What is the best way to color long hair to cover up the grey?

1. 92

   VirginiaLynneposted 11 years ago

   What is the best way to color long hair to cover up the grey?
   
   I am 52 and have medium brown, below shoulder length hair that is starting to show grey at the top.  What are the pros and cons of different ways to cover the grey?  Streaking? Going blonde (my kids are against this!), trying to dye the same color?  Going darker?  What sort of coloring should I use?
   
   

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2. 75

   NMLadyposted 11 years ago

   I like Nice N Easy....  do test a bit before you use it.  (just like the box says)  Also,  I am letting a bit of gray remain in the hair as it adds highlights.  I get rid of the stuff at the temples and the roots on top of the head for sure!
   I got grey young too.....but am old now!!

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   1. 92

      VirginiaLynneposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great idea to test first.  That is actually my biggest fear--getting a wrong color all over my head!

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3. 61

   renegadetoryposted 11 years ago

   If you are going to cover grey hair then you will be dealing with hairs near your scalp, so I don't know how you feel about chemicals in hair dye (I personally don't like them).
   
   Since I'm not a fan of chemicals, I recommend using henna (by either doing it yourself at home or at a salon), or you could look up which hair salons use natural hair colouring products.  If you wish to keep your brown colour you can do so with henna by mixing in indigo (which I have done when I was pregnant and wanted to darken my hair a bit, plus it gives you amazing shine)!
   
   here is an excellent pdf book that talks about everything you want to know about henna:
   http://www.mehandi.com/shop/hennahow.pdf

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   1. 92

      VirginiaLynneposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting--I didn't know henna could be mixed with other things.  Thanks!

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4. 83

   Mrs Jil Manningposted 11 years ago

   I went from very dark brown to blonde.  It looks alarming at first but you can soon tone it down and it goes really well with my white patches of hair which I don't dye anymore.  I started with highlights then progressed to all-over blonde.  When I was dark I was dyeing every couple of weeks, now, I dye it every few months and I love the bits that are pure white, (temples and top of my head)  As you are below shoulder length, you might want to get started with highlights at just the parts that are grey, or just the top of your head, to integrate the dark and lighter parts of the hair.  Its so nice to not be bothered about my roots anymore!  Good luck.

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   1. 83

      Mrs Jil Manningposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Also just wanted to say, its a big change, so give it time, if you think this could be a way for you!

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   2. 92

      VirginiaLynneposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for these ideas.  I also really enjoyed your Hub on colors and hair.  I know that I have a friend who went from salt and pepper to all black and it did take some getting used to her look, but now I don't think about it.

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5. 86

   krillcoposted 11 years ago

   Don't do it! You earned that gray, and it's beautiful!

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6. 78

   Kathleen Cochranposted 11 years ago

   I'm also brunette and started with streaking around 40.  It didn't have to be done as often and there was no line when it grew out.  I'd do that for as long as possible because once you go with all-over color you have to touch up the roots monthly.  And always go lighter.  Darker is too harsh for most complextions.
   Some grays are beautiful.  If you just streak you can see what color gray you have.

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7. 68

   MarieAlana1posted 11 years ago

   Lots of people go about coloring up their gray hair by coloring it their natural color. In this way, it blends in with your natural color roots.

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8. 60

   Penny Gposted 10 years ago

   I have found that just color is not the answer. If you color it all over then highlight the gray will blend in as it grows out. I only color mine j3 times a years and nobody can tell there is gray.

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