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Style & beauty

Do you colour your own hair?

(83 Posts)
Shirleyw Fri 01-Sept-17 05:12:39

I always go to hairdresser for colour, never coloured my own as not confident in doing so. Is it reliable and easy to do at home ? and is it just as good as having it done at the hairdresser? .....Shirley

Theoddbird Sat 02-Sept-17 08:48:23

I have always coloured my own hair...started when I was 17 and saw the first grey hairs. I have been light ash blond for years but am now doing it a very fashionable silver grey...loving it smile

Ellie Anne Sat 02-Sept-17 08:55:59

I mostly go to the hairdresser as I make a mess at home and often it turns out too dark.
However the spray on colours that have come out are great for touching up the roots in between

StKilda Sat 02-Sept-17 09:04:36

I dye my own hair using natural henna powder which I brought back from India. It is messy! The colour fades gradually so you don't get the badger look and my grey salt and pepper streaks look like I've had expensive highlighting. The more I do it the redder it becomes. My hairdresser even compliments me on it when I have my hair cut. It is sooo cheap. I reckon it cost me about 2 pence per application.

MissAdventure Sat 02-Sept-17 09:07:26

If anyone could recommend a nice grey colour I would be grateful, please?

Speldnan Sat 02-Sept-17 09:12:53

I colour mine at home with various makes, but only the semi permanent. I've paid a lot of money at hairdressers having it coloured and it still fades and wears off at the same rate and looks barely any different from when I do it myself. It is such a tyranny having to keep it coloured but I have a much younger partner and don't want people mistaking him for my son!grin

starbird Sat 02-Sept-17 09:19:22

I have coloured my hair for about 10 years using Nice n Easy light ash brown, the modern colours look very natural. I would be totally whire/grey without it and wouldn't mind going thatvroad but can't quite get the courage to do it. I have started using semi permanent as a start but it doesn't last long on the roots.
The colour doesn't drip so while I'm waiting for it to develop I usually have a coffee and get on the ipad - with a towel on the back of the chair in case I lean back.

starbird Sat 02-Sept-17 09:20:31

Must use preview to look out for typos!

Glosgran Sat 02-Sept-17 09:22:50

I have probably been colouring my own hair for over 20 years and my hairdresser always complements me on the result. I use Nice & Easy Permanent colour and have always sought to replicate my natural colour which is a mixture of golden & chestnut tones.

After a few years experimenting, I rang the helpline telephone number indicated on the box and asked if there is any reason why I couldn't mix colours to get the desired effect. The advice was that there's no problem mixing as long as you stick with the same brand and range. I now buy 2 or 3 shades and mix the colours. As my hair is short, I only need to use half a box worth at a time so use one half of the developer and then mix 3 x 10 mls of different colours using a little medicine measuring cup. I then make a note on the inside of the lid of the box of how much has been used from each box. I wear an old shirt and make sure I remove bath mat and wipe any spots off floor immediately. This gives a lovely multi-tonal effect.

When I feel like it, I often then use a highlighting kit to add highlights, either using the cap included or just streaking over the top with a brush that looks like a large mascara brush. I get lots of complements but most pleased when complemented by a hairdresser.

It also probably costs me less to colour my hair for a whole year than it would to colour only once at the hairdresser.

TwiceAsNice Sat 02-Sept-17 09:28:55

Never dyed my own. Have a fabulous hairdresser who does it for me. Can't be bothered with the mess.

Sheilasue Sat 02-Sept-17 09:37:53

I used to have blonde highlights in my hair when I was younger. Now I am grey I quite like the colour, I keep it short and have a cut every five weeks. My hairdresser does lots of colours including my daughters who is blonde, she only uses herbal colouring which is better for your hair.

Apricity Sat 02-Sept-17 09:58:41

For a number of years I had "foils" done at great expense at hairdressers but as I was going grey quite early I finally decided to just let it happen. Am now almost 67 and haven't coloured for 14 years. Recently one of my granddaughters (aged 5) stood peering intently at me and decided that my hair was "dark white". Do whatever works for you and makes you feel good, there is no right or wrong way to do it.

dahlia08 Sat 02-Sept-17 10:02:34

I do my own ....black. Wear on old T shirt or a black jumper in winter. For drying my hair I use a black towel. Not been to a hair dresser.

TellNo1Ok Sat 02-Sept-17 10:21:55

i have coloured my own hair since i was 15.... the only difficulty you might have is choosing a colour you like... so maybe a few attempts it will be not quite right... persevere... £8 instead of whatever the hairdresser charges... then remember the NUMBER on the dye... that is semi universal... all makes are roughly the same colour using that number...
i follow the instructions exactly... and have learnt that if i mistakenly leave the colour on longer than the 30 minutes it results in a harder colour and i don't like that effect... i re do mine EVERY month to cover the grey / white that i actually am... i try not to leave it longer... starts to look scruffy ....
have a go... it's easy.....

ps i cover mine during the 30 minutes with a shower cap (not an attractive look!!) which is rarely provided in the pack.

Lotusblossom321 Sat 02-Sept-17 10:26:59

About a year ago I decided I couldn't bear sitting in the hairdressers two hours every month listening to the boring gossip. I am now officially going grey. White and silver and darker grey - and I think it's spectacular! And it's in much better condition...
I think being grey can be uber cool and elegant. Why should we hide it :-)

Craftycat Sat 02-Sept-17 10:35:16

I did from age 14 until 3 years ago when my hairdresser took over & gave me high/low lights. I realise now that my hair had been in very bad condition due to my efforts. Now it is lovely. To be fair my hairdresser is a younger friend who having been senior stylist at a well known salon gave up when she started a family & now does hair at home so is very much cheaper than salon prices. She understands my hair & makes it look wonderful.

Coco51 Sat 02-Sept-17 10:50:08

I haven't coloured my hair - it is now naturally the nearly white highlighted version that I paid a fortune to achieve. My mother insisted on colouring her hair a nondescript flat gold colour even at 86. So there was I grey and she blonde but it was so obviously dyed it didn't do her any favours.

farmgran Sat 02-Sept-17 11:13:09

I let mine go natural and it was a sort of greyish blond but it made me look very washed out so I have lowlights put in in a hazel colour. It lasts well and looks natural.

Rosina Sat 02-Sept-17 11:25:26

My hairdresser is a lovely lady and when I spoke to her about having an appointment for her to put a colour on my grey, she said why didn't I carry on with my 'Nice and Easy' as it looked good, and she felt that this gentle product was better for my hair and gave a far more subtle finish than salon products might! How delightfully honest. It's very easy to do, I use it about two or three times a year, and it blends grey and fair hair very nicely and gives a soft blonde. I would love sparkling white hair like my friend has - it looks fantastic - but if I leave mine to grow out it is a dirty grey.

Granny23 Sat 02-Sept-17 11:31:25

I first had my hair bleached when I was 15 (left school on the Friday mouse brown, started work on the Monday as a blonde) and apart from one 'accident' have been blonde since, mainly using 'Nice & Easy', 6 weekly.

Four months ago, because I was struggling to do the dying (touch of arthritis) I decided to let nature take its course, had my hair cut really short and waited for the grey or white to grow in. Surprise, Surprise - although all trace of dye has now been cut out - my hair is pale, champagne blonde, evenly from root to tips.

lemongrove Sat 02-Sept-17 11:40:51

Lucky you Granny23 ?I dread to think what mine would be like.
For all those posters contemplating using a home colourant then Nice 'N Easy seems to be the one.

vickymeldrew Sat 02-Sept-17 12:46:39

I alternated between salon colour and home colour for years. Salon colour became so expensive and on my short grey/blonde hair there is so little difference that I home colour only now. Hairdressers often tell me what a good colour my hair is. Excellence by L'Oreal. There have been huge improvements in home colours, hence their popularity. Loads of choice and no smell, stained hands etc as in the past. Def the way to go!

Kateykrunch Sat 02-Sept-17 13:18:19

I have been banned from colouring mine at home any more, since I actually got the dye on the ceiling, which was even a new one for me! Having mine done at a new place next week.

Milly Sat 02-Sept-17 13:35:22

I use Nice and Easy, and it is! My only problem is I don't always get the right shade, so my hair varies from wash to wash. It lasts about 2 months with the non permanent. I haven't tried the permanent but as hair is growing the grey comes through in about 6 weeks so needs another do anyway.

I was cheered to see so many of you do colour your hair as felt as a Great Granny I should let nature take its course and look old. But my daughters encourage me to try and stem the flow of old age. I live in Retirement Flats and no one else does this, so I'm the odd one out here!

sweetcakes Sat 02-Sept-17 13:44:06

My husband use to do mine and a great job he did of it to but now I have gone o natural and it's so liberating viva la grey grin

Aslemma Sat 02-Sept-17 14:01:57

I've done mine at home for over 30 years. For most of that time I've used Clairol's Nine n Easy, though I have tried another couple but didn't find them as good. I was fair as a child, which darkened over the years, and I've noticed I'm now completely white at the front when it needs doing again. Clairol doesn't give an all over flat colour but a good blend.