How to cover gray hair with a light tone

Daria Evtyanova

Editor-in-chief and founder of the fashion portal Without Sugarcoat, former editor of FAVOT, stylist, blogger.

Content:

Gray hair has long ceased to be an indicator of age and a problem: now it is fashionable. However, if you decide that gray hair is not for you, in this article you will find answers to all your questions: why hair turns gray, how to disguise gray hair or completely cover it.

Biology of the process: what is gray hair?

Gray hair - This is a natural process of reducing the activity of cells that produce the pigment melanin. The natural color of hair also depends on its level: the more melanin produced by cells, the darker a person’s hair.

With age, the activity of cells can change, so, for example, children, as they get older, can acquire a darker hair color, and they work differently: someone may not even acquire gray hair even in old age, while others may turn very gray. early.

Interesting fact: It is commonly believed that gray hair is gray in color, but in fact it is transparent.

The structure of gray hair may also differ from the usual: the hair may become thinner or coarser, and may curl more than usual.

Causes of gray hair

Few people think about the causes of gray hair, although they are very diverse.

We have collected for you the most common cases when pigment-producing cells begin to malfunction:

1. genetics and age-related changes;
2. some diseases;
3. shocks and stressful situations;
4. disturbances in the functioning of glands and various organs;
5. malnutrition;
6. unhealthy lifestyle, smoking, alcohol;
7. taking certain medications;
8. lack of B vitamins and important microelements.

Stages of growth: types of gray hair and its percentage of progression

Like any process, gray hair has its own stages of growth, development and progression.

Let's take a closer look at them.

1. First gray hair
   The first gray hairs can appear at an early age.
2. Patchy gray hair
   Sometimes an entire strand of hair or a separate area on the head, such as a temple, may turn gray.
3. Less than 50% gray hair
   Basically, this is gray hair scattered throughout the head, but it can also be concentrated zonally.
4. More than 50% gray hair
   You are gradually turning into a gray-haired woman.

Temporary ways to disguise gray hair

And even if gray hair is very fashionable, it is very rare to find women who do not dream of covering it up.

How to hide gray hair quickly and easily? Now we'll tell you!

1. Tonics, conditioners and coloring shampoos

A temporary way to give your hair the desired shade is also good for gray hair.

L’Oréal Professionnel has similar products: for example, Gloss Color shampoo, Chroma Care conditioner or a whole professional series Serie Expert.

Important: There are special shampoos for gray hair that are gentle and help neutralize unwanted shades, for example Magnesium Silver from L’Oréal Professionnel.

1. Temporary color sprays and hair chalks

A very convenient way to temporarily disguise gray hair between colorings: for example, paint over a gray parting or small patches of gray hair. L’Oréal Magic Retouch is suitable for these purposes.

How to choose the right paint for permanent coloring

Choosing a permanent paint for covering gray hair is a very important step, since some shades can behave very unpredictably, even though modern products can easily cope with gray hair. Follow the rules and choose a high-quality professional dye, our experts advise.

What else do you need to know when choosing a paint to cover gray hair?

1. When choosing a dye, it is better to take a tone one shade lighter than your natural hair color. If your gray hair is scattered throughout your head, then the regrown roots will not be so noticeable, and the transition will be smooth.
2. Paint for covering gray hair differs from the usual one in its durability, coloring power and pigment content. Choose colors with voluminous color pigments for maximum gray coverage and shine.
3. The choice of dye depends on the amount of gray hair and its condition. For the diffuse type and low concentration, regular dye in natural colors is suitable, but for hair with a lot of gray hair, a more aggressive dye is needed.
4. With or without ammonia. Ammonia is a gas that creates an alkaline environment and helps lift the hair scales so that the pigment penetrates there and securely adheres. Ammonia is toxic to the body and in the long term it changes and damages the structure of the hair, but it also prolongs the color's durability and makes the color more saturated. To avoid allergies, paint with ammonia must be tested on the skin before use.

If you are afraid of making a mistake with your choice, then your hairdresser will be able to tell you exactly which dye to choose for your hair type.

Advice: choose a dye with caring components, containing ammonia, they will help reduce trauma and damage to the hair during regular touch-ups.

7 effective rules for covering gray hair

The technique for covering gray hair differs depending on its type.

Follow our experts' guidelines to achieve the most effective coloring:

1. When painting for the first time a smaller percentage of clarifier should be applied to the roots, so that they don't look lighter.
2. The oxide is selected based on the thickness of the hair. For thick hair, the concentration of the dye will be much greater!
3. Thin hair can be dyed both blond and dark. Thick gray hair is pre-lightened before dyeing it blonde to create a background color.
4. For maximum coverage, use pre-pigmentation. - a technique for coloring gray hair, which allows you to saturate the empty hair structure with a background for the future pigment. This procedure smoothes out porous hair and scales, cares for it and prolongs the color's durability.
   Ideally, prepigmentation should be carried out in a salon with an experienced hairdresser; it will not take much time, but will allow you to get a beautiful hair color. But you can also do it yourself: mix half a tube of paint with water in a ratio of 1 to 2, apply to gray hair and leave for 15-20 minutes. Mix the rest of the paint with an oxidizing agent and apply to the entire length of the hair on top of the previous composition, leave for the time required according to the instructions.

Important: The procedure is indicated for people with more than 20% of their hair gray!

Highlighting as a way to hide gray hair

Highlighting is a coloring technique that is quite suitable for women with silver hair. Who should pay attention to this technique, what are the pros and cons - we’ll figure it out together with our experts.

Who is highlighting suitable for?

This is a good way to hide silver strands and make root regrowth less noticeable.

Highlighting is suitable for women with less than 50% gray hair and women with localized gray hair.

Pros and cons of highlighting

To do or not to do highlighting is a big question. Let's first understand the pros and cons of this type of coloring and then make a confident choice!

Advantages:

1. hides gray strands;
2. helps to correct the shape of the face and head;
3. adds volume;
4. does not require regular correction;
5. Less damaging to hair than dyeing the entire head.

Minuses:

1. not suitable for home dyeing;
2. difficult to perform on recently dyed hair and can give unexpected results;
3. dark hair may need strands to be lightened;
4. the need for additional care for damaged and colored hair;
5. requires the use of a stable composition with aggressive components.

Complete lightening of dark hair as a radical way to hide gray hair

Gray hair is in fashion, and completely gray or white hair will no longer surprise anyone. Our experts will tell you who is suitable for full lightening, what are the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

Who is suitable for complete lightening of gray hair?

Ideally, bleaching as a method of camouflaging gray hair is suitable for those with 50 to 80% gray hair. For women with a lot of gray glass hair, this method will be difficult due to the structure: coloring will require pre-pigmentation (or repigmentation) to create a background color.

Pros and cons of completely bleaching hair

An obvious advantage will be the absence of the need to constantly touch up the roots - gray hair is not so noticeable on light hair.

Of the minuses, of course, the change in structure stands out: the hair deteriorates, becomes stiffer, and requires constant care and toning.

Important: if after lightening you decide to return to dark shades, then you also need pre-pigmentation - saturating your hair with pigment. With bleaching, hair loses some tones, and without this procedure you can accidentally end up with green hair.

Is it possible to cover gray hair with natural dyes?

Among the people and on the Internet, natural dyes such as basma, henna, chamomile and nut peel are very popular.

Our stylists do not approve of these methods: the result is almost always unpredictable, and a severe allergy can develop to natural dyes. In addition, while these methods may be suitable for dyeing hair with sparse gray hair, the result can be unpredictable on completely gray hair or on hair with large patches of “silver.” Glassy gray hair (with thinned cuticles, damaged scales and coarse hair), according to professionals, may not be covered at all or may appear in a red or green tone!

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Dyeing gray hair is possible at different ages. White hairs appear as a result of genetic predisposition, stress, changes in hair structure, and lack of vitamins. There are several secrets on how to cover gray hair on brown hair with minimal cost and damage to the scalp.

Dye for gray hair at home

The first gray hairs appear when the production of melanin pigment decreases.

In the early stages, you can try using special products to restore pigmentation, which return white hair to its natural light brown color. Gray hair affects the structure of the hair, so it can take two forms:

1. soft and thin;
2. hard and thick.

The first type can be easily painted over using special paints and by restoring pigmentation. The second type is difficult to paint, especially at home. It is necessary to use aggressive products, for example, containing ammonia or hydrogen peroxide, which disrupt the structure of the hair and open the scales for maximum penetration of the coloring element.

On dark brown hair, gray hair near the parting looks like a receding hairline. If gray hair occupies more than 30% of the total, then you will have to resort to coloring once every 3 weeks. Choose a dye that differs from your hair by 2-3 tones. The table provides an overview of popular products that can cover gray hair on brown hair at home:

Name: London Extra Coverage

Composition: Keratin, beeswax. Does not contain ammonia.

Effect: Professional dye is intended for covering gray hair on a large scale (up to 70% of all hair).

Features of use: Keep for 20–30 minutes.

Advantages: Almost odorless, the curls are shiny and well-colored. Half a tube is enough for medium-length brown hair.

Disadvantages: The box does not contain an oxidizer, disposable gloves, or balm.

Name: Estel De Luxe Silver

Ingredients: Ammonia, avocado, macadamia, mica, panthenol, glycerin.

Effect: Professional paint designed for high-quality camouflage of gray hair.

Features of use: Do not wash your hair before coloring. Keep for 45 minutes.

Advantages: Covers every hair, long-lasting, economical to use.

Disadvantages: Acrid odor, sometimes causes a slight burning sensation.

Short-term solutions for covering gray hair

Ammonia-based dye for coloring gray hair damages the structure of the scalp. It is not recommended to dye gray hair with aggressive dye if the hair is already too thin. Gentle cosmetics are suitable temporarily:

1. mascara for brown hair;
2. concealer cream;
3. tint toner;
4. balm;
5. camouflage gel.

If you are in doubt about choosing the best product, consult your hairdresser. Popular temporary remedies:

Name: Kapous Fast Help Mascara

Ingredients: Carnauba wax, mica, silicon, iron oxide, titanium dioxide.

Effect: Does not enter into a chemical reaction, is easily washed off.

Features of use: Apply from roots to ends. The treated strands are dried with a hairdryer. Excess is removed with a fine comb.

Advantages: Allows you to quickly cover gray strands.

Disadvantages: Easily washed off with shampoo.

Name: L’Oreal Colorista Washout Balm

Ingredients: Fumoric, citric acids.

Effect: Colors curls for 1–2 weeks, without ammonia and oxidants.

Features of application: Suitable for light brown girls. Apply for 15–20 minutes.

Advantages: Variety of palette. Stays on after washing your hair.

Disadvantages: After the second wash, the color quickly loses its saturation.

In the cabin

Fair-haired girls are recommended to have their coloring done in a salon, at least initially. The master will be able to choose the appropriate paint and technique to cover gray hair. Popular professional paints are produced by the brands Estel, Ollin, L’Oreal, Wella. Optimal dyeing methods and techniques for fair-haired girls:

1. full - all over the head, from roots to tips;
2. highlighting - coloring individual strands;
3. prepigmentation – replacement of natural pigment before coloring;
4. mordansage – loosening of the hair structure for deep penetration of coloring components.

Natural dyes

For fair-haired girls, a natural dye is suitable - Iranian henna. How to cover gray hair with henna:

1. Mix the ingredients: 2 packets of henna; 1 tsp each olive, castor, burdock oils; 10 drops grape seed oils; 0.5 cups of hot natural coffee.
2. Cover with a lid and leave for 6 hours.
3. Leave on hair for 3 to 6 hours.
4. The result should be a reddish color with a chocolate tint.

Folk remedies

Many girls carry out prevention with folk remedies. Popular recipes against gray hair, based on positive reviews:

1. Burdock root is brewed in boiling water. Proportions – 2 tbsp. l. for 0.5 liters of water. Cook over low heat until half of the raw material has evaporated. Add 1 tbsp to the finished infusion. l. dill seeds, steam for 2 hours. Rub into the roots overnight and store in the refrigerator.
2. Add 1 tbsp to a glass of boiling water. l. dry nettle. Steam for 30 minutes, rub into the scalp daily, and wet the hair.

How to get rid of gray hair? There are several methods of combating this. Let's look at each of them!

Method 1. Full coloring

If your head is 80% gray, use this method. The main thing is to choose the right tone. For example, true blondes will go for an ashy shade, which will allow them to avoid adjusting their hairstyle for a long time. With a different initial color of the strands, it is worth choosing a palette that is half a tone lighter, otherwise you will have to tint your hair often (every 2-3 weeks).

Which hair dye is best for covering gray hair? Most modern products based on ammonia and natural oils can perfectly cope with the problem without harming the hair. But some of the most effective include:

1. "Estel" for professionals (series "Estel De Luxe Silver", "Estel Essex"). Affordable prices, a wide range of colors, as well as color correctors have made the company popular among modern women. The dye was created specifically for graying hair and can cover even glassy gray hair. The color comes out very bright and washes off gradually;

1. "Preference recital" from L'oreal. It has a high price, but fully meets it. Covers gray hair and prevents you from remembering it for at least 1 month. After dyeing, the strands become well-groomed and shiny. Suitable for thick hair. Has a very pungent odor;

1. "Matrix" for gray hair. According to reviews from women, it is one of the best paints. “Matrix Dream Age SocolorBeauty” contains little ammonia and is very gentle, but this does not prevent it from covering gray hair. Its color palette includes 17 different tones (mostly golden base);

1. “Palette” is a long-lasting cream paint at a very affordable price. Covers gray hair evenly and reliably, lasts for about a month, and keeps the color rich and natural for a long time;

1. "Kaaral" is a professional dye made in Italy. Its high price is compensated by excellent quality. Covers gray hair and gives your hair a well-groomed, healthy look. Maintains color vibrancy for 8 weeks.

When deciding to cover your gray hair, keep a few points in mind:

1. The severity of this problem. The grayer the hair, the lighter the tone;
2. The composition of hair dye simply must include natural ingredients;
3. We advise you to choose a shade as close as possible to the natural palette;
4. Dye your overgrown roots in a timely manner, otherwise your hair will look terrible.

Method 2. Highlighting

If you have 40% gray hair, try this method. Highlighting can radically solve the problem and also transform you.

Method 3. Prepigmentation

Prepigmentation is filling the hair with its natural pigment before dyeing the hair. Otherwise, the coloring agent simply has nothing to attach to. The best products for this procedure include lotion Cutrin pre-pigmentation and pre-pigment from Schwarzkopf. In order for the resulting shade to be saturated and dark, for the session you need to take the color to a darker position. But for a light shade, everything is quite the opposite - you need to choose a color that is lighter.

If only parts of your luxurious hair (temples or just roots) are affected by gray hair, then only problem areas are subjected to the procedure. The dye for pre-pigmentation is kept for up to 20 minutes. The softer and thinner the hair, the shorter this time will be. The product is not washed off the hair, but combed out with a brush. Coloring after the procedure is much more effective, since the molecules have time to fill the voids inside the hair.

Tips to help you get rid of gray hair without dyeing:

Method 4. Mordensage

Mordensage is a procedure during which the top layer of the strands is loosened to lift the scales. As a result of these actions, coloring your hair is much easier. For mordensage, special oxidizing agents are used, which are differentiated according to the type of hair hardness. So, for very hard strands you will need an oxidizing agent of at least 6%, while for medium hardness 3% is enough.

The procedure begins with an oxidizer, which is kept for 20 minutes. If there is a lot of gray hair, it should be applied to the entire scalp area. In all other cases, only problem areas can be treated. Then the hair is dried with a towel and dried a little without washing off the oxidizing agent. Now the strands can be dyed. After this procedure you will be able to achieve an ideal result.

Method 5. Natural color restorer

Natural color restorers can also solve the problem. I have two lotions in demand:

1. “Antisedin”, a special product that contains a coloring agent and a color fixative;

1. “Netsidin” is a composition against early gray hair, created on the basis of iron, copper and zinc, as well as other elements, the deficiency of which can lead to early gray hair.

Important! “Antisedin”, like all paints, can be unpredictable and give a completely different shade than you expected. But the “Netsidin” remedy will be useless if the cause of the problem lies in something completely different.

Method 6. Natural formulations for graying hair

If there is not enough gray hair, then a composition of henna and basma will cope with it 100%! Dilute a pack of henna with very hot water until it becomes sour cream. The slightly cooled porridge should be applied to the strands. Wait about an hour and wash off the residue with water. For a darker shade, henna will have to be mixed with basma (2:1 - more red, 1:2 - dark chocolate).

This natural method has its disadvantages:

1. Henna has a drying effect, so you can use it only once every two months;
2. Red color doesn't suit everyone;
3. Gray hair dyed with henna will have a brighter color than the rest of the hair.

Short-term solutions for covering gray hair

How to get rid of gray hair in a very short time? Try one of these short-term solutions:

1. Hair mascara is ideal for covering gray hair at the temples and roots. Wash off with plain water;

1. Masking cream for roots - has the form of an aerosol, works like dry shampoo. If you spray it on gray roots, they will take on their natural color. Washed off when washed;
2. Tinted balms, shampoos and tonics mask gray hair, giving it a shade close to your own. The color lasts up to 3 washes. Their only disadvantage is “molting”;
3. Camouflage gel - ideal for fair-haired ladies. But it doesn’t work so well on dark hair.

Reviews from our subscribers

Most ladies prefer to dye their hair to remove gray hair. These reviews will help you choose the best paint.

Valeria: “Noticing the gray strands, I decided to paint them over and at the same time change the color. I settled on “Matrix Dream Age Socolor Beauty”. It was my first time wearing it, so I was nervous. But the result exceeded all expectations! Gray hair disappeared, and the color turned out bright and rich. The hair itself became soft, shiny, well-groomed. The dye smells pleasant, does not sting the skin and leaves no marks. I recommend to everyone!".

Alla: “I always put on makeup “Estelle” - Silver De Luxe series. I really like the paint. Covers gray hair 100% and gives hair a natural shade. It does not wash off for a long time, although I wash my hair quite often. Periodically I tint the roots - and again they are beautiful! Economical to use. In general, I’m happy with everything.”

Marina: “I want to share my impressions of L'Oreal Preference, a long-lasting cream color that covers gray hair truly flawlessly! I liked everything about it - from the packaging to the result. With her help, I decided to change my color from blonde to brunette. I chose the tone 6.35 Havana. I was pleased with the color, as it completely matched the picture on the packaging. My hair is colored evenly, and gray hair is now completely invisible. The brightness remained almost until the next painting. The condition of the hair was not affected."

Sofia: “And I like “Palet”. For my early gray hair, this is a real salvation! It paints perfectly, the hair after it is very soft, silky, shiny. The paint has virtually no odor, washes off well, and leaves no traces. There is a caring balm.”

Lydia: “I have a lot of gray hair, especially at the temples and at the top of my head. I try not to use ammonia paints, since I paint all the time. Therefore, I settled on the ammonia-free product “Kaaral”. My acquaintance with this paint happened not so long ago - by chance I got to a master class as a model. Since then I have been constantly using this company's products. The hair has become much brighter, shiny, and looks more voluminous. Gray hair began to appear only after 1 month, but the color fades evenly. “Kaaral” paint is used quite sparingly and gives a lasting effect.”

See also: How to delay the graying of scalp hair? (video)