I’m 53 & allergic to box hair dyes – so I tried an £8 shampoo to see if it would banish my greys instead

PRESENTER and PR concern proprietor Karin Ridgers, from Essex, suffered a terrifying allergic absorption aft utilizing a container dye to disguise her metallic streaks.

Could a grey-covering shampoo enactment wonders instead, successful conscionable 2 weeks?

GREY hair, don’t care? That volition ne'er beryllium me, I’m afraid.

I mightiness beryllium 53, but I’m not rather acceptable to clasp the wiry greys that are creeping down from my roots.

After decades of loving my affluent brownish locks, I hoped I’d travel successful the footsteps of superstars similar Andie MacDowell and Sarah Jessica Parker, who person made metallic highlights hot.

Sadly, without the magic of hairsbreadth dye, I’m little Hollywood glam and much granny chic, with each metallic strand showing disconnected different hard-earned year.

I’ve ever adored my hair. Over the years, my shiny locks person endured everything from Eighties perms and vigorous backcombing to bold purple highlights and wash-in, wash-out dyes successful eye-popping colours similar flamingo pink.

I’ve adjacent experimented with unconventional conditioners, specified arsenic mayonnaise and beer.

Honestly, these tresses person seen it each and they’ve travel retired unscathed.

So erstwhile I started catching show of metallic strands, aged 50, successful the bath mirror, I was distraught.

According to a caller poll, 2 successful 5 women consciousness self-conscious astir their grey hair, portion 36 per cent accidental it makes them consciousness little confident.

The study, by haircare marque Schwarzkopf, reports that fractional of women announcement their archetypal grey hairs erstwhile they’re successful their aboriginal thirties.

Much similar the glasses I begrudgingly deterioration to work the greeting news, I find my greys appallingly ageing.

Turn for the worse

So I wasn’t amazed to perceive that 72 per cent of women dread going grey, compared to conscionable 36 per cent of men.

For weeks, I slathered a earthy hairsbreadth dye called Naturtint connected my roots. But, overmuch to my dismay, the greys kept coming thicker and faster than ever.

Then past month, my bid for grey-free locks took a melodramatic crook for the worse.

I’d been invited to a movie premiere truthful I wanted to look and consciousness fantastic adjacent to the stars of the movie.

The thought of them seeing maine and my silvery strands connected the red carpet didn’t carnivore reasoning about.

But aft utilizing a starring brand’s imperishable hairsbreadth dye, I was near with bulging eyes, a agleam reddish look and a burning scalp.

Desperate, I covered up my tomato-toned tegument with make-up and rushed to the exigency doctor.

I was truthful upset and worried. Would my eyes and tegument instrumentality to normal?

I gulped down antihistamines and made it to the premiere, but aft that I became a hermit for implicit a week, hiding astatine location waiting for my tegument to calm down.

I had ne'er suffered an allergic absorption to hairsbreadth dye earlier and, of course, I privation I had done a spot test.

Several weeks and 3 allergy tests later, I can’t basal the thought of trying different at-home hairsbreadth colour.

But the greys are getting worse and I’m fed up with seeing my ageing reflection successful the mirror.

After seeing a flurry of posts astir grey-covering shampoos connected societal media, I plumped for John Frieda’s Defy Grey brunette blending shampoo, which users assertion blended distant their metallic streaks wrong conscionable 3 weeks of regular use.

At £7.99, could this TikTok-approved merchandise truly beryllium the reply to my woes?

I felt similar I had thing to lose, truthful grabbed a vessel and gave it a go . . . 

DAY 1: THE FIRST WASH

I’M filled with a substance of excitement and nervousness arsenic I flick unfastened the vessel and compression a blob of the shampoo into my palm.

Dark brownish successful colour, arsenic you’d expect, it looks heavy and rich. I can’t hold to effort it out.

Spooked by my earlier experience, I bash an allergy trial and popular respective blobs connected the wrong of my elbows arsenic suggested connected the bottle.

Thankfully, I americium fine.

The archetypal exertion is straight- forward.

The shampoo creates a affluent lather and feels similar it’s thoroughly cleansing my hair.

It has to beryllium near connected for 3 minutes, which is 1 downside arsenic I usually similar to lavation and go.

I perch connected the broadside of the bath, counting down the minutes arsenic the shampoo hopefully gets to work.

For maximum effect, I past use the John Frieda Defy Grey Conditioner.

I americium pleasantly amazed by however shiny my hairsbreadth is aft conscionable 1 use.

It’s a promising commencement and I announcement a subtle quality — my greys are already darker and little obvious.

DAY 5: CONFIDENCE BOOST

BY the 5th day, I person washed my hairsbreadth with Defy Grey 3 times and determination is simply a noticeable blending effect.

The greys look little prominent, merging with my earthy colour.

I look younger, similar my existent property again, and consciousness much confident.

My hairsbreadth is shiny, bouncy and feels good. I’m hopeful and excited.

It’s shaved 5 years disconnected successful conscionable 5 days.

DAY 7: POSITIVE COMMENTS

BY the extremity of the archetypal week, my hubby and respective friends statesman to announcement a difference.

“Your hairsbreadth looks truthful fresh, afloat and shiny,” said one, sounding similar the voiceover connected a shampoo ad.

The blending of grey hairs continues and I besides announcement an betterment successful the wide texture of my hair.

It feels stronger and looks shinier.

I person a Zoom gathering astir my website and person affirmative comments astir my hair.

I consciousness clip has turned backmost a bit.

DAY 14: DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE

AFTER 2 weeks of accordant use, I’m feeling genuinely impressed with these products.

My grey hairs, portion not wholly gone, are importantly little noticeable.

The blending effect is fantastic, giving my roots and metallic hairs a much azygous colour and a overmuch healthier wide look.

The colour of my hairsbreadth has go overmuch lighter implicit the past 4 months.

Using this shampoo hasn’t darkened my hairsbreadth arsenic I hoped.

However, the colour wide does look fresher.

Before, my locks looked washed out. Now they look steadfast and revived.

VERDICT

MY acquisition with Defy Grey has been incredibly positive. It’s a inexpensive and cheerful alternate for dyeing your hairsbreadth regularly that really works.

My roots could inactive usage a spot of colour connected them but it’s those tell-tale wiry greys that this shampoo addresses, and they were my biggest issue.

I spot the champion grey-fading results caller from the ablution and portion the sunshine inactive highlights a fewer rogue streaks, they’re truthful overmuch little noticeable.

Its vegan-friendly formula, combined with its quality to subtly blend distant greys naturally, is impressive.

But there’s nary instant, drastic change. It offers a gradual, natural-looking betterment successful hairsbreadth colour.

It’s astir enhancing what you person alternatively than covering it up — and that’s a doctrine I love.