I'm going prematurely white and I'm really upset about it.I've been having digestive problems and other stress over the last two years and I feel this to be the cause of the problem as I am certainly not getting enough nutrition from what food I am able to eat.I am taking supplements but the white is increasing it's spread right through the front of my hair especially :(
I don't want to use permant colours yet as I don't feel up to the maintenence required for that so what I really need are suggestions as to how to cover it.This photograph shows it up quite well the bist that look like highlights are actually white bits it's hard to get a clear photograph of the white hairs as they reflect off the flash anyway I'd really appreciate your advice
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v339/Nastasska/Enhancedgreyyuck.jpg

I'm sorry you've been ill, Belinda.  The only thing I can think to suggest is keep taking care of yourself, reduce your stress and take selenium.

Have you consulted a doc about it?

Maybe try henna?  I don't use it, so I'm no help about that.

Good Luck and feel better!!!

I agree with Sakina.  Henna or Cassia might be something to consider.  Cassia is better suited for blondes,in my opinion.  Henna will give you red.  With henna you can mix it with indigo for different shades of brown.  This might be something that could help you.  Feel better!

I'm so sorry things have been a bit rough for you.  :(  I hope they improve for you soon.

Covering gray is tough.  Gray hair is typically resistant to even permanent coloring.  Henna is an option many have used.  As Curlgirl mentions, henna will add red to your hair, but can be mixed with other ingredients to tone down the red and add other colors.  

Some people have used coffee rinses to darken and even out their coloring.  Brew strong coffee, let it cool, then pour over your hair several times, let it set for a few minutes, then rinse with clear water.  You don't see results immediately, but after several applications you may notice the lighter hair turning darker.

Good luck!

Thank you all it's nice to see some familiar erm faces :) I tried henna it did coover but I couldn't get quite the right colour as I don't want to go to dark I've also used some stuff called Naturstyle which is a herbal liquid colour but it's only available in the permanet version here.There is a semi permanent one but nobody wants to stock it here.So I'm looking at some of the mainstream semi permanent colours
Bikerbraid :) The Coffee rinse sounds good too do you think strong tea would have the same effect

Tea might work if it is a dark tea - it certainly would be easy enough to try!

Hi Belinda!

I have used Henna and it is _very_ permanent, so please be aware of that (I have found out the hard way!) :-)

I have used Darjeeling tea rinses and that has worked OK for me, it doesn't really dye the gray, but it stains it slightly so the gray is not as obvious. Any kind of strong tea will work, just rinse it through your hair, catching in another bowl, and keep pouring through as many times as you can. It is kind of a pain because you have to keep doing it, since it rinses out when you shampoo.

Another thing that has worked for me that is a little easier to use is a Hibiscus tea spray. I made a strong Hibiscus tea with bulk dried flowers, put it in a spritzer bottle, and sprayed it on the grays. They look a little red, but it did cover the gray and was pretty easy to use. I just kept the spritzer bottle in the fridge. This might work for the Darjeeling, I haven't tried that.

Here's some photos of before and after with the hibiscus spray, look at my gray temples:
Before
http://portlandviolin.bizland.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/graytemples.jpg
After
http://portlandviolin.bizland.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/hibiscus.jpg

I am on a mission to find something nonpermanent that works for covering the gray that is more convenient to use, I will report back if I find anything better!
Mellie

i dont have any suggestions on covering grey hair, but i would like to share with you what i readin in the O magazine. there was a section on women with grey hair and one said that grey was the new black. at one piont black was considered a no no but now its perfectly exceptable. another said that grey hair is a part of who she is as was the natural color she had when she was yonger. i guess you could think of it as chpters in your life. this chapter just happens to include grey hair. i know you said you arnt ready for dying and the maintenence of it, an alternantive for this would be instead of dying a differnt color stay with the grey tones and maybe try highlights or lowlights. honestly these women had georgous hair. one said that a lot of men prefered the grey color they said it should maturity and sophistication, wisdom and sence of not being afraid of who they were.

i guess what im trying to say is when your ready if you ever are that grey isnt the end of the world its new beginning to a new part of your life. but for now if you dont like it and covering is the way you want to go then full support here. maybe an idea would be a bandana or trying different hat styles.

good luck :)