For people who colour their hair at home

Going back to a thread about ‘colours’. My hair was dark brown and the Colour Me Beautiful Consultant told me not to have perms, or colour my hair. I ignored both - only had one perm which was disastrous, but did colour my hair at home for many years. However, looking at old photographs, I hadn’t taken my fading skin tone into consideration and my hair looks far too dark, despite using a medium brown. I’ve been grey now for 12 years and wouldn’t change it.

Welshy

Katyj .... Are you dark too? (I'm a medium brown) I know a few women that were dark and have now gone blonde.
But I don't think I could do either white or blonde.

I was dark, my hair isn't grey all over now, it's more of a mousy brown in places.

I'm trying to go for a lighter ashy brown but getting that colour is hard. I usually dye it what is supposed to be ash blonde, but comes out dark blonde/light brown. In theory I then put a blue toner over the top to tone it to an ashy colour but in reality I don't often bother with the toner. Too much faffing about.

I have embraced the grey, which has recently turned into a lovely shade of white ..

Mine grows in fits and starts, so can sometimes last eight weeks or more, then needs done again four weeks later. That’s why I started using the spray touch up and box colour.

My problem now is that the colour I really like is the ‘light auburn’ after a good few washes and some time in the sun, but sadly I’ve never seen that shade available. Even when my hairdresser was doing the colour it was still starting off darker than I would like!

Marydoll. Your hair sounds fab. Fancy a swap 🤣 Just on my way to the hairdressers now. I have a bob at the mo, but fancy something different and easy, I find my bob hard work, it only looks good the day I wash it then loses all its body 🥴

I stopped dying my hair years ago and loved the salt and pepper look. Since losing my hair to chemo it has grown back blond! I would love pure white hair but I don’t think it will happen and don’t want to start dying it.

I am growing out my (dyed) medium brown hair. I have a shoulder length bob and I suppose it is half grey now. Everyone says it looks good and grey suits me but I don't like it at all. I'm 75 soon so I have decided to stick with going grey. I just avoid looking in the mirror as much as I can!

Reading this, I realise how fortunate I am. I couldn't be bothered with the faff dyeing it. I am horrified at how much DI pays at the salon.

Once a vibrant redhead, my hair looks as if I have spent a fortune on red and blonde white highlights. I keep getting lots of complements on the colour!!
Never coloured it in all my 68 years.

Welshy. Yes I’m medium brown too. I once had blonde highlights and liked them, but that’s too expensive for me now. When you think about it grey hair is very light so I suppose a very light brown, dark blonde should be okay.

I have always used box dye and my hairdressers, 2 in succession have told me that it works so well that I woudn't gain by having it done in the salon.

I know what my hair would look like if I went grey, The crown of my head would be dark, still my natural colour with a white ring of straggly grey/white hair round it. I have a photo of an uncle with hair like that - and it looks horrible.

I couldn't afford salon prices.

So a box dye it is for me. I use Garnier Nutrisse.

Look how many young girls were colouring their hair grey, not so long ago too.

Welshy - same here, every month - I don’t think blonde would suit me 😂- as for grey, perish the thought !!! I look awful, just awful , just with grey roots.

Mine's a mix of blonde and grey - with a few darker streaks. I only dye it (all of it) about every 3 months, just to blend it together. My parting is a 'messy' one, a bit zig-zagged, never straight. I think roots show far more with darker hair.

It seems such a faff - I’m glad I decided to embrace the grey.

Not the topic of this thread- but I find it so liberating to not die my hair anymore. I gave up streaks quite a few years back and love my natural salt and pepper hair.

I was naturally very dark but having now reached my late 60s was absolutely fed up of having to do my roots so often,I did use colour WoW on my parting and sides but had a hairdresser recommended to me in Dec last year to be honest I was going to have it cut short if necessary ( visions of Denise Welsh) but the hairdresser cut it in a shoulder length bob put highlights in a dark blonde and I love it.
I find it suits my colouring so much better I have green eyes and quite a pale complexion I wish I had done it years ago.
I go back every eight weeks and is well worth it.

Katyj .... Are you dark too? (I'm a medium brown) I know a few women that were dark and have now gone blonde.
But I don't think I could do either white or blonde.

I’m fed up with mine. Have to do it every month like you Welshy. My parting and the sides turn white very quickly. Wish I was brave enough to let it go, a few friends have with mixed results don’t suppose I’ll know until I try 😳

I wish I could go longer but my parting & sides are white. I use a light brown dye.
My daughter puts the dye on for me and usually only does the roots.
The touch ups I do in between is only a wash off brown spray.

I used to do mine every 5 weeks but not so often these days, in fact 3 months this time. But there is no hard line, the colour seems to fade so the roots don't show a line.

Just to say, there's no need to worry about touching up roots. Just spread the mixture all over the hair! I've always done that with no problem as the colours are fairly gentle these days. I don't think I'd have done that back in the 1960s when I was was brassy blonde! Nowadays I use L'Oreal Excellence 9.1 which is a lovely natural colour to cover the white.

I should do mine every 2 months but in reality, I walk about with rooty hair for at least an extra month (or 2).

I try to just do my roots, but it's hard, when I'm doing it myself and I always miss some spots. But I refuse to pay the hairdresser cost to get it done professionally. I have strands at the front that always take darker than my other hair, for some reason. I've tried picking them out and dyeing them last, but it never works!

I do mine every three or four months, with no touch up inbetween.

This is because my hair is going grey from the outside in, so the centre of my hair remains dark and I do not have a roots problem and as I have a hair style with no parting the hair is combed round my head from the crown, which mean all the top layers of my hair are growing from the centre.