It is a good idea to touch up your gray roots every four weeks or so. You can do this by going to the salon or you can use a home hair dye kit. You should not wait until they are very noticeable before you touch them up. This will make it more difficult for the hair stylist and make the process take longer.
Frequency and colour placement are key – If your greys are coming through thick and fast, then you may need to colour every 2 weeks (you won't be alone in this, believe me). The good news is you can use half a tube of colour with half a sachet of developer, for two roots-only colour applications.
Maintenance starts at the roots.
To keep your color looking fresh and glossy, Hitomi Ikeda, the master colorist at Rob Peetoom Salon Williamsburg in New York City, recommends touching up your roots every six to eight weeks following the initial dye job.
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.
"You can also soften grays by adding volume to the root area. This distracts the eye and trains it upwards, making those root hairs less visible." Similarly, suggests Slappy, try a high ponytail or topknot. "These styles actually pull the focus up to the highest point of your hair and away from your roots," he says.
It is a good idea to touch up your gray roots every four weeks or so. You can do this by going to the salon or you can use a home hair dye kit. You should not wait until they are very noticeable before you touch them up. This will make it more difficult for the hair stylist and make the process take longer.
Why does this happen? Hot roots occur because the heat from your scalp causes the colour at the roots to develop faster than the colour on the mid-lengths or ends. This can lead to a lighter colour result at your roots than the rest of the hair.
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.
One of the hardest things, maybe the ONLY difficult thing for some people about growing out their gray hair is the dreaded "skunk stripe." The line of demarcation, that ever-widening stripe of white that begins at your roots, and cascades ever so sloooooowly down as the months go by.
Wait 20 minutes for the roots to process, then it's time to refresh your ends. “Take sections of your hair, from the top, and apply the colour through the lengths of your hair. When you feel that you've saturated all the ends, leave it for ten minutes, and then shampoo,” Josh advises.
Any deficiencies of vitamin B-6, B-12, biotin, vitamin D, or vitamin E can contribute to premature graying. One 2015 report in the journal Development notes various deficiency studies on vitamin D-3, vitamin B-12, and copper and their connection to graying hair.
Gutkin says to begin applying dye at the roots first, “since the roots need the most color and processing time,” and Rez advises really saturating them with color. “Then, apply dye from the back to the front to ensure the dye is sitting on the back of your hair the longest,” Gutkin says.
How often should you highlight your hair if you are covering grays? Whether you get highlights at a salon or do them yourself, you shouldn't highlight more frequently than every two to four months. That's because highlighting hair too often can cause damage.
You want to avoid shades that are too similar to your natural coloring; beiges, creams, off-whites, stone grays, taupes, etc. These colors will only wash you out and emphasize your gray tones.
And coloring your hair too often can cause it to become dry, brittle, and prone to breakage, compromising the overall health of your strands.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Caramel, honey, gold, copper, and strawberry give a healthy brightness that makes us look and feel younger. (Framing your face with lighter shades draws the eye away from any complexion concerns, as well.)
“Eumelanin production increases as we age, and as we age we tend to go grey. Therefore hair may get darker before the greys take over,” she explains.
But how to blend gray hair into brown or naturally dark hair seamlessly? Less saturated shades of highlights and dyes can make the gray strands less visible. Butterscotch, light auburn, golden brown, ash brown, and pale brunettes are some of the best shades to conceal them.