Help - wiry texture as it grays

[tsf]

Hi all! I haven't been here in a while but I've been a member for a long time.

I reached my goal (waist), and have over time cut back to just above BSL. The reason I've cut is that henna is hard for me to rinse out, and by the time I get it rinsed out, the amount of shedding is just significant. So, I've shortened it to make it a little less traumatic. I'm okay with the length.

But now, in the last year, the % of gray I have has increased dramatically. I'm probably 50% gray and the gray doesn't take the henna well, and the gray is awful wiry stuff that sticks up. So, now I have long dark hair with these horrid wiry orangey hairs sticking up, and orangey roots because there is so much gray. The last couple of times I've switched from henna/indigo to henna/amia, which helps to tone down the red a bit and isn't quite so dark, but doesn't cover the gray as well.

It's gone from quite lovely to pretty nasty looking. SO, two questions....

I'm contemplating a keratin straightening treatment to do something about the wiry stuff that sticks straight up. Any thoughts on that? I'm above BSL and not planning to go really long again.

Any suggestions for a brand of dye that I can use on my roots? I have to do something every two weeks to hide the roots and since henna is difficult and traumatic to rinse out, I thought maybe I could alternate henna and dye. I have used some of the rinse-out ones in the past and they didn't cover the gray at all. I was contemplating some of the "Just for Men" beard colorants because beard hair is really coarse and i expect it's resistant. I actually use that stuff successfully on my eyebrows, which sounds pretty bizarre but it beats the heck out of a salon visit and there are too many gray eyebrows to pluck them.

I really wish that I had not ever colored and had let the gray just be there but I'm stuck now since I don't think there is any way to grow it out gracefully and the only solution would probably be a short cut. sigh....

[Amazinggrace]

If you take a look at the renagray thread you can see pictures of people who have sucessfully grown out the gray. I think that is the best option, but the every two week schedule is to much for me to keep up with. http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16951

There is also a thread about using "color oops," to remove henna, maybe you could try that to take out some of the orange? http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=85463

I wish you luck, in whatever method you chose. It can be a very hard choice.

[Anje]

I can't help you much on the henna front. My DH uses henna + indigo to cover his grays, but they're still clearly a different color from the rest of his brown hair.

I have heard that the major reason that gray hairs tend to be a different texture is actually UV damage. They don't have any melanin in them to protect them from sunlight. So while it's not going to help you in the short term, I suspect that wearing a hat outside will make a considerable difference in the hairs sticking out long-term.

[jeanniet]

I've had good results using Elumen, and I do have very resistant gray hair. My grays actually take henna pretty well, but not indigo, and since I have very dark hair the henna looked too odd once I started getting more gray roots. So since I couldn't get the indigo to stick I had to switch to Elumen, which does stick surprisingly well. I'm just lazy about using it, so right now I have lots of gray roots. :D

[tsf]

That's an interesting point about the UV damage. I live in Florida but I'm a "Sun Avoider" - even so, it makes sense that some of this would be sun damage. I will look for the Elumen. I tried the Sally web site and also Ulta web site, neither have it. Do you purchase it on line? Can you recommend a particular site?

I'd like to get away from henna. Although I like that it is natural, and doesn't directly damage the hair, the effort involved in getting it out of my hair definitely does damage my hair. In the past I have used an entire bottle of conditioner, but I still have to shampoo and then my scalp itches, i think that's from the Indigo. After rinsing and rinsing and shampooing to get it out - the wad I pick up out of the drain is about half the size of an egg. That's a lot of hair, twice a month, not counting hair just all over the house, I shed worse than the cats.

THe Keratin is $$$ but wow, great reviews on the texture improvement, i was thinking maybe a one time deal would be worth it. I'll eventually end up cutting it and just going gray, I suppose. I'd have done it years ago but DH absolutely hates gray and he doesn't ask a lot...

[spidermom]

I've got some really crazy, wirey white hairs, too, and since we have so little of it, I don't think it's sun damage.

And that's all I can contribute since I know very little about coloring hair. I like to use a deposit-only dye in a fantasy color every once in awhile; they cover really well, but of course they do fade out over several months.

[alyaziaaah]

i have black hair with grey,white, i use henna every 2 to 3 weeks, my mixture is very easy to rinse out and the orange, red with the brownblack maroon hair looks like highlights, its beautiful and i
love it. i mix my henna powder dry with one tsp xanthan gum powder, then put one can of coconutmilk and hibiscustea or black tea with a blender. after dye release i leave it 2 hours and rinse out with suave con and natures gate henna shine enhancing shampoo. very easy to get out because of the coconutmilk. my wiry greys, i take care of them as i clip my hair back (out of my face) with a small jawclip while wet, and take it down when barely damp and tataaa, they lie flat