Working with gray hair after grown-out highlights

Highlighting technology has been used in salons for over thirty years.

As a safer alternative to going full blonde, bleaching individual strands continues to be popular and never goes out of style.

This coloring option allows you to visit the hairdresser less often, since the regrown roots stand out less against the background of other hair.

How often do you need to repaint your hair to keep it looking neat?

Overgrown roots – when does it become unsightly?

Any coloring that involves preliminary lightening is carried out by the master not from the roots of the hair, but slightly retreating from them.

Therefore, it is completely normal if highlighting begins 1-2 cm further than the parting.

However, after a month or two, the appearance of regrown roots begins to catch the eye and spoil the overall appearance of the hairstyle.

Depending on the natural color, regrown roots may look different. For example, in fair-haired girls the transition is not as visible as in brunettes.

Blonde beauties who want to highlight several strands using highlighting should not worry at all - even 5 cm of regrown roots will be practically invisible.

Also, you shouldn’t run to a hairdresser every two to three weeks to even out the color, because such frequent dyeing will ruin your hair.

On average, hair grows at a rate of 1 cm per month, therefore, strands can be bleached once every two to three months, so that the hairstyle does not lose its attractiveness.

Girls whose hair grows faster will have to visit the hairdresser a little more often, while actively caring for their hair: making nourishing masks, applying protective products before blow-drying, and using special products for bleached hair.

Photo of regrown highlighting

What to do and how to fix it? Color options

There are several ways to update the color, each of which is selected individually, depending on the girl’s hairstyle, her natural hair color and the desired result.

Radical

For girls who do not want to do radical coloring, root-type highlighting is suitable.

This procedure makes it possible to disguise gray hair, refresh your hairstyle and lighten your hair tone. Root bleaching affects only regrown areas of hair, while the rest of the hair remains untouched.

Correction should be performed by the specialist who did the first coloring to preserve the technique and style. An experienced specialist will determine the optimal method of work and take into account the condition of the hair to select the percentage of oxidizing agent.

For more information about root highlighting, see the video below:

New

One of the ways to correct regrowth is new highlighting.

The master performs the same procedure as he did initially, that is, he selects strands to lighten, applies the desired product to them and wraps them in foil.

As a result, the hair tone becomes lighter, because a new portion is added to the previously lightened strands.

This method is optimal for girls who want to become blondes, but who do not dare to radically change their color.

It will take three or four highlighting treatments to capture and bleach all the hair. The method is considered safer than dyeing the entire head blonde.

Complete

If you are tired of bleached strands and want to completely update the color, you can do a complete dyeing in one tone.

Regardless of the paint color you choose, a full dye job will only guarantee a solid color for a while.

After several shampooing procedures, previously bleached strands will look lighter than the main mass of hair. This must be taken into account when choosing full coloring as a way to paint over light strands.

Coloring

If a girl does not want to do any of the above procedures, coloring may be suitable for her.

Thanks to it, some of the lightened strands will be painted over, and the rest will complement the overall look.

Coloring can be done in two or three shades, different from each other.

How to make a correction at home?

At home, you can do root or full highlighting yourself, following the sequence of actions:

1. To dye strands you need to prepare strips of foil, a lightening agent and a brush.
2. The strands that will be lightened are twisted into a braid and secured with a clamp. In root highlighting, the strands are not completely colored, but only to the place where they were bleached.
3. Starting from the back of the head, you need to separate the strands, place a strip of foil under each strip and apply the composition. Then wrap the treated area in foil and secure it carefully.
4. During dyeing, the foil can be unrolled to control discoloration. The retention time of the product on the hair depends on its structure and the strength of the dye. It is advisable not to keep the composition for more than 45 minutes.

How to grow your hair color?

Coloring using highlighting technology has many advantages, but does not always meet a girl’s expectations. Some appearance types suffer from partial bleaching of the strands. Also, this method of dyeing can harm weak hair, as a result of which the girl decides to grow her natural color.

One of the options for growing hair after highlighting can be tinting in a tone that matches the natural color. This procedure must be performed in a salon so that the master can clearly select the shade of paint and carefully tint the strands.

However, you will have to dye your hair several times, since the highlighted strands will show through over time.

Many girls do not want to dye their hair, so they decide to wait until the highlights grow out.

To make overgrown roots less noticeable, there are several tricks.

One of them is to part the hair not in a straight line, but in a zigzag parting. The second trick is braided hairstyles. Even an ordinary spikelet with growing light strands looks interesting.

In most cases, after several months of growing, the girl decides to have a radically short haircut. At the same time, the bleached ends of the hair look stylish, reminiscent of such fashionable coloring as “shatush” and “ombre”.

However, roots that are not painted in time give the head a sloppy appearance, so you need to visit a specialist regularly.

How to start growing your hair color, more details in the video below:

At home, you can dye your hair yourself using professional products and following the rules. However, in order to get the desired result and not spoil your hair, it is better to contact a trusted hairdresser.

Everyone has gray hair sooner or later. There is no way to prevent it any more than there is a way to avoid old age. However, for some it appears after 25-30 years. Most often, its appearance is genetically determined. But sometimes the cause is severe stress, health problems or external negative factors. And then there is nothing left but to simply disguise it. For example, dyeing or highlighting.

What is gray hair?

Those who have already tried to resort to similar methods know that they do not always work. Incorrectly performed highlighting on gray hair will only further emphasize age. And the paint adheres to them differently due to the changed structure. Therefore, before choosing the optimal coloring method, it is better to find out what gray hair is and what is its peculiarity.

Each person has their own individual hair color. Even if at first glance the hair of two people seems the same, upon closer examination you can notice the difference in shades. This color diversity is due to the fact that special cells - melanocytes - produce two types of pigment, the ratio of which determines our hair color.

In the absence of pigment, the hair remains transparent and appears white to us. Melanocytes located in the scalp stop producing melanin as we age. But under the influence of negative internal or external factors, this process may begin earlier.

Keratin scales, in the absence of pigment, adhere more tightly to each other, so gray hair is coarse and poorly colored.

The percentage of oxidizer has to be used higher, otherwise the gray hair is not loosened, and the paint remains on its surface, from which it is quickly washed off. But the toner gives an effect only until the second or third wash, so you have to apply it often.

Features of camouflage

Many people prefer to use highlights to hide gray hair. This is justified only when there is little of it. Not all techniques allow you to do this successfully. So, with classic highlighting on dark hair, gray hair quickly begins to appear at the roots and spoils the overall picture.

The natural light brown color requires special care. If you don’t guess with the exposure time or the concentration of the lightener, then sometimes after highlighting it seems that there is even more gray hair. The same effect is obtained when using ashy shades of blonde or cold light colors when coloring.

Selecting a shade

Choosing the right shade when highlighting gray hair is very important. It depends on the natural hair color and the result you want to achieve.

But in any case, experiments with contrasts and too bright, flashy tones are inappropriate here. It is better to give preference to natural shades that are not very different from the base color.

Here are the shades colorists recommend using to disguise a small amount of gray hair:

1. for black – eggplant, burgundy, black coffee, dark chocolate, dark copper (more details here);
2. for chestnuts - from golden and red to all shades of brown (more details here);
3. for fair-haired people - you can lighten the selected strands or dye them in darker shades from the same palette (more details here);
4. for light ones - they often use blond highlights, which lighten the head even more, but sometimes they create contrast with the addition of dark (more details here).

Important! If there is a large amount of gray hair, it is not recommended to use a lot of dark hair - the hair will quickly grow back at the roots and the masking effect will disappear.

Best techniques

It is best to disguise gray hair using more modern and complex coloring techniques than classic highlighting:

1. Californian - lightening of the top layer of hair, reminiscent of the effect of natural burnout in the sun;
2. bronding - darkening the roots and painting evenly scattered strands along the entire length with a darker color;
3. veil - the top layer of hair is dyed in a natural or base color, and the middle is highlighted;
4. darning on foil - very thin strands scattered throughout the head are dyed or lightened;
5. salt and pepper - looks beautiful, if more than half of the hair is gray, it needs to be diluted with contrasting dark strands;
6. edging - interesting for focal gray hair, when gray areas and edging around the face are painted over;
7. through a cap - very convenient for highlighting on short hair and medium length, it allows you to highlight thin strands with the desired density and even use several different shades.

But it’s better not to do this yourself at home, but to immediately go to professionals. Correcting mistakes on gray hair is more difficult than on regular hair.

Natural yellowness

How impressive highlighting will look on gray hair also depends on whether it has natural or acquired yellowness. A yellowish tint is often present in smokers. Its cause is the toxins that the body regularly releases. They enter the skin, giving it a yellowish-gray color, and into the keratin that makes up the hair.

About the same thing happens when you regularly take certain medications or use certain hair growth products. There is no way to remove such yellowness. It can only be taken into account when choosing a coloring technique and additional shades. Cold tones will not work here - you will have to use golden or red tones.

Acquired yellowness in gray hair occurs when you constantly wash it with hard water. The loose structure of the hair absorbs salts dissolved in it and due to this the color changes.

Such yellowness can be easily removed with the help of high-quality peeling or by etching them with a weak oxidizing agent (you can use a remover). This must be done before highlighting so that the paint lays evenly and beautifully.

Features of coloring

Due to the fact that gray hair is denser and tougher, the dye does not penetrate into its inner layers. Therefore, if you decide to do highlighting using an additional color, you will have to prepare your hair.

In this case, coloring is carried out in three stages:

1. Etching. The hair is pre-treated with a weak solution of an oxidizing agent (1.5-3%), which slightly opens the keratin scales. The composition is evenly distributed over slightly damp hair, being careful not to get it on the skin and roots. When it dries, you can continue working.
2. Prepigmentation. Gray hair has no pigment at all, so it needs more time and color. Prepigmentation makes the coloring more uniform and durable. The color to be used is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:2 and applied to the strands. Leave for about half an hour.
3. Coloring. The remaining part of the paint is diluted according to the instructions and the pre-treated strands are dyed normally. After the dye has expired, wash your hair, apply a restorative balm for 3-5 minutes, wash it again, dry it and style it.

Etching is also necessary when the hair was previously dyed in darker or too bright colors.

These preparatory procedures require additional time and effort, which is why highlighting gray hair in salons costs more. But if you don’t do them, the paint will quickly wash out, and when lightened, yellowness may appear.

Hair care

Many people are not sure whether it is possible to highlight gray hair, whether this will spoil it even more. If you choose the right oxidizing agent and follow the dyeing technology prescribed in the instructions, no. They are already structurally changed, so they still need additional care.

Here are the procedures it is advisable to pamper gray and highlighted hair regularly:

1. washing with high-quality shampoos with oils and herbal additives;
2. mandatory use of conditioner or softening fluid;
3. a couple of times a month - warm oil masks (apply a mixture of natural oils to the roots and hair: burdock, castor, olive, jojoba, wrap and leave for about two hours);
4. 2-3 times a week - nourishing masks, ready-made or proven folk recipes;
5. several times a month - tinting with balm to refresh the color and hide gray hair at the roots;
6. Before hot styling or blow-drying, it is mandatory to use products with thermal protection;
7. Before going out into the sun with your head uncovered, use fluids with a UV filter.

To prevent hair loss, it is useful to take courses of darsonval, mesotherapy or other salon procedures. They won't remove gray hair. But healthy hair looks beautiful even when gray, and even more so with high-quality highlights.

Highlighting on gray hair is a great way to hide gray hair and make your hair trendy. Beautiful hair is an adornment for any woman, regardless of status and age. In order for her to be the pride of a woman, it is necessary to provide care and attention. It's easier to do this when you're young. But what to do when gray hair creeps up unnoticed? After all, hair with gray hair ennobles mainly men, and women try to hide gray hair in every possible way. How to restore youth and freshness to graying strands without harming them?

Highlighting gray hair is a great way to cover up gray hair and give your hair a fresh, trendy new look without causing any significant damage.

Benefits of highlighting

Highlighting is a gentle procedure compared to full coloring or lightening. Highlighting is done much less frequently than coloring; the procedure does not injure the skin of the head. Using this technique, we can perfectly hide gray hair.

It is necessary to repeat highlighting once every 3-4 months. This relatively rare and gentle procedure can significantly save the family budget. Another important advantage of highlighting is that highlighted strands look very expensive and impressive, adding charm to any look. And if you are thinking about how to hide gray hair on dark hair without coloring it completely, then highlighting is an excellent solution to the gray problem. This procedure is suitable for long and short hair. Highlighting on dark hair will perfectly hide gray hair and will not damage natural strands that have not yet turned grey.

Gray highlights will add visual volume to fine hair and additional fullness to any hairstyle.

Basic highlighting techniques

Depending on the length, the procedure for partial dyeing of the scalp is carried out using:

The highlighting technique using a cap is used on short hairstyles. In the case where it is simply not possible to use foil due to lack of length. This method has its own nuances that must be taken into account:

1. in most cases, the color will have a yellowish tint. If you don’t like this shade, you can solve the problem with the help of tinting creams and paints. With their help, you can give the desired shade of ash, beige and even peach tones. It all depends on personal preferences. You can choose more than one tone, but combine several shades;
2. You can choose a highlight color that will not differ significantly from the rest of your hair, or you can do the opposite - choose contrasting tones. Only in this case it is necessary to take into account the fact that when highlighting again, it will be very difficult to choose exactly the same contrasting color option. But, on the other hand, you can experiment again, and maybe you will like the new result even more than the previous one.

Important point! Regardless of the length and color, or the selected highlighting technique, this procedure is only suitable for hair in which the percentage of gray hair does not exceed 40-50%. Otherwise, highlighting will only further emphasize the presence of gray hair on your head.

It is advisable to highlight highlights on dark hair if there is no more than 30% of the total gray hair. Then gray highlights will look harmonious on dark hair and will successfully hide gray hair.

Characteristic features of the appearance of gray hair

In order to correctly determine the technique of selective painting and the method of highlighting, it is necessary to take into account the characteristic features of the distribution of gray hair on the head. Gray hair appears unevenly, it depends on the individual characteristics of the person and genetic predisposition.

Women who have gray hair evenly throughout their entire head can resort to regular highlighting. As the main color, experts recommend choosing shades that are as close as possible to the natural color. Then the newly grown gray hair will not be so noticeable.

But, often, there is much more gray hair in the area of ​​the temples and forehead. In such cases, it is necessary to make an edging - the extreme line of hair growth (1.5-2 cm) along the entire circumference of the head, and paint it. In the rest of the scalp, do the usual highlighting. This unusual paint job with highlights looks super fashionable and stylish.

Precautionary measures

You cannot use highlights on hair that has been dyed with henna or basma. These compounds penetrate the hair so deeply that it is almost impossible to recolor it with anything. And if this succeeds, the result may be unpredictable, and the shade will be very far from the desired one. In this case, the only option is to wait until the hair grows back and just cut it off.

You should also start highlighting with extreme caution if your hair is severely damaged or too thin and brittle.

Care for highlighted hair

To make highlighted hair look healthy and beautiful, it needs high-quality care. After all, no matter how gentle the highlighting products are, any coloring is stressful for the hair. Especially if it is dyed in lighter ashy tones. The oxidizing agent, although in small doses, depletes the hair, making it thin and dry. You need to take maximum care to restore them and give them energy and vitality.

For this you will need not only shampoos, but also high-quality balms and masks. If you can’t buy expensive medications or visit beauty salons, don’t despair. You can use available tools that every housewife has. Excellent results are obtained by using ordinary oils: coconut, burdock, almond. All you have to do is apply the oil to your head, wrap it up, and leave for 40-60 minutes. Then simply rinse with shampoo.

The hair will be shiny and silky, without any special material costs. You just have to remember that Mother Nature takes care of us better than any professionals. And regularly rinsing your hair with a decoction of herbs (burdock, nettle) will give it health and strength. After all, such proven products have proven themselves well since ancient times, when there were no shampoos yet, and our ancestors used exclusively the gifts of nature.

During the highlighting process, you must adhere to the rule: you cannot start re-dying until the hairline is completely restored. Otherwise, the hair will completely lose its strength and energy, and it will be much more difficult and longer to restore it.

Immediately before highlighting gray hair, it is necessary to do a test on the skin of the wrist to exclude an allergic reaction of the body.