Is your hair colour ageing you?

All About You online 24.04.2008

Is your hair colour ageing you? Eve Cameron explains how to find the right shade for you.

Gloves products for dying hair Have you stuck with the same bleached highlights since your 20s? Or the same fun red DIY home-colouring kit? Maybe you've never coloured your hair, but notice that it's not as vibrant as it once was or is showing a few greys?

Reassessing your hair colour is essential once you're over 30, not least because your skin tone changes with the passing of time and what used to suit you might need a tweak.If you're not going to push your colour too far, and just want to make your colour warmer, save money with a home colouring kit

Hair shows the signs of ageing just like the skin does. Apart from the obvious greys, it also becomes weaker, thinner and much drier in time. With a little expert help however, it's easy to take years off. We'd recommend visiting a salon for professional advice, especially if you want to make a dramatic change or need colour correction.

However, if you're not going to push your colour too far, and just want to add some lights or make your colour warmer, you may want to use a home colouring kit. Just remember to be realistic about what you can achieve.

Blonde ambition

'Keep colour soft as you get older; it's more stylish,' says Lisa Shepherd, former British Hairdresser of the Year, 'and never have just one tone.' Brassiness and too much bleach can both be ageing. Rather than using bleach, you could ask your hairdresser to start mixing in tint and gradually increase the ratio of tint to bleach with subsequent visits. A good colourist will also use at least three different shades to create a flattering multi-tonal look.

Perk up brown

If you have naturally mousy hair, it can make you look tired and older than your years. Trying to liven it up it with a block colour can also be ageing as it can drain the skin, not to mention that it's high maintenance as roots grow through.
Colourist Jo Hansford suggests going for either a salon colour wash, which is semi-permanent and will boost your colour and make the hair shinier, or adding lowlights as a subtle way to bring colour back into the hair. This works especially well on longer hair, creating texture, so the colour doesn't look dense or solid.

If you have brown hair but don't want to colour it, try colour-enhancing shampoos and conditioners that deposit a small amount of pigment in the hair – John Frieda and L'Oreal Paris both have excellent ones.

Going grey?

Grey hairs are the result of pigment-forming cells at the root becoming inactive. Hair that is already formed doesn't turn grey, it's the new hair growth that is simply unpigmented. The process is gradual and of the thousands of hair follicles on your scalp only a few become inactive at a time, though the rate and amount varies between individuals.

Dark blonde colours and paler highlights can be used to cover grey and help it to blend in with blonde hair. If you have a slightly yellow tinge in your hair, try a brightening shampoo to tone it down - Wella's Lifetex is good.

On dark hair, Lisa Shepherd advises that it's best to work with the grey. Rather than going for complete coverage like a hat, it looks better to use lowlights to complement your natural colour and blend the grey in. If you have a lot of grey, you'll probably notice that the texture of your hair has become coarser and drier. To give it back some youthful lustre, go for moisturising, shine-enhancing haircare products and include a regular deep-conditioning treatment in your routine.