Highlighting gray hair on dark hair

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 is more expensive. 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 ruin 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.

Women care much more about their appearance and, unlike men, are always upset when they discover gray strands. When they first appear, rare strands can be painted over and the gray hair can be hidden. This will help, but not for long. What to do in this case?

Is it possible to somehow preserve the beauty and health of hair? Fortunately, you and I live in a time when almost anything is possible. One of the best methods to highlight the beauty of gray hair is highlighting.

Pros and cons of highlighting gray hair

Compared to other dyeing methods highlighting has two main advantages.

1. First: it will look great on curls of any length.
2. Second: highlighting will highlight the hairstyle of both a young girl and an elderly lady. Based on this, we can say with confidence that this procedure is suitable for gray hair.

If gray hair is just starting to appear, it can be hidden with regular highlighting. Well, in the case when gray hair is spreading all over the hair, a technique called “Salt and Pepper” is appropriate.

Those who regularly struggle with gray hair note several important advantages of this procedure:

1. This is a gentle coloring method that allows you to maintain healthy hair;
2. suitable for absolutely any tone of gray hair;
3. looks great on a variety of hairstyles, so even an extremely short haircut is not a hindrance;
4. gives hair extra volume.

Of course, there are women who strive to hide or paint over their gray hair in every possible way. There are a lot of different options for this, but highlighting is not suitable for this purpose at all.

If you do not want to hide gray hair, but on the contrary want to highlight it favorably, highlighting is just what you need. This method will make the gray hair more orderly, help refine the color, and make the overall tone of the hair lighter.

Do not forget that gray color is now in trend. It can be seen very often on catwalks and in fashion magazines. It is very often chosen not only by older women, but also by young girls. Perhaps you should give your gray hair a modern twist?

Photos before and after

Tips from stylists and hairdressers

Highlighting is a convenient and safest way to highlight gray hair. Professional stylists recommend doing this procedure using shading. However This method is not suitable for all gray-haired women.

In order for unstable tint products to be applied to the strands, the hair must be healthy and not coarse, and the number of gray strands should not exceed 30% of the total hair mass. Tinting products can add brightness and saturation to the natural color, and gray strands will be slightly lighter than the rest. This method will create an interesting play of color and allow you to rejuvenate your face.

Remember! Tint products should be as close as possible in tone to the natural hair color.

To date there are many highlighting techniques. Thanks to this diversity, every girl can create her own unique look, but some types of coloring are not suitable for everyone.

So we can say with confidence that some dyeing techniques will not look at all on gray hair. Here you need to take into account that gray hair can be either light or dark. Therefore, you should choose a technique depending on the shade of your natural hair.

The effect of coloring primarily depends on the correct choice. Even if the hair is a little With gray hair, the shade is selected based on the original hair color:

1. 
   
   
   
   All shades of brown, copper, and gold will harmonize perfectly with dark brown hair, but white shades such as ivory, wheat, platinum, and milk will suit light brown hair with gray hair. Shades such as ash, platinum, and silver deserve special attention. They will highlight gray hair and make it more expressive;
2. highlighting black hair with gray hair requires special skill from the hairdresser, because an illiterate approach in this matter can completely ruin the hairstyle. When highlighting black or very dark hair, cool shades are usually chosen; you can also experiment with bronze tones. Unlike brunettes, brown-haired women with dark hair are recommended to choose warm shades;
3. For light strands, choosing the right shade is quite easy, because they are all very similar to each other. Even if the stylist makes a slight mistake with the choice, it will still look harmonious and natural. Moreover, blonde hair does not have to be dyed; sometimes it can simply be shaded or oxidized;
4. There are not many women on our planet with natural reddish hair color. This is why choosing shades for highlighting redheads is the most difficult thing. For light red hair, peach, caramel, and golden shades are suitable, but in this case, after highlighting, the red hair will look more like blond. But for dark red strands you need to choose reddish and copper shades.

Color options

You can decorate gray hair not only with a well-chosen shade, but also with the right length of curls. So Perfect for women with long and medium dark hair:

1. Venetian highlighting. In this case, dark strands are dyed with a slight indentation from the roots. The result of this technique is strands that are slightly faded under the sun;
2. coloring shatush Suitable for any length. Sometimes the result of this technique is barely noticeable, because it seems as if the sunbeams are playing in your hair;
3. ombre technique It will also look great on hair of any length. Ombre is a transition from a lighter tone at the roots to a darker tone at the ends. This technique will allow you to beautifully highlight gray strands at the roots, as well as leave natural color at the ends. This technique will look best on dark hair.

Don’t forget that the type of highlighting should be chosen depending on the number of gray strands. If the gray hair has only slightly touched the temples or the back of the head, it can be beautifully disguised. But for those whose hair is completely shrouded in gray, there is an excellent technique called “salt-pepper.”

The name of this technique speaks for itself. It represents a smooth transition from a light gray shade (salt) to black tones (pepper). It is perfect for those ladies who have most of their hair gray. Thanks to the right combination of gray and black strands, it will be completely invisible.

Technologies

Highlighting gray strands is done in four different ways. Choose the one that suits you directly.

1. 
   
   
   
   cap. This classic method is now outdated. Now it is used exclusively for dyeing short strands. The process is quite labor-intensive and very lengthy, so repeating it at home will be quite difficult. A special cap with a large number of holes is put on the head. Strands of hair are pulled out through these holes with a crochet hook. The coloring composition is applied exclusively to elongated strands.
2. Foil. This is a more modern color option. It allows you to perfectly color long strands, as well as medium-length curls.
3. Comb. This technique is suitable for curls of absolutely any length. The coloring composition is applied to a wide-toothed comb, after which individual sections of the hair are combed with it.
4. Hands. This technique is also called “frosting”, as well as “glazing”. It is most often used for curly or curly hair.

Let's look at one of the options more specifically. Because highlighting on foil is the most common, let's go a little deeper into the details of this procedure.

1. First of all, you need to prepare your work area, remove all unnecessary items, and cut the foil.
2. It is best to start coloring with a parting. Use the thin tip of a comb or a special hook to pull out a strand and place it on the foil.
3. Now you need to treat the strand with a coloring solution.
4. After applying the paint, the strand must be completely wrapped in foil so that the paint does not transfer to other curls.
5. A similar procedure should be repeated with each strand, at equal distances.

Remember! The back of the head should be painted last.

That's all. The foil highlighting procedure is completely completed. Everything turned out to be not as difficult as it seemed at first.

How long does the result last?

This coloring lasts much longer than regular hair coloring. The fact is that gray hair and growing roots are not so noticeable during highlighting, so the procedure should be repeated much less often.

We should not forget that you can extend the life of your hairstyle. To do this, you need to use shampoos and balms for colored hair, hide your beautiful strands during the scorching sun, severe frost, try to wash your hair as little as possible so that the dye does not wash out.

Possible mistakes

Most often, mistakes during highlighting occur when the procedure is carried out independently, at home. However, sometimes hairdressers make some mistakes.

Yes, mostA common mistake is choosing the wrong tone. The hairstyle in this case looks very ugly, and sharp transitions are striking. Fixing this is not always easy or safe. If the result of home highlighting looks really ugly, stylists will suggest repeating the procedure to even out the shades.

However, this may not be safe for your hair at all. The dye, no matter what it is, negatively affects the structure of the hair, dries it out and makes it brittle. That is why the staining procedure cannot be carried out too often.

One more A common mistake is uneven strand width. This problem will also have to be corrected by repeating the procedure. In this case, the strands can only be made thicker. Their width will depend on the widest curls on your head.

The different width of the indentation from the roots is also very noticeable, especially on hair of dark shades. You can correct the situation in any beauty salon. During the correction, the stylist will try to align the indentation in the root zone as much as possible.

How to fix?

Sometimes even some masters get absolutely terrible results. If you have had unsuccessful highlighting, or you simply don’t like the result, The best option would be to dye your hair. However, this is not at all easy to do because due to the different shade of the curls, the new color will fall unevenly, and this will only aggravate the situation.

If you want to correct the results of unsuccessful highlighting, it is best to contact a salon where experienced hairdressers work. They know how to turn the situation to your advantage. First, you need to dye the lightest strands in darker colors to even out the overall shade of your hair, and then you can completely recolor all the strands.

Rules of care

In order for your hair to always look beautiful, you need to provide it with proper care. It will allow you to maintain not only a beautiful appearance, but also healthy hair.

It should be remembered that after such a procedure, the hair requires much more attention than even after regular dyeing. After highlighting, you may even feel that your curls have become weaker and thinner than they were before. In order to maintain their health, it is recommended to use various masks and balms marked “for colored hair.”

If you do not have the opportunity to purchase nourishing masks or balms, you can prepare your own from the ingredients that you find in your own kitchen. For example, prepare a nourishing mask from eggs or wash your strands with chamomile decoction.

In order for your hair to remain beautiful for much longer, try to avoid re-coloring until it is completely restored.

Useful video

Next, watch an interesting video on the topic of the article:

Conclusion

The highlighting procedure is very multifaceted. It will help not only hide gray hair, but also highlight it favorably. So, dear women, gray hair is not a death sentence. This is another opportunity to look original!

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 scalp. 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.