Going gray - recommendations?

NewlySenior said:
Sigh I wish I could do that, mine is a washed-out-not-quite-brown-not-quite-gray-not-very-interesting shade of blah.
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That description is me too! I used to be blond and as I aged it turned brownish-blah. I hate it, but like others here, I'm not willing to pour a bunch of chemicals on my head. My head has enough problems! :ROFLMAO:

Edit: I'm sorry, you were asking for recommendations on brands and colors, not if you should color it or not. My reply was not very helpful I'm afraid.
 

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caroln said:
That description is me too! I used to be blond and as I aged it turned brownish-blah. I hate it, but like others here, I'm not willing to pour a bunch of chemicals on my head. My head has enough problems! :ROFLMAO:

Edit: I'm sorry, you were asking for recommendations on brands and colors, not if you should color it or not. My reply was not very helpful I'm afraid.
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My mom is pale blond and now, in her early 70s, it's a blend of pale blond and white and frankly, I'm a bit jealous.
 
The last time I dyed my hair, it turned out a disaster. Luckily, we were on the road for four months and I just wore a hat whenever I went out and covered up the roots. When the new growth reached about two inches, I went into a Great Clips and said "cut off everything that isn't natural". From then on I "embraced" the grey. Well, maybe not "embraced" but I did give it a good elbow-bump.
 
@NewlySenior, how long is your hair and do you get it cut often? I went to an ash blonde from dark brown as the greys became prominent. One day I looked at it and decided I wasn’t kidding anyone that I was a blonde. I got a very short cut and kept it well trimmed every five weeks. Normally I would have been in a salon having it coloured. When I think back on all those toxic chemicals I used, it scares me.
 
Supernatural said:
I just let mine turn grey naturally. After trying to drastically change my hair colour to silver during the Pandemic lockdowns and paying the price if burnt hair, I'm letting nature take its own course.

For the ones who can or want to get hair salon specialists help, have a look at these recommendations...

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This woman transition looks fabulous. The only problem is she’ll have to keep dying it grey cause all her natural hair isn’t all grey.
Most people’s hair looks good after going to the hair dresser. It’s great if you can afford it but this woman is deceiving herself if she thinks she’s embracing her greys. It’s so far from it.
 
NewlySenior said:
Hello all, I've finally gone more than 40% gray and rather than cover it, I'd rather get it over with and just go gray. If there are any DIY people here, I'd love recommendations on brands and shade. My hair is level 5 naturally, and neutral to ash in tone. I was thinking doing a steel gray with silver and white highlights.

I looked at reviews for some brands and the results were too varied for me to figure out which would work. So if anyone does their own hair and can recommend products, I'd be grateful.

Cheers!
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there are temporary hair waxes available. maybe you could look into those? i was thinking of going silver when it gets far enough along as well.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
This woman transition looks fabulous. The only problem is she’ll have to keep dying it grey cause all her natural hair isn’t all grey.
Most people’s hair looks good after going to the hair dresser. It’s great if you can afford it but this woman is deceiving herself if she thinks she’s embracing her greys. It’s so far from it.
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I agree. It looks great but, it will need to be maintained so not for someone who doesn't want frequent trips to a hairdresser.
 
Purple shampoo is made especially for grey and blonde hair. I tried it one summer when it was really hot and my hair went very blonde in the sunlight. Do a little research though on how to use them as the one I used you only used once a week and your usual shampoo/conditioner if you washed your hair inbetween the purple washes.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
This woman transition looks fabulous. The only problem is she’ll have to keep dying it grey cause all her natural hair isn’t all grey.
Most people’s hair looks good after going to the hair dresser. It’s great if you can afford it but this woman is deceiving herself if she thinks she’s embracing her greys. It’s so far from it.
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Yup, so true. It's just another endless rounds of hair dyeing and maintenance.
 
Supernatural said:
I just let mine turn grey naturally. After trying to drastically change my hair colour to silver during the Pandemic lockdowns and paying the price if burnt hair, I'm letting nature take its own course.

For the ones who can or want to get hair salon specialists help, have a look at these recommendations...

Click to expand...


My dark brown hair turned white, not gray. It turned out to be the perfect time to go platinum.

iu
 
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Trish said:
Purple shampoo is made especially for grey and blonde hair. I tried it one summer when it was really hot and my hair went very blonde in the sunlight. Do a little research though on how to use them as the one I used you only used once a week and your usual shampoo/conditioner if you washed your hair inbetween the purple washes.
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Purple shampoos work great for taking out stains. We have blue shampoo that helps take out dog tear stains. It works fairly well
 
Jules said:
@NewlySenior, how long is your hair and do you get it cut often? I went to an ash blonde from dark brown as the greys became prominent. One day I looked at it and decided I wasn’t kidding anyone that I was a blonde. I got a very short cut and kept it well trimmed every five weeks. Normally I would have been in a salon having it coloured. When I think back on all those toxic chemicals I used, it scares me.
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My hair is just above collar length and I'm now thinking about going from my natural level 5 medium ash brown to a level 7 or 8 ash blonde (done it before, looked ok with my coloring, wasn't too light for my medium-ish skin tone) and just maintaining that until my roots are all gray. Everything I've read says that gray dye washes out quickly (apparently faster than red does!) so I'm thinking it's not worth the bother.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
This woman transition looks fabulous. The only problem is she’ll have to keep dying it grey cause all her natural hair isn’t all grey.
Most people’s hair looks good after going to the hair dresser. It’s great if you can afford it but this woman is deceiving herself if she thinks she’s embracing her greys. It’s so far from it.
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OMG that is gorgeous! That first woman, her skin and hair color is similar to mine which makes me want it more, a real head turner
 
For a while I was seeing a lot of... mature women... sporting hair in the chestnut portion of the spectrum. Some more reddish, some a little purplish I guess or maybe just a different red tint. Was that a fad that has passed? I don't seem to see it as much in 2023.
 
I had my hair colored for 30+ years (see avatar) and it was quite lovely. However, when the gray started coming in, I had to have it done more often. Then, I started getting an allergic reaction to the PPD in hair dye. I read all kinds of horrible stories about women having allergic reactions to it, so I quit cold turkey. That was at least 12 years ago. I couldn't even remember what my natural hair color was...haha. I let it go au naturale and haven't regretted it. My hair is healthier than it's ever been.
 

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