The timing between dyes, according to Lint, is roughly every four to six weeks. If you're stretching that time gap pretty thin, however, there are methods to cover your gray roots in the meantime. "There are lots of products, such as powder or makeup, that cover your gray and then wash out when shampooed," says Lint.
Ideally, you should be visiting your stylist for a root touch up every 4 to 6 weeks, and no later than 8 weeks. This isn't purely because it'll look better, but for biological reasons, too. Your scalp gives off heat, and this heat won't extend much further than 2 centimetres past the root.
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. With it, you can keep the hair color you know and love—without spending a ton.
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).
How often is it safe to go for color? You shouldn't dye your hair more frequently than every two or three weeks. The problem is when you're going blonde you can see your dark roots after a week, but if you color your hair every week, then you will see damage.
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.
Risks of coloring hair too regularly
Although the specifics of how often to dye hair vary depending on your situation, one thing's for sure: coloring it too often can be bad for your hair, while overdoing it can lead to brittle strands that are prone to breakage and split ends.
Colors like butterscotch, light auburn and golden brown, or ash brown for those with a cool skin tone, are all versatile brunette shades that aren't too dark and are some of the best hair colors to hide gray.
3) Permanent Hair Color
Permanent hair colors are ideal if you want complete 100% gray coverage. They are recommended in cases where you have 50% gray hair and more. Permanent hair color contains more ammonia and opens the hair cuticle, allowing the color to penetrate deep into the hair.
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).
Your hair doesn't turn gray — it grows that way.
A single hair grows for one to three years, then you shed it — and grow a new one. As you age, your new hairs are more likely to be white. "Every time the hair regenerates, you have to re-form these pigment-forming cells, and they wear out," says Oro.
The outer cuticle layer of greys can be more tightly packed and layered, making them resistant to colour absorption. As a result, it can be more difficult to colour resistant grey hair and to cover visible regrowth.
As a general rule, Mike Liang, advanced colorist at Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa in New York suggests going gray when you reach 80 percent non-pigmented or white hair. If your hair starts to feel increasingly dry, brittle, or damaged or you experience scalp irritation, it might be time to ditch the dye.
Fiction The notion that grey hairs can be caused by frequent colouring is nothing more than folklore. “The truth is premature greying is hereditary and can even be a result of large amounts of stress,” says Ceanne Chow, owner of Gloss Salon in Vancouver.
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.
Go for highlights or a brass break.
Another option for barely-there gray hair is to get a brass break. This involves getting your roots lightened, which, in turn, makes gray hairs 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.)
Root Cover Sprays or Sticks
The most genius way to cover those grays in between salon visits is using a root touch-up quick stick or temporary root concealer spray. Gray Away found at ULTA Beauty makes salon-quality products that can be applied in minutes and make it look like you just stepped out of a salon.
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.
Washing your hair less often (and using silver, blue, or purple shampoo when you do), limiting heat styling, and using a heat protectant like Hairstory Dressed Up Hair Protector will help keep the dye from fading too quickly.
There are basically 3 main ways to transition to naturally gray hair: to let it grow as it is and be patient (a.k.a the “cold turkey” method), to cut your hair very short and regrow it fully gray, or ask your hair colorist to blend your grays with the dyed hair color.
Grey hair touch-up sticks, sprays, and brushes are effective, easy-to-use tools for camouflaging unwanted silver strands. After washing and drying your hair, all you have to do is apply to your greys following the product's instructions. When selecting your color, look to your hair's natural hue or your usual dye.
Generally, it's safe to re-dye every 6 to 8 weeks.
As a general rule of thumb, he recommends dying your hair only every four to six weeks. That said, the ideal frequency to dye your hair while keeping it healthy will depend on your natural color, texture, and hair type, as well as how you care for and maintain your strands in between dye jobs.