If you dye your hair, home or professional?

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

I'm over 50% gray at the ripe old age of 38 and I HATE it. I feel old when i look in the mirror and it's time for it to change.

I'd do it myself but i'm concerned about using an at home color on so much gray.So i'm wondering what others do. I am leaning heavily towards a pro doing it but it's just so pricey. So if there's anyone else here who has as much gray as I do and colors I'd love to know what you do.

[sntm]

I dye my hair (when not pregnant) and I did it at home for years but now I use a great colorist and think it makes a huge difference. She does such a natural job that unless I get highlights also, no one can tell it isn't natural. It also depends on what color you are going for and what your natural, non-gray color is. Gray can be variable - sometimes it takes up the dye normally, sometimes looks like highlights and sometimes is very resistant.

Fwiw, I have little to no gray (tho I expected it as my mom went gray in her early 30s) just like to tweak my mousy brown hair to the auburn God meant it to be :)

[SASM]

I just recently colored my hair for the first time and went to my stylist. She used "permanent" color (I didn't realize there are different levels of permanence) close to my natural color. DH could still see grays. I couldn't see them but knew where they were dt to the wiry different texture (ones that I plucked). Just fyi...good luck! I would probably still go to her.

[fortato]

I never get the color right on my own... it NEVER EVER EVER looks like the box color, so I trust Erica, my hairstylist to do it. She does an amazing job on my highlights too, so I don't care what the cost is... if it keeps the brown away, I will gladly pay!

[lalasmama]

I go to a pro, in her home, though. Well, in her parents' home, because that's where she lives. I don't have a lot of grey at this point, but my hair is finicky because of a perm, which always seems to throw the color off a bit. When I'm not permed, I've always done it at home.... But lately, I need the perm--I know, I know, but it's not an 80s perm at all--it looks natural, and in control. Without it, well, I look like crap :)

[SnuggleBuggles]

I do partial foils + cut for $85. My guy is awesome too. Word of mouth led me to him and he's been a great find!

[HIU8]

I was going to my stylist. I ONLY use a demi-permanent color (it washes out after a few weeks). It was $75 for this (no hilights, lolights etc....). For the past 4 years I've been doing it myself instead. I get the color, mix it with the activator and go for it. The cost for me is a total of $8 for each application. My stylist (who I've been going to for 20+ years knows I'm doing it due to financial issues--my hair is short and requires a full cut every 4 weeks, and I HAVE to get it done or I look like cousin IT really fast). The cost of the cut wins over the color. However, coloring is super easy at home and I honestly do not know when I will go back to getting it done professionally, or when I may switch to permanent color.

[DietCokeLover]

I have a ton of gray, and while I prefer the way my stylist does it, I can not go to her as often as I would need to (about every 3 to 4 weeks for root growth) due to $$. So, I do my own and go to a pro about two times per year.

[MommyofAmaya]

I dyed my own hair a plethora of colors ie. blue/purple/platinum in my teens early twenties to bronze on my wedding day when I realized that I would be dyeing my hair FOREVER if I didn't give it a rest for a while. I recently decided to start again and went to my stylist who specializes in color. I was super disappointed when after paying nearly $200 it washed out in a couple of weeks.

I followed that up with Naturcolor which I found at Whole Foods and it is lovely, super-pigmented and lasted much longer than the pro color with relatively no damage. I've decided I will stick with this as long as I can. It does run dark though, so choose a lighter shade.
www.naturcolor.com/
Now I'm nervous b/c I tried to link the product but the website is down. :/
I'll be devastated if it is discontinued, or I"ll try to order from Italy, where it is produced.

[theriviera]

I have very dark hair with stubborn gray. i find it hard to cover the gray with at home dye, even if i leave it on for 3x the recommended amount. So I go to a salon and get a single process color.

[Twin Mom]

I started having my hair colored professionally about a year ago. Before that I just lived with the gray. My parents were bugging me for a while to color but I really didn't want to be bothered. It was starting to make me look old IMO so I took the plunge. I have it professionally done every 3-4 months and I touch up the roots myself in between about every 5 weeks. My stylist sells me the color so I can do the touch up myself. I don't do highlights or anything fancy, just cover the gray.

[smilequeen]

I go to a salon for regular highlights. I did it at home when I was younger and it was fine, but this looks SO much better. And now that I'm a bit older and more frumpy, at least my hair is nice :)

[edurnemk]

I only get highlights, at a salon, in fact there is only ONE stylist I trust with my hair color (even when I lived in another town, I'd wait to get my highlights redone until I travelled home and could go to him). I feel a bad dyeing job is worst than a bad haircut, I'd never do it myself (I have cut my own bangs and cut my own hair twice).

[niccig]

I'm like you, 38 and 50% gray. I had it professionally coloured and highlighted blonde at the front, as I'm all gray there. Fabulous stylist and colourist, love her...BUT, she's gotten too expensive. So I'm in between. My hair is way overdue for a cut, but I don't know where else to go. I think I'm just going to cut it and leave it gray.

[ilfaith]

I go back and forth. I'll get highlights a few times then go many months without having my hair done until I realize there are inches of new uncolored regrowth on top of my head that I can't live with for another day, so I'll pick up a box of Garnier or whatever at the drugstore and color it myself.

I don't have too much grey. The last time I had my hair cut (late October) I also had it colored (single process, not highlights, as I didn't have the time for all the foils) and while I was happy with the color, the grey popped through again faster than I would have liked.

[salsah]

no experience yet, but I'll probably start soon.

i remember reading here that some posters buy professional hair color from sally beauty supply and do it themselves at home. they highly recommended it. I suspect that when I'm ready to start, I'll try that method. I'll have to search for that thread to find the brand that was recommended.

[sntm]

Oh, one thi g that helps is if you do it at home, get a friend to help (or do each others). It can be hard to avoid missing spots otherwise.

[cono0507]

I go to a salon. I could probably find a less expensive stylist but the girl I go to has earned my trust and loyalty because it always comes out looking very natural. I really need to go see her every 5-6 weeks but lately, I've been stretching it to 8 weeks or so by using the Clairol Root touch up kit on my hairline and part in between salon visits. Actually works pretty well and saves me some money in the long run, but definitely need to the professional coloring regularly.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I go to a beauty school, and they apply permanent color to all the gray around my face. It matches well with the rest of my hair, which they used to put a demi on. I figured since it is such a great match, there's no reason to use more. It is an Aveda school and with a coupon it is around $30-35.

[jent]

Hmm, surprised not to see more DIY-ers on this thread. I thought from previous BBB threads that a lot of people did their own color.

I've been watching with interest b/c my grays are starting to be more noticeable and I'm debating whether to do something about it. I only have a few, so I feel like if I do it myself, I can't screw it up that badly. I really don't want to go for salon color- not something I can afford right now.

Those of you who DIY hair color, what do you use?

[*myfoursons]

I started getting grays in my early 20s, and I'm probably about 30-40% gray now. I never was a big fan of highlights on me, so I just do a single-process color at home. I use Naturtint from Whole Foods, and find it covers the gray very well.

Every once in a while, I think about having it done professionally, but honestly, I think the color I use is so natural there's really no need. And I'm not sure about finding an ammonia-free dye at a salon, so for now I'm sticking with the box. And the fact that I save so much money is a nice bonus ;)

[MommyofAmaya]

I use Naturtint from Whole Foods, and find it covers the gray very well.

Every once in a while, I think about having it done professionally, but honestly, I think the color I use is so natural there's really no need. And I'm not sure about finding an ammonia-free dye at a salon, so for now I'm sticking with the box. And the fact that I save so much money is a nice bonus ;)

I might have to try the Naturtint if Naturcolor is discontinued. I was SO surprised at the quality of the color, especially being ammonia-free. I forgot to mention that in my post.

[fivi2]

I do all over color at home out of a box (L'oreal preference). I have made many mistakes, but have now settled on a color I like. I do get compliments on it, but maybe it looks awful... I just don't ahve the time to keep up with it at a salon - I rarely manage to get my hair cut as it is.

I will say that I very much regret starting the all over color and it is nearly impossible to stop. I just can't deal with the two tone look of growing it out. And I went lighter so when I try to go back to my natural color, it turns green (ask me how I know this...)

I f I had the time and money, I am sure it would look better if I had it professionally done, but for now I am fine with it out of a box.

[thomma]

I colored my own hair for about 8 years but recently switched to having my hairdresser do it. I wish I had done it years ago. It's so easy and so worth the cost.

My hair grows fast...I have it done every 4 weeks and by that time my roots are starting to show. My color doesn't fade at all though. I am over 50% gray...

[JustMe]

I do it myself at home. I used to use Naturtint and tried all the natural products, but eventually they stopped working well for me (actually made my hair much drier than what I use now), so I had to switch. I use Wella, that I buy from Sally's. I leave the roots on about 20 minutes and everything else only about 5. I don't do it perfectly, but use a color that was very close to my natural color before I got so much gray. As I result, my hair looks pretty natural and has different shades in it, a lot like un-dyed hair.

My biggest problem is that the area by my temples does not hold the color, and goes back to being gray very quickly. I tried a couple of touch up products a couple of years ago and couldnt find a good fit. If anyone has anything that works for this, please post!

[stefani]

I voted professional, but actually I try to do it every other time. I don't do as good as a job myself, so I still go to salon and get it done. I have a lot of gray hair though, and my hair is black, so it is not so easy to color it myself. I do more of a touch-up job at home so I won't spend as much money in the long run.

[nmosur]

Lush carries these hair dyes that I am tempted to try. It seems easy but time consuming.

http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/haircare/henna-hair-dyes/