what drugstore hair color for 5% gray?

[share801]

Good thing this board came back to life as I have been thinking about cutting. . . Wondering if the choice is between long hair and gray hair.

The gray is discouraging me since it shines like a beacon against my very dark hair. I'm afraid of damaging the hair with permanent color - would a semi-permanant work? What is a good brand? Do I have to dye all of it or can I just do the gray bits? Any advice appreciated. I've had the salon dye (fry) jobs in the past and really don't want to do that . . .

[eadwine]

You might want to go the henna-indigo path, on your dark hair it will not come out RED red, but likely auburn. Much healthier for the hair than the chemical dyes.

I don't have any other advice for you.. my gray hair can show itself off on my head, I just envision them as wisdom hairs *giggle*

[k_hepburn]

Personally, I found that from a certain point semi-permanents just didn't work for me anymore. I can't specify it in percentage of gray hairs (that one has always mystified me - does anyone actually count the number of gray hairs out of the total to work out what their percentage is - I wouldn't know how accurate any estimate would be since my hair, at least, tends to gray more in some strands than in others). For me the point came when I had paid quite a bit of money to get a semi-permanent done right before a big event, only to discover that there were still gray shining through. Arrgh!

I would second the advice to consider going down the path of "natural dyes" (which, in retrospect, I wish I had). If henna isn't your thing for one reason or another, you might want to look into commercial dyes based on a combination of (more) natural ingredients, like http://www.herbatint.co.uk/. Health food shops may be places that stock such brands, if you can't find them in a drugstore or supermarket.

Greetings

katherine

[Kirin]

I definately second (or third) the more natural color route. For years i was a chemical color user, everything from bleach, dye, to semi permanents. Once you start on that route, you become a virtual slave to it, seriously.

Though i envy women who can totally embrace their grey hair, sadly, I am not one of them. Especially with very fine thin hair, and 50 percent grey thats in STRIPES through my head, thick blccks of it, it makes me look a good 20 years older than I am.

I now use henna and am flaming red (thank goodness this works for me, i'm norse / irish), but it is a little..... well, flaming. At this point, its better than the zebra stripes. However, henna or any other color once started is another bear to contend with.

[missy60]

If you use henna on grey hair dont those hairs turn flaming red?

You could try a demi close to your natural hair color on your roots. I use it when I need to refresh my length since it is suppose to be less damaging. It sticks around a long time on my hair and it covers my grey really well. I have only used Wella color charm demi though so thats my only experience with a demi.

How long are your grey roots? If they are not very long you wouldnt have any trouble just doing the roots. If they are longer it would be harder to get an exact color match.

[Curlsgirl]

I am pretty sure henna would turn the gray hair bright red. There is a mix you could do of henna/indigo that the hennaheads could help you with I am sure. I use a permanent dye myself and just cover the roots every 3 to 4 weeks. It pretty much matches my natural color except the gray of course. I didn't want to start with henna because most say it doesn't cover gray very well if you have much. I already had 25&% or so plus I didn't want to spend that long dying and I don't think I would look good with that much red. I love other people in it though, very pretty! I would definitely go that route if I liked red or didn't have as much gray but I do think it is possible to have long, healthy hair and carefully chemically dye it too if you take care of it in other respects such as how you detangle, not using irons and not blow-drying on high heat. Check out the henna thread and the chemical color thread also that Redcelticcurls started. Good luck! Do some research before you do ANYTHING and you might decide that gray is for you after all!!!

[girlcat36]

I use Natural Instincts. I am about 15-20% grey. My hair is medium to dark brown, but I find that I use a light golden brown shade. For some reason, the darker shades of Natural Instincts didn't cover the grey well, but the lighter shade did. I have yet to use a permanent color on my hair, but I know that day is coming soon! I guess I am afraid to make the wrong choice in permanent color so I haven't gone there yet.

[Curlsgirl]

Girlcat, if you do that be sure to go 1-2 shades LIGHTER than what the box looks like! I picked a shade in between my natural darker color (light to medium brown) and gray which was a dark blond color by Loreal. That way when the roots start showing it's not as obvious. The grays turn dark blondish and my natural medium brown turns light to medium brown. It is blending in very well as more gray grows in as well. Just FYI.

[MeMyselfandI]

Here is some food for thought:

Has your natural colour started changing to a black yet, in what is know as salt and pepper hair. Before you touch your hair, snip a sample of it. Just in case you want it as a reference.

Grey hair grows faster then normal hair. If you have just a few strands of grey scattered all over your dark hair, a henna treatment may make your greys look like auburn, red or orange red highlights.

You need to be careful of any chemicals on your hair. make sure they have no metals, or you may run into problems if you want to bleach, streak or do anything else to your hair later. Progressive dyes, the ones that deposit more dye each time you use them, may be the worse in this regard.

Colorfix will remove hair permanent hair dye. It may not remove semi permanent dye.

If you have fine hair and you decide to go the chemical root, use a neutral protein filler so your hair will not soak up to much dye making your hair darker then what it is.

Pick a lighter shade then what you think you need. It is easier to go darker then to lighten a darker shade. (This is were the damage will start.)

Once you start tinting your hair, are you willing to do it on a regular basis to keep the grey cover.

I did not mind the grey in my hair, but once I started covering them up, the new growth seemed so unsightly and unkempt, unless it was done often, more often then the 4 to 6 weeks recommended on the box.

How fast are your greys growing, do not be surprised if you see more grey growth then normal hair colour growth.

At least doing roots with Henna is not as damaging to my hair, and not as expensive either in the long run.

Some people have said that semi-permenant does not come out of their hair.

Boxed hair tints can not lighten to much above your hair colour unless it says will go much ligher.

Many natural dyes have dangerous chemicals in them.

Some Henna products have dangerous chemicals in them.

Body Art quality henna is great for hair. I do that now. I wish I did that the first time I reached for a box of colour.

[Curlsgirl]

I agree that semi-permanent does not always come out of hair. I am a witness! However, I WANTED mine not to come out as I was covering some very light blond I wanted to get rid of and that was the PERFECT way. I was very lucky in that I really didn't know what I was doing but it was very dark at first but faded to exactly the color I wanted which was close to my natural color. Then I got it highlighted once or twice and I leave it alone now except for the roots. I have to do it every THREE weeks just so you know it'is different for everyone. Mine would look awful if I waited 6 :eek:

[khyricat]

semi permanant didn't color my greys for 2 weeks.. and permanents fried my hair.. I have gone the henna route.. I have salt and pepper hair that is mostly pepper, and to see what the lighters strands look like look at my profile pic.. I get compliments all the time on my red highlights.. and asked who put them in so expertly. what they are is my whites.. the henna hardly shows on my darks. I do excessively long in some people's minds henna sessions to get that rich dark color and always do whole head applications.. but it is a deep red that blends well, and the henna to the other hair makes it stronger, and gives it a reddish glow in the sun, helping the entire thing blend.

If red isn't what you are looking for- henna/indigo or hendigo could work as well.. otherwise, all I can say after several years of trying things and frying my hair, then a brief! period of living with it, is good luck.. at this point I'm about 15-20% whites and I plan to henna until the red gets too overpowering, then to do some form of canopy dying/partial dying with the henna (kinda like siamese did with the black dye) and gradually let the natural color take over more and more until it takes completely over.

Amie

[missy60]

The last time I did my hair i wanted to apply it to all my hair since the ends were going brassy. I picked a demi color(Wella Color Charm) since it is suppose to be more gentle. My friend who is a stylist told me to use half the developer since my hair gets brassy very easy because she said that happens when your hair processes really fast. Well to make a long story straight I got as good if not better grey coverage with the demi and half the developer.

Girlcat that might be an option for you to try or adding heat for 15 mins of the processing time before going to permanent color.