Aside from the time investment of a salon session, there's how long it takes to fully transition to gray hair, which is anywhere from six months to a year, Ferrara says. "Some people won't have the patience, so they choose to color their hair again," she notes. "But it's super-rewarding if you can stick it out."
If you're trying to transition to gray hair, you want to avoid an all-over dye job. Instead, have your colorist apply your hair color with foils — much like applying highlights, except you won't be lightening your hair. This will simply help you transition between the two shades seamlessly.
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).
Aside from the time investment of a salon session, there's how long it takes to fully transition to gray hair, which is anywhere from six months to a year, Ferrara says. "Some people won't have the patience, so they choose to color their hair again," she notes. "But it's super-rewarding if you can stick it out."
Typically, white people start going gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their late 30s, and Blacks in their mid-40s. Half of all people have a significant amount of gray hair by the time they turn 50.
Gray blending is a subtle hair color application that oscillates between highlights and balayage. Like a game of chiaroscuro, the colorist will first lighten large sections of hair with a light balayage, then accentuate the effect on a few finer strands to blend in the gray hair naturally present.
Don't assume that grey hair makes you look older
Hair naturally loses pigment as we age, but stylist Paul Falltrick points out that the notion that grey hair makes you look older is increasingly becoming a misnomer: "Grey shades can be stereotyped as ageing, but a clean-looking grey is stunning" he says.
Silver grey hair will look best on olive and fair skin with yellow undertones. If you have a pink tone, your skin may appear red and irritated with a cool grey hue.
It depends on your skin tone and your shade of gray. Brilliant white, glossy platinum or shiny silver hair is pure genetic luck. It helps if your skin has warm golden undertones or is a rich color. When gray grows in dull, ashy or muddy, it needs help, especially if your complexion is ruddy, sallow or very pale.
For grey hair coverage, we generally recommend that you aim to color slightly lighter than the natural hair color level of your client. In this case we would suggest you go for a color starting in level 6 (Dark Blonde) or 7 (Blonde).
For a slower transition over time, you can also lighten your base over multiple sessions. “Every four to six weeks, your colorist can take the formula lighter by a quarter to half a level, which is a process that can take up to a year or more,” explains Rez.
Growing Out Gray Hair with Highlights & Lowlights
To blend that line of demarcation, ask your hairstylist to paint babylights (very thin highlights) throughout your hair. This will help to blend those grays in with your colored hair, creating an all-over salt and pepper effect.
According to hair biology experts and styling experts alike, grey hair is more resistant to color than younger hair because of its texture. The relative lack of natural oils in the hair compared to younger hair make it a rougher surface that tends to reject the color being applied, especially around the roots.
Dr. Kraleti doesn't recommend plucking or pulling the hairs out. “If there is a gray hair you must get rid of, very carefully cut it off. Plucking can traumatize the hair follicle, and repeated trauma to any follicle can cause infection, scar formation or possibly lead to bald patches.”
When you apply dye to your hair, the hair follicle, where grey hairs originate, isn't aff ected. So colouring your hair does not contribute to premature greys.
Gray hair is thinner than hair with natural color because its cuticle is thinner. Your hair needs that natural protection from water, ultraviolet rays from the sun, humidity, chemicals, and heat styling. Without that barrier, your hair loses water. So your gray will feel dry, fragile, and coarse.
What Is The Best Way To Cover Gray Hair? To boil it down, there are essentially two different types of color your colorist will use to cover gray hair—demi-permanent or permanent. Demi-permanent haircolor options, like Redken's Shades EQ Gloss, deliver non-permanent pigment that will gradually fade over time.
Neutral shades like soft blonde, mushroom brown, light copper, and caramel blonde balayage are the easiest to blend gray into (and maintain over time without wanting to shave your hair off).
Using a purple shampoo on grey hair can help to remove brassy yellow shades, leaving you with a flattering silver undertone.
If your gray strands lack hydration and need a little TLC, then you won't find a better toning shampoo than the Pureology Hydrate purple shampoo. Whether you've got thick or fine hair, this purple shampoo will transform your natural gray hair, leaving it bright, soft, and shiny.
Grey hair has very little melanin, while white hair has no melanin at all. As you go through the aging process, your hair might turn grey before going completely white. For some, this process is so drastic that the hair simply turns silver and then white.
Your ethnicity makes a difference. Caucasians tend to go gray earlier — and redheads earliest of all.
It's estimated that 74% of people aged 45 to 65 have at least some gray in their manes. To understand why hair may gray at the temples first, it's helpful to understand why hair turns gray to begin with.