My grays don't hold color. Any suggestions?

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fashion16

fashion16

O.G.
Apr 15, 2007
5,526
1,921
#1
I am 29 years old and have dark brown hair. I have been discovering gray hair since I was 16 and now at almost 30, I have as much gray hair as most women 15 years older than I. I dye my hair to my natural color (very dark brown) but my gray roots don't hold color. The color fades so I have to dye my roots every 4 weeks. It is not grow out because by 4 weeks, I have about 1.5 inches of gray showing and human hair doesn't grow that fast. I have tried Feria, Clairol & Nice & Easy. I have tried professional coloring as well. Nothing seems to work. If you have had a similar problem and found color that lasts, I would love to hear it. BTW, I try to wash my hair every other day to extend the life of my color, but that doesn't help.

Help!
 
#2
Hmmmm, so you are using permanent color? Are you leaving it on 45 min? Some company's say about 30 min, but stubborn grey needs 45. Are you using shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair? There are some lines of color that are formulated for extra stubborn grey hair.
 
#3
I use Goldwell, it's not available to the public and is only available in certain salons. I find that it covers my grays perfectly AND the gray holds the true color. Also, it seems to keep my hair in great condition.

I think there is something sold in beauty supply stores. It's a tiny bottle of liquid that you put a few drops in your hair color and it is supposed to help your gray cover.

Lastly, I was told that you if just put a 20 volume developer on your roots for about 15 mintues PRIOR to applying color, it helps open the hair up with allows it to take in the color.
 
#4
Are you sure those are not newly grown hair? I am in the same situation as you. I have grey hair since my late teens and have been coloring my hair ever since. I'm even worse than you because my hair grow out so quickly that I have to color it every 3 to 3.5 weeks max. I don't believe it is a case of the color washing out, I really think those are new grown hair. Because I don't see the rest of the hair losing color except the roots, and I color through the ends every other month. Maybe our hair just grows too fast!

My favorite at home boxed color brand is L'Oreal Feria. I can really tell the difference when I use this on my burgundy color hair.
 
#5
^^^ I guess there is a possibility that it could all be grow out....hummm. I too only see the gray on my roots, not all the way down the shaft.
Skydive- I do use perm. color, leave it on for 45 minutes and use Bed Head shampoo & conditioner for color treated hair. The rest of my color looks vibrant & natural...with the exception of the stark white roots. For example, I dyed my hair 5 days ago and when I pull my hair up into a pony tail today, I see glimmers of silver hair already! Ugh!!!!
 
#6
ParisLV said:
I use Goldwell, it's not available to the public and is only available in certain salons. I find that it covers my grays perfectly AND the gray holds the true color. Also, it seems to keep my hair in great condition.

I think there is something sold in beauty supply stores. It's a tiny bottle of liquid that you put a few drops in your hair color and it is supposed to help your gray cover.

Lastly, I was told that you if just put a 20 volume developer on your roots for about 15 mintues PRIOR to applying color, it helps open the hair up with allows it to take in the color.
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The last part is called pre-softening. I hope you dont have to go to that route to cover your greys cuz it makes a longer process. Plus, you only want to get the new growth, and that can be hard not to overlap for a non professional. It does work though.

There is a little bottle called,grey be gone, or something. You add a couple drops to any color. Never used it on my clients though.

Some stylists also use a higher volume developer to really get that cuticle open. You might just want to get it done professionally once, and get a formula from them. If you tell them you are moving or something, a good stylist will give you a formula to use.
 
#7
BTW, is your hair coarse or curly? If you only see grey by the roots it has to be newgrowth. Some peoples hair grows fast. I get my roots done and notice them coming in after a week.
 
#8
My hair is fine overall, but I have lots of it and it is naturally wavy. I know this is going to sound stupid but I had thought that maybe the roots area was fading b/c it was "virgin" gray hair and the rest of the shaft had been colored over and over again so the color was "sticking" better. I guess it could truly be new growth. That sucks but at least I am not going crazy trying to find that "magic" hair color that lasts 6-8 weeks before I see grow out.
 
#9
It will stick better to the colored hair as it gets colored over and over and the roots are virgin. If you are only noticing a little by the roots, then more and more as time goes, it is newgrowth.
 
#11
Fashion16~ I am in the same boat as you... I'm 28 and have been dealing with this problem since my late teens... It's such a pain in the a$$... After a fresh dye I feel sooo much better but by my second shampoo the greys start to show again.. I honestly have tried every at home hair dye possible.. The salon dye was worse than the at home stuff, never lasted.. As Nikki mentioned, I've tried those drops you put in your dye and no difference..

I recently switched it up and instead of dying my entire head every 3-4 weeks (Black), I decided to try L'Oreal's Root Rescue... So happy I did!!! It is awesome!!! Best stuff yet and greatest part - 15 min. and rinse (they say 10 but 15 is better).. Oh and unlike other hair dyes you rinse it out then shampoo and condition as usual so there's no hair dye smell....It lasts way longer than anything I've ever used... I definitely recommend it!
 
#12
Thank you!!! I will definitely try it! I color my hair dark brown. Is it hard to match the root touch up color to the rest of your hair?

TaraPep said:
Fashion16~ I am in the same boat as you... I'm 28 and have been dealing with this problem since my late teens... It's such a pain in the a$$... After a fresh dye I feel sooo much better but by my second shampoo the greys start to show again.. I honestly have tried every at home hair dye possible.. The salon dye was worse than the at home stuff, never lasted.. As Nikki mentioned, I've tried those drops you put in your dye and no difference..

I recently switched it up and instead of dying my entire head every 3-4 weeks (Black), I decided to try L'Oreal's Root Rescue... So happy I did!!! It is awesome!!! Best stuff yet and greatest part - 15 min. and rinse (they say 10 but 15 is better).. Oh and unlike other hair dyes you rinse it out then shampoo and condition as usual so there's no hair dye smell....It lasts way longer than anything I've ever used... I definitely recommend it!
Click to expand...
 
#13
fashion16 said:
Thank you!!! I will definitely try it! I color my hair dark brown. Is it hard to match the root touch up color to the rest of your hair?
Click to expand...

Not at all... The black I use is soft black #3. It's not dark black so it blends in very nicely.. For you, you could probably use the soft black #3 or Dark brown #4. I'm sure both would work well for you... Good luck and I hope you have great results! Let me know what you think.. :flowers:
 
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