potentially causing significant damage; this is considered a protective measure for your hair health and is a legitimate reason for a stylist to decline the service.

Yes, a hairdresser can absolutely refuse to color your hair if you fail a strand test, as it means your hair might be too damaged or could react poorly to the intended color, potentially causing significant damage; this is considered a protective measure for your hair health and is a legitimate reason for a stylist to decline the service.

Colour makes hair look odd when it becomes porous. I noticed that my hair no longer looked lush and lovely in my 50s, so I had it cropped very short (I had often had very short hair over the decades, so that was no big deal) and embraced the grey (mostly white for me). My hair has been in much better condition ever since.

I think natural grey hair can be very flattering. I decided to go grey after years of colouring. I very occasionally use a L'Oriel silver shampoo and leave it in for 10 mins which covers the darker grey a little and makes the overall effect more silvery.
On the other hand I know someone in their mid 80's who continues to colour her hair a very dark brown and it definitely makes her look so much older than her years.

keepingquiet

Same here. I sucked it up and I'm a few years younger than you. Trust me people know you're old regardless of your hair colour.
The hairdresser is doing their job.

At 75 I’ve never gone grey*, but judging by the fairly frequent occasions when someone offers me a seat on the bus or tube, I do certainly look my age!

*it’s genetic, my mother (a natural ‘strawberry blonde’ as they used to call it) still wasn’t actually grey - just a faded sort of greyish mouse - when she died at 97. Her hair was still ‘golden’ on her 80th birthday.

*Barleyfields. I can only assume that it is the combination of colour and hairdrying that does the damage. My hair is in as good condition now as it has always been.

MOnica, despite always being dried with a hairdryer (because if allowed to dry naturally it looks like a bush even though straight) my grey hair is in very good condition. It’s in better condition than it was when I used to have it highlighted so I conclude that the use of dye or bleach is more damaging than a quick blast of the hairdryer.

Surely the strand allergy test was precisely that? Would you have preferred them to go ahead regardless, risking a skin reaction or a horrendous hair dye result which had you wearing a brown paper bag over your head for the next 6 weeks? It's for your own protection and AFAIK grey hair (or more exactly WHITE hair because that is what grey hair is - the mixing of individual white hairs with the original colour) reacts very differently to procedures such as dyeing.

Farzanah I use no extra products on my dyed hair at all. Just the usual shampoo and conditioner - and never have.

I use SuperDrug own brand hair dye and have done so for about 20 years, without any adverse effects on either my hair or my health.

However I have never dried my hair using a hair dryer. I do not even own one. My hair is dead straight and since my late 20s has always been fairly short so I just wash, comb and go. I think it is the use of hair dryers and other such heating devices that damages the hair rather than the hair dyes.

I just use a good quality shampoo that's designed to protect coloured hair and a conditioner. I also use a product that protects my hair When I blow dry it. That's all I use and it would be the same if I didn't have my hair coloured. I've had grey hair and it really didn't suit my colouring, if it did I wouldn't colour it. The only product that I use especially because my hair is dyed is one which will hide regrowth, a quick puff along the parting after I've washed it at home and it lasts until the next wash.

M0nica

Very little faff to dying your hair. Takes half an hour every 3 or 4 months.

If you have hair in good condition. OP however was told that her hair is very porous- probably because of regular dying, naturally, or a combination. So good professional second opinion would be a good idea to check.

Personally, I love my salt and pepper hair. I went though a phase of highlights for the transition, and it worked very well.

What Macadamia says above is very true- we do slowly poison our body with strong chemical absorbed through hair dye and acrylic nails, botox, etc. Also affect hormonal balance strongly. Too little information about this is openly available.

I would be wary of hairdressing chains. Too much “one size fits all.” My salon is owned and run by a husband and wife team. They are both very experienced hairdressers. The staff are excellent too. Over the years any concerns about my colour have been fully discussed and a solution has been found. Try another salon and ask for recommendations.

I sent grey fully in my thirties ,I tried to colour it but it didn't turn out right.The hairdressers I have visited have all said they wouldn't colour it ,luckily it a nice grey and I get a lot of compliments .
Love the picture Jaxjacky unfortunately my hair is thin now .

M0nica

I notice that people who extoll grey or white hair are always those who have gone through the tranfer from - whatever colour they were- to all over grey or white in an attractive way and now have a head of silver or white hair.

Unfortunately, for others the transfer is far less attractive and it is easier to even your colour out by making your hair the same colour as the ungrey hair you have than having the brown hair bleached to match the grey.

My hair isn’t grey it’s a mix and not dyed. My dislike of hair dye is more to do with the chemicals used, and the fact that my hair is fine and probably quite porous although never been tested.
I also think you have to use a lot of hair products to counteract the effect of dye on the hair. Perhaps someone will let me know that my assumptions are wrong?

I used that occasionally. I liked the one that included some walnut as it was browner - almost on the greenish side of brown.

Whatever happened to powdered Henna?
When I was a teenager MrOops used to do my hair in the garden (I couldn’t manage to do the back and he made too much mess indoors) easyish to put on, a pain to wash out and lumps of henna ‘mud’ to pick out of your scalp where you missed it. Oh happy days……

M0nica

I notice that people who extoll grey or white hair are always those who have gone through the tranfer from - whatever colour they were- to all over grey or white in an attractive way and now have a head of silver or white hair.

Unfortunately, for others the transfer is far less attractive and it is easier to even your colour out by making your hair the same colour as the ungrey hair you have than having the brown hair bleached to match the grey.

This is true. I dyed my hair until I decided to grow it out before dying it again due to it being dry and brittle, luckily my actual hair grew out totally grey/silver.