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Aug 3, 2025

Hair Color Treatments for Greying Hair

For those of you who have colored grey hair, I'm curious about the hair color treatments available in most drugstores. They seem simpler to use than box dyes. It's been many years since I've colored my hair. It's a chestnut brown and my grey is more silver. I don't hate it but the grey is dry and making me feel like I look older than I am. I'm especially interested in the natural brands that are non-permanent. For example Rishiri Kombu sounds like a decent option. Looking forward to your recommendations and experience.

helloalissa

helloalissa

Kanji and design nerd.

6 Answers



  • genkidesu

    on Aug 4

    I'm mainly just here for the recommendations of others, because I'm too scared to dye my own hair yet and always prefer someone else letting me know their positive experiences with products. Not a drug store brand, but I do know that Lush have a range of henna hair dye products if you're looking for a less permanent option: https://www.lush.com/jp/ja/c/henna-hair-dye It's meant to be more gentle on hair, as far as I know.

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  • TonetoEdo

    on Aug 6

    Years ago, my friend convinced me to let her colour my hair with non-permanent colour. We were aiming for dark chestnut and I ended up with a slightly purple halo for a few weeks! I'm with genkidesu. If I were to attempt colouring my hair at home, I'd go henna.

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  • genkidesu

    on Aug 7

    @TonetoEdo I'm pleasantly surprised with Lush's lineup of henna colors, too. I'd probably need the strawberry blonde option, and I thought it was pretty inclusive to see that option available here in Japan!

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  • helloalissa

    on Aug 7

    @genkidesu Henna is an interesting option for sure. From what I've read, it is Not temporary, and it is essentially orange. There are other things like indigo added to make it possible to color hair brown or black. (It's strange to hear that there is a strawberry blonde option as I've also read that it can only be used to make hair a darker color and not go lighter. I guess it depends on your existing color.) In addition, if you end up with a color that isn't what you're going for, salons won't go near fixing it. It's supposedly so permanent that it can't be bleached out and redone. So if you end up trying that, test a small portion of your hair first. Maybe that is good advice for any first time hair color...

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  • BigfamJapan

    on Aug 28

    I responded to this yesterday, but the gremlins must have eaten it! I don't have the confidence to dye my hair myself, so I get it done in the hairdresser's. I get a shade lighter than my natural colour so the silver is less obvious when it grows back and so I get away with only colouring it three times a year. Fwiw I "wash" my hair with conditioner and don't use shampoo at all and that makes the silver less dry looking.

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  • helloalissa

    on Sep 4

    @BigfamJapan Interesting... about the washing with conditioner. I use shampoo only twice a week and still have dry hair, especially during the humid summer. I have tried a bunch of brands and it doesn't seem to matter. I started to dry my hair with a microfiber towel and I'm not sure if it has made a difference yet. I use natural hair oil (like coconut oil) and still get stray hairs after a while. Maybe I need to try the conditioning hair masks or other products.

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For those of you who have colored grey hair, I'm curious about the hair color treatments available in most drugstores. They seem simpler to use than box dyes. It's been many years since I've colored my hair. It's a chestnut brown and my grey is more silver. I don't hate it but the grey is dry and making me feel like I look older than I am. I'm especially interested in the natural brands that are non-permanent. For example Rishiri Kombu sounds like a decent option. Looking forward to your recommendations and experience.

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