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).
The secret: use a hair dye with a ``neutral'' base tone to cover gray hair. The letters after the shade number indicate the base tone. For example, 4A, 4G, or 4N. ``A'' is ash/cool, ``G'' is red/warm, ``N'' is yellow. Gray hair lacks the yellow pigment found in brown hair. Add it back, or gray roots will appear faded.
Purple Shampoo Neutralizes Brassy Tones Purple shampoo is the best toner to use when it comes to gray hair because it neutralizes brassiness caused by heat styling, medications, product buildup, sun, salt, chlorine and environmental pollutants.
There are many reasons that blonde highlights are a top choice for covering gray hair. Blonde highlights soften the root area where grays start to peak through and let your colorist target gray-prone sections.
The best hair color to cover gray varies depending on individual preferences and natural hair tones, but some standout options include ash brown, which blends seamlessly with gray hair due to its ash undertones, and auburn, a vibrant choice for brunettes that offers good coverage with minimal maintenance.
Is it better to go lighter or darker to cover grey hair? As for your permanent colour kit choice, for the best grey coverage, Josh recommends choosing a shade close to your natural root colour (that's the colour between the greys.) "Make sure to never stray more than two shades away from this,” says Josh.
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.
Blonde blends better with grey
Grey hair in blonde hair or grey roots in blonde hair blends better than with darker hair. So blonde is a good choice if you want to make your grey hair or grey roots less noticeable.
Cool-leaning colors in light to dark shades like platinum, ash, beige, and medium blonde are especially well-suited for gray blending.
But look underneath and you will find a set of colours that transforms its appearance completely. Blue and green undertones generally make for a cooler, more contemporary greys whilst warmer beige or purples offer a more traditional tone.
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.
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.
Dark-neutral blonde
Choosing a dark-neutral blonde shade is a good hair color for covering gray hair if you can't decide between a warm or cool blonde. This shade is earthy and very natural looking — it can also look flattering and soft paired with the skin tones of those who have naturally dark hair.
Cool shades like ash blonde and mushroom brown are among the best hair colors to hide grays, since the cool tones won't clash with your silvery streaks.
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.
Cool ash blonde is a great choice for hiding gray hair. It also looks good with cool skin tones. The ashy tones help reduce any yellow or brass colors that can come with regular blonde shades. This gives a more natural look.
To address pigment loss in gray hair, Kaeding said, you can use a color depositing shampoo or conditioner for temporary results. Or, for a longer-lasting solution, you can opt for permanent hair color or highlights.
“There are many ways that you can transition your hair [to gray],” says Whitney, “including having your hair dyed to match your roots, adding lowlights or highlights to help with the line of demarcation [i.e., the line where your pigment meets the grays], cutting your hair short or simply letting your natural hair ...
Brighten up! Ten out of ten colorists agree, shades that are warm-toned read more youthful than cool-toned hair colors. Spicy copper reds, rich caramel brunettes, and soft honey blondes will warm up your complexion for younger-looking skin (hold the retinol).
AGEbeautiful is our professional hair color formula with Biotin, melanin, keratin peptide, silk protein and a patented conditioning technology to replenish hair with the essential components that are lost with aging.
Honey blonde is a rich, warm color. On the blonde shade spectrum, it falls somewhere between a caramel shade and a buttery hue, but it can also be worked as a bronde (brown blonde). Just think, quite simply, of the color of honey, and you've got this trend in one. It's glossy, gleaming, glowy and golden.