Looking for a really low maintenance alternative to full-head dye

[J's Mama]

Hi! I have caved (back) in and need to cover my grey!!! But I just can't stand the thought of doing it myself every few weeks OR shelling out $60 every few weeks to have it done. Does anyone do anything like lowlights or highlights that are only done a few times a year? I guess the grey doesn't have to be totally covered as long as it could blend in and not make me look 10 years older than I am! Any suggestions?

[Kailey's mom]

subbing. I use natural instincts every few weeks ( 8 dollars/box) and do my roots. I am at least 1/4th gray, I have dark hair, and I'm 30. Its humiliating to me. Can't wait to hear the replies!

[J's Mama]

Originally Posted by Kailey's mom

subbing. I use natural instincts every few weeks ( 8 dollars/box) and do my roots. I am at least 1/4th gray, I have dark hair, and I'm 30. Its humiliating to me. Can't wait to hear the replies!

I am *right there with ya*!!! Except that I'm definitely more than 1/4 gray by now. And I just turned 30 last month. I might feel diferently about it if it weren't for the fact that people are always thinking that I'm older than I am anyways, even without the gray! It was cool when I was 18 that people thought I was so "mature". Not so much anymore. I thought I had made my peace with it about a year ago and I had stopped but when it started to come back in and this time, soooo much more, it was just too disheartening. Anyways, really hope people have some good suggestions!

[J's Mama]

Nobody? Really?

[KristaDJ]

Lol maybe the natural body care forum isn't the best place to ask. Many of us don't even shave or brush our hair and some of us don't even use soap/shampoo b/c of the chemicals..... I know some women use henna on here but I'm not sure how long that lasts....

[ian'smommaya]

i use henna, the bulk kind from the coop with herbs added. but it can sometimes have a BRIGHT effect with grey hair.

have you all tried an herbal rinse with either white, red or dark vinegar?

i can help you with the herbs part, just tell me what color hair you have besides grey. you would take the herbs and vinegar and let it set awhile (like making a tincture or tea.) then use it as a rinse.

[MamaMamaMama!]

Sage infusion (like a strong tea) helps cover grey if you have brown/black hair--chamomile for blondes. It takes a few times but it really does help (takea strong infusion and use it as your final rinse)

[J's Mama]

Originally Posted by ian'smommaya

have you all tried an herbal rinse with either white, red or dark vinegar?

i can help you with the herbs part, just tell me what color hair you have besides grey. you would take the herbs and vinegar and let it set awhile (like making a tincture or tea.) then use it as a rinse.

I have light to medium brown hair and am about 50% grey. I'm pregnant also, if that effects which herbs I'd use. Thanks !

[Chamomile Girl]

There are Henna blends that work great on grey hair. I have hennaed for about 15 years and I only do it about 3x a year...but I'm covering up blonde not grey. I have recently experienced that it is hard to find an opportunity to henna with a new babe in the house though. Once that stuff is on your head you are up a creek if the kid cries ykwim?

So while hennaing is pretty easy, and has great results, going to a salon is probably going to be easier for the first year of your kid's life.

[ian'smommaya]

Originally Posted by J's Mama

I have light to medium brown hair and am about 50% grey. I'm pregnant also, if that effects which herbs I'd use. Thanks !

coming back to this.

[J's Mama]

Thank you Ian'smomma. Can't wait!

[Hey Mama!]

I would go with henna-it doesn't wash out but you'd have to cover roots up. I didn't find it that hard to do, I actually would put it on, wear a shower cap and sleep with it on. Then, wash out in the morning. Easy!

[lairaja]

I am waiting with bated breath for the vinegar-herbal infusion recipe. I have medium brown to dark brown hair and 50% gray, as well. I'm trying no-poo with bs and acv, but I'm not ready to go completely natural with my gray. Since the BS washes my temp color out, I've got about 21 1/2 different shades of hair right now. It ain't pretty.

Will a vinegar infusion work with no-poo? Will anything? Or do I have to choose?

TIA

[ian'smommaya]

hahaha....nervous laugh. i completely forgot about this thread.

[jenP]

J's Mama, I use henna (pure stuff from hennaforhair.com), and it is permanent, all natural, and gives beautiful results. With blends of henna and other botanicals, you could match your brown shade. HOWEVER henna is VERY time consuming (esp. the first time; once you are just touching up roots it isn't as bad but still way more hassle than regular boxed chemical hair color.) AND you will have visible roots when that gray starts growing in - and it does grow fast, doesn't it??
Anyway, here's something I do that may be of help to you. Because my hair is very dark brown, I have to first lighten it before using henna - that is, because I use the henna to change my hair color, not to just cover gray, and the red won't show up overtop very dark hair. So, I first hit my roots with 20volume peroxide, put it in a plastic cap for about an hour, then wash it out.That lightens my dark hair to the point where the contrast between the brown and gray is not so shocking. I then follow that up with the henna to make the gray and now-lighter brown turn redder, but you could just skip that whole step. Maybe if you just peroxide your roots as they come in, it may make the gray less noticeable. It probably wouldn't be as nice a result as actually coloring the gray to match your natural color, but on the other hand it is pretty quick and easy, and cheap to boot. Just seems that lightening the darker hair to approach the grey (rather than covering the gray to match the darker hair) would be more subtle and you could probably get away with much longer between applications because the roots wouldn't look so contrast-y. And anyway it's so easy that you wouldn't need to go too long between doing it anyway.
HTH!
Jen

[KestrelDream]

You can try a cat nip treatment. Supposedly it blends in grays quite well. I just bought two bags of organic cat nip from walmart today. You can find out all kinds of great info on forums.longhaircommunity.com/index.php

If you don't want red, stay away from henna. Even if you add other things to it like indigo,alma, buxus, etc., there is still a lot of warm/reddish tones. Plus, it's very permanent.

Or you could try cassia. It can give a golden tone to grays. Again, the link above has a lot of info on that.

Good luck!

ETA: The long hair forum has been down since last night. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case you coldn't get on.