I have a lot of gray hair. I am touching up my hair about every 2-3 weeks. Before the 3 weeks is up the gray is showing again. What is the best hair dye that will last the longest that I can buy in the store? thanks
Professional Hair Care Answer - There are many color's that are especially formulated for gray or graying hair but there is no one dye for gray hair that works 100% all the time. You just have to read the labels and try different brands. Preference by L'Oreal is made for gray hair but there are others on the market that work pretty well too.
I've been a licensed cosmetologist for over 17 years and find that no ONE hair color works best for covering everyone's gray hair, although there are many claims to it.
The best advice is to use a professional name brand like L'Oreal or Clairol. Box colors will NOT give you the best colors. They are down right expensive to use over time. You don't ever know what color bases they use in them and you have a limited selection of color's to choose from.
Professional colors on the other hand, mostly use the same bases and have a wide variety of color choices. For graying hair, always use color that is specifically made for gray hair. I have been using Preference by L'Oreal for over 15 years now and think it works the best to cover my gray's but that is purely my opinion. Unfortunately those gray wirey hairs keep popping up no matter what you use.
Professional colors can be easily purchased at any Beauty Supply Store like Sally's. You just have to buy the color and peroxide separately and mix your own color. That way you can be really specific about the color(s) you want and get dependable results, each and every time.
Most hair colors are mixed 1:1. That is, one part color to one part peroxide. You can buy a color bottle and gloves for about $2 total. The color and peroxide will cost a bit more at first (around $10 for both) but the beauty of it is that a bottle of peroxide will last you for MANY colors. One bottle of color will give you two root applications OR one root to tip color, depending on your hair length. Learn how to color your own hair with professional colors at home and you'll cut your expenses in half!
If you are coloring your hair about every 3 weeks please don't overlap color and only color the roots. Overlapping can weaken the hair and make it (more) brittle. One other thing I suggest is to add a small amount of deep conditioner to your color mixture before you color. Also leave the color on your hair for the entire length of the application time or longer. When you color your hair, you open the cuticle of your hair. You want gray hair to absorb every bit of color it can while it's processing. And be sure to CLOSE the cuticle of your hair by conditioning AFTER you color. Using professional conditioners and your color will last a lot longer.
There is no magical answer I'm sorry to say as there is no one hair color for gray hair that works best for everyone. Major name brands are always the best choice, as the color bases are generally primary colors, i.e. red, blue, and yellow. Other (less well known) color companies may use secondary color bases that are a mix of the primary colors, i.e. green, purple, and orange. Stay away from these. They can turn your hair some pretty far out colors!
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