Beauty

[susanks1]

I have color treated hair and gray roots.  I want to color my hair myself a few shades darker than it is right now.  Do I color the gray roots first and then pull the color through the rest of my hair 5-10 minutes at the end of the time or color my whole head at the same time?  Thanks for your help.

[BeccaLou]

@susanks1 Yes color your roots first, and go over them  for a few minutes at the end.

[Peaches McPhee]

Yes.  Start at your root, and then work your way down. 

[LTT1]

@susanks1 @Peaches McPhee @BeccaLou 

Does using sage (tea) color grays? Has anybody ever tried it?

I have extra-sensitive scalp problems and would like to use something as allergy-free as possible.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

[shaggygirl]

The last 2 types I tried had very specific instructions how to proceed depending on what you want to accomplish, just roots or whole head or roots followed by the rest of your hair.

[lulu1]

You need to be very careful when choosing to go several shades darker, particularly if you've been coloring gray. Unless you have short hair, even if you cover the roots for 20 minutes or so, then pull the color through for 5-10 minutes, you may still end up with an ombre look. Hair that has been colored before is going to grab the color very quickly and efficiently.  Virgin roots will not.

[Icegoddess]

To add to what @lulu1 said, be careful about going darker.   Getting too dark a color is a very common mistake with first timers.  I even had that problem getting my hair done at a school.  If you get it too dark there's not much you can do to fix it besides actually using a color remover (which is what I ended up doing).  That's a whole other can of worms not to mention the damage to your hair.  I would start with 1 or at most 2 shades darker.  You can always go darker, but you can't lighten it if you're not happy with it.

[Shanus]

---

@susanks1 wrote:

I have color treated hair and gray roots.  I want to color my hair myself a few shades darker than it is right now.  Do I color the gray roots first and then pull the color through the rest of my hair 5-10 minutes at the end of the time or color my whole head at the same time?  Thanks for your help.

---

@susanks1   Since there's such a color difference between the grey "virgin roots" which have never been colored & the rest of your hair, stay w/ the same color as your hair. If your hair's been colored before, it's porous and will suck up the color and the grey is more difficult to cover. That's why most box instructions say to only pull it through to the ends the last 10 minutes or so. ***When choosing a shade, remember that the colors come out darker that what's shown on the box. Good luck w/ coloring your hair. 🍀

[Bhvbum]

So true about turning out too dark.  I just colored my hair for the first time (I sent the cut/color money to my hairdresser.) and I did every thing as instructed.  The color was actually lighter than my own shade but it came out much darker.  

Err or way on the side of too light when you pick a color.  In the meantime I have started using shampoo with sulfates to pull some of the color out.

[Grouchomarx]

Personally I would not change my hair color while doing it myself. I would stick with the same shade.  I've dyed my hair for over 20 years.  Many years ago I decided I wanted to switch to an auburn color, from a dark blonde.  Holy cow it was the biggest disaster every in the history of hair color (ok, maybe that's exaggerating).  My roots were clown orange and the rest of it was dark blonde.  I had to color it about 2 more times to get rid of the clown roots and it ultimately looked purplish brown.  Had it fixed at a salon for serveral hudred dollars.  Be careful!