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.
Sunkissed, golden, honey, caramel and champagne colours are often excellent, and browns stay warm and golden feeling, never too dark. Strawberry blonde and red can also work well. Greys stay warm, more like a pale gold than anything remotely blue.
The best hair color brands for covering gray hair include Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Creme, Redken EQ Shades, Phytocolor Permanent Hair Color, and ColorSilk Beautiful Color Permanent Hair Color. These brands are known for their ability to provide good coverage for gray hair and offer a range of shades to choose from.
Pick a lighter hair colour
A lighter colour will then look better. Your hair follicles produce less pigment as you're turning older. If there's no more pigment being produced in the hair follicles, your hair turns pigmentless.
Wella products are trusted by experts all over the world, whether it's their Koleston Perfect range for rich, vibrant colors or the Illumina Colour series for brilliant results. Redken is well-known for its cutting-edge hair color processes and wide selection of colors.
Using natural ways to cover grey hair can make it look good and help nourish it. You can try remedies like coffee and chamomile tea. These options provide different shades and support healthy hair. Give these gentle choices a try instead of chemical dyes.
Use a Permanent Color
If your client hopes to cover up truly stubborn, color-resistant grays, a permanent color pigment is going to offer the most concentrated result. Try Illumina Color for a multi-dimensional finish and Koleston Perfect for pure and saturated coverage.
Shelve any preconception that home hair colour is a disaster waiting to happen. The latest box colour formulas are closer than ever to salon quality, and with a little bit of know-how, it's quick and easy to cover your greys at home.
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.
Along with a drop in melanin production, grey hair produces less sebum – the natural oil that keeps it soft and supple. As its texture changes, your hair might feel more dry, coarse, or wiry. This means it won't absorb hair dye like it used to.
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.
The best hair dye for grey hair if you're brunette
You won't be surprised to hear that you should be covering the grey with brown dye, but the best hair dye for grey hair here is a medium-light shade, even if you are naturally very dark, as this will complement your naturally paling skin.
How often should I dye my hair to cover grey hair? This depends on how quickly your hair grows, but often is between 4-8 weeks. If you're only just starting to grey, it may not be time to begin permanently colouring your hair.
Root Touch-Up Powders, Sprays, Tinted Dry Shampoos, Concealer Sticks and Crayons. Root touch-up powders and sprays are some of the easiest and fastest ways to cover grey roots without any commitment. These products deposit temporary color onto your roots, blending seamlessly with your natural hair.
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.
Add heat. Adding some heat to your roots area while the colour is processing will lift the outer cuticle layer and boost colour absorption. Use your hairdrier to add heat for 1-2 minutes at the roots and then pop a shower cap over your colour while your colour is processing.
Brown hair colors for gray hair are the sweet spot for gray coverage if your natural shade is medium blonde to dark brown. They are also ideal if you're gray all over.
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.
Garnier Nutrisse Ultra Permanent Colour
A natural-looking colour that effectively covers grey is what most look for at an at-home hair dye, and you'll find exactly that in this one. There's a wide range of shades to choose from too, from a Honey Blonde, all the way through to Infinite Black.
An ammonia-free formula that contains plant-derived pigments and oils like jojoba and coconut oil, Phyto was the winner of the GH Beauty Lab's most recent at-home hair color test. It provided the richest, most uniform and truest color, and users found that it lasted longer than all others tested.