It's by no means impossible to cover grey hair – just look at half of Hollywood — but you might notice the color fading faster than you'd like. Depending on the color you're using to dye your greys and how quickly your hair grows, you might have to start making more visits to your salon than you used to.
Grey roots can be unwanted and difficult to cover. If you are looking to colour resistant grey hair, we can help you improve your colour coverage to give you consistent, complete and beautiful grey coverage. Grey hair isn't actually grey – it's white. Pigment loss occurs naturally in hair as we age.
Don't go too dark or too light
“Darker hair always looks healthy, but hair dye is potent and it makes hair dry and brittle,” says Wiig, so if your hair is going grey, taking it darker will make the contrast greater. However, it will damage the texture of your hair, look more unnatural and be harder to lift eventually.
Even coverage and best results depend on one major thing: enough pigments to penetrate those stubborn grays. Fully saturate the root area, and then go back and do a cross-check in the opposite direction for any stray silver strands or gray hairs. Better to over-apply than to end up with uneven gray coverage.
If you add the right hair colour, your 'grey' hair will act as highlights, giving you a completely new look that will get you noticed for all the right reasons. Professional colourists usually recommend a darker shade for your roots and a lighter shade that matches your natural hair for the rest.
Gray hair tends to be resistant and typically takes longer to grab hold of the hair. Since there is no pigment, there is no need to lift. You just need to open the cuticle enough to deposit the color.
Semi-permanent: It has no ammonia or developer and deposits dye only to soften gray or boost color, lasting through about six to eight washes. Temporary: This is both ammonia- and developer-free, which means it's the least damaging hair dye.
It could be that your hair is resistant to tint, especially when the hair texture has changed as a result of going white. But also it could be that by going lighter, either all over, or by introducing (subtle) highlights you would not see the regrowth strip quite as quickly as if it were lighter.
So, gray hair is not actually a color resigned to the elderly. Gray hair is a natural color that many young people are masking. And, with the right hairstyle, gray hair doesn't have to look frail or frumpy.
Regarding using baking soda for gray hair, experts endorse its potential benefits such as controlling pigmentation loss, lightening the strands, and providing texture. It can be used on coarse grey locks to make them smoother too by eliminating product buildup from oils or soaps.
There's no hard-and-fast rule about when (or if!) you should stop coloring your hair and go gray; it's ultimately a personal choice.
The Colors to Avoid with Gray Hair
Here are a few to steer clear of: Muddy Neutrals: Beige, taupe, and other muted tones can make your skin look washed out and ashy. Earthy Yellows and Oranges: These warm tones clash with the coolness of gray hair and can make your complexion look sallow.
Get the Right Cut
Rock a great cut with lots of style and texture, and get a trim every 6-8 weeks. Women who are 100% gray often wear their hair short. But consider long layers. They can be beautiful and add movement to healthy, bouncy hair.
Demi-Permanent or Semi-Permanent Colour
While a demi-permanent or semi-permanent hair color can be applied to any level of grey, it's often used to camouflage early greys, giving 30-70% coverage.
Typically, White people start going gray in their mid-30s, Asian people in their late 30s, and Black people in their mid-40s. Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50. A White person is considered to be prematurely gray if their hair turns gray by age 20.
A review of research suggests that proper supplementation may reverse premature graying in those who are deficient in certain nutrients, including iron, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. However, even though some supplements are specifically sold as “anti-graying,” there aren't any studies that prove they work.
Full-color service
The easiest way to cover grays is by asking your stylist for an all-over color service.
The best coloring technique for gray hair ultimately depends on your desired look and how much coverage you want. We suggest opting for an all-over color service to fully mask every gray hair on your head with a uniform shade. However, highlighting may be better if your goal is seamlessly blending your grays.
Hair products with alcohol are a no-no for gray hair. As gray hair already struggles in keeping moisture and adding alcohol to your hair will only dry out even more and make it look even wirier.
How often should I dye my hair to cover grey hair? This depends on how quickly your hair grows, but often is between 4-8 weeks. If you're only just starting to grey, it may not be time to begin permanently colouring your hair.
If your hair is brown, you may need to bleach it more than once before you apply the grey dye. It's important you get your hair as light as possible before you attempt to turn it grey – this will help ensure a more even tone and vibrant, all-over colour.
There are three main ways of transitioning to gray hair from dyed hair: the cold turkey method (letting the dye grow out or cutting it out), the salon transition (having a stylist blend your dyed hair to match your natural gray), or the dye-strip technique (a combination of various methods).