1. Blonde
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.
It's a truth universally acknowledged that gray hair can be chic, glamorous, and oh-so-flattering. And when it comes to adding depth and playfulness to gray hair, there's no better technique than lowlights (a good shampoo helps too).
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.
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.
You can also try semi-permanent Color Fresh for up to 30% coverage. While a demi-permanent or semi-permanent hair color can be applied to any level of gray, it's often used to camouflage early grays, giving 30-70% coverage.
All you need to do is apply a demi-permanent colour all over your head. Say for example you're naturally a brunette, go with a golden blonde shade. It will only deposit the blonde colour on the grey hairs, turning them into golden highlights.
Typically put in a foil, highlights and lowlights also help blend in the natural hair color while getting a full-coverage style color. Something as simple as creatively placed foils can easily mask your gray hair and grow-out for longer than just your basic root retouch formula from the salon.
Blonde highlights can brighten your natural hair color and help to disguise gray hair with a blended finished look. Blonde highlights can also create depth and interest in your overall hair color by adding brightness to your natural hair color and mixing in the gray hairs so they're less noticeable.
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.)
Ash colors generally do not cover gray hair on their own. Darker colors (brunette shades) will have more pigment in them and will provide better coverage than lighter colors (blond shades). However, if you choose a color that is too dark, the color difference will be more dramatic when your hair grows out.
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).
Going for lowlights means picking a shade that's similar to your natural base color or something one to two shades darker. Blonde: Cool tones like light ash brown and medium blonde complement cool shades of gray without going too dark and unnatural.
Yes, gray hair can be highlighted. Just keep in mind that, when you're highlighting gray locks, the goal is to blend silver strays and create an ultra-natural finish.
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.
How often should I touch up grays? If you're dealing with a lot of gray hair, you should touch up every four to six weeks. If that sounds expensive—and time-consuming—that's where at-home coloring is key.
Opt for highlights.
If you want to disguise grays while adding dimension to your mane, ask your stylist for highlights. Highlights are a excellent option for grey hair coverage for all hair types because they're lower maintenance compared to coloring your entire head.
A root smudge or root shadow is one of the most effective ways of covering gray strands on hair with highlights. Not only does it guarantee full, even coverage, but it also gives the whole highlighted look a more natural-looking feel.
A combination of light and dark tones will help to mix with your grays seamlessly. If you have a darker base, like brown or black hair, you should go for caramel highlights or ash brown highlights with lowlights that are two to three shades darker than your base.