Embracing your natural colour can be daunting, particularly if you’ve been dying your hair for years. Once you’ve made the decision, it will take a bit of time and effort to keep your hair healthy.

“Transitioning from coloured to grey hair can be quite a lengthy process,” says Irish stylist Leandro Santos Santana, owner of Decode Hair by Leandro. “Much like going from a dark brunette base to blonde, it takes several appointments in the salon and regular maintenance at home to ensure your hair looks and feels its best.”

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Celebrity colourist Jack Martin – the man behind Sharon Osbourne’s transition to grey last year – revealed that it took eight hours “to get her to a platinum blonde so she no longer needs to commit to colouring her hair once a week anymore”.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Another great day in my career welcoming the most beautiful and elegant talk show host and entertainer @sharonosbourne for a complete transformation. Sharon has 100% white hair and she was coloring her hair once a week dark vibrant red for the past 18 years. she explained to me that she wanted to do this transformation long time ago but every time she attempts it ends up with a disaster. Sharon was very tired of coloring her hair once a week and she was obligated to since she is on tv almost every day hosting her popular tv show @thetalkcbs . I didn’t promise Sharen anything but I told her I will try my best, it took me a total of 8 hours from start to finish to get her to a platinum blonde so she doesn’t have to be committed to coloring her hair once a week anymore. I had great time spending my day off with this gorgeous, humble, and sweet soul. ____________________________________________ Products used in this transformation. Lightener: @wellahairusa blondor with 20 vol Bond insurance: @olaplex Toner: @pravana 10.07 with zero lift Treatment: olaplex number 2 Color tools : @framar ——————————————————— #behindthechair #americansalon #modernsalon @behindthechair_com @american_salon @modernsalon #silverhair #platinumhair #opaplex #wellahair #wella #wellaprofessional #pravana #sharonosbourne #celebrityhair #platinumhair @saloncentric @cosmoprofbeauty

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This isn’t the first celebrity Martin has styled. He also helped Jane Fonda make the transition from blonde to silver, debuting her new colour at the 2020 Oscars ceremony.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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I had the honor and the pleasure to transform the legendary actress @janefonda hair specially for the 2020 Oscar. Spending 7 hours with this amazing Hollywood star and witnessing her energy, beauty, strength and femininity was so inspiring. For straight 7 hours while I was working on her hair she was writing chapters in her due soon book, and memorizing her lines in the famous tv show Frankie and grace that she is shooting the 7th season now, answering emails and reading her newspapers plus communicating with me and her team with the sweetest, humblest soul, she made me feel ashamed to complain of being tired. This experience was extremely great and I will never forget this amazing day, thanks to the talented @jjhanousek and @deleonmakeup for nominated me to her. Formula: Jane had about 3 inches of her salt and pepper natural roots and the rest was a little tired warm golden blonde, her goal color was a silver icy blonde to surprise everyone at the 2020 Oscar presenting the final award winner for the movie of the year. I started the 7 hours process by giving miss Fonda a platinum card, by bleaching all her hair back to back by taking very thin sections in foils using @oligopro extra blonde with 20 vol and olaplex on the virgin hair and 10 vol with @olaplex on previously colored hair. Once I reached very pale blonde level 11 After 3 hours processing rinsed hair and did olaplex number 2 for 20 minutes, rinsed hair then prtone hair to cancel all the yellowish hue in the hair and prepare a solid white canvas by using @redken shade eq 1/2 oz 9B + 1/2 oz 10vv mixed with 3 once of clear (00) and double the total amount of processing solution for about 10 minutes, rinsed hair, towel dried and apply the final toner by @wellahairusa blondor 1/2 pale silver + 1/2 pale platinum mixed with 6 vol developer for 30 minutes, shampooed, conditioned. Hair felt amazingly healthy and Jane was extremely happy for getting her dream hair that took her a while to find a colorist that can do it perfectly in a very painless process. @modernsalon @behindthechair_com @american_salon #sliverhair #whitehair #platinumhair #oscars2020 #theoscars2020

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It’s good news if you’re already blonde like Fonda, because the transition will be that bit easier. “You can start to add babylights into your hair with different lighter shades of blonde and silver hues, and over a few appointments your hair will be light enough and incredibly close to the silver hue you desire,” Santana explains.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Sunday transformation. This gorgeous client came from LA and waited 3 month for her appointment. Lightener used: @wellahairusa blondor with 20 vol. bond builder: @olaplex Toner: @wellaeducation blondor pale silver and pale platinum. Low light: @guytang_mydentity dark shadow with 10 vol. Total service: 9-10 hours #behindthechair #americansalon #modernsalon @behindthechair_com @american_salon @modernsalon #tustinhairstylist #tustinsalon #tustinhair #irvinehair #irvinehairstylist #irvinesalon #irvinebalayage #newportbeachsalon #newportbeachhair #newportbeachhairstylist #newportbeachbalayage #balayagehair #balayageombre #balayagehighlights #orangecountysalon #orangecountyhairstylist #beverlyhillshair #beverlyhillssalon #beverlyhillshairstylist #mydentity #silverhair #opaplex #wellahair #wella #wellaprofessional

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Darker hair will require a bit more love and attention. “One option is to let your natural roots grow out as much as possible and have your hair cut shorter,” says Santana. “Pixie cuts in particular are a popular choice and will allow you to become grey quicker than if you have longer hair that requires a lot more colouring to reach this shade.”

Pixie cut for grey hair

The other option is to make regular highlight appointments at the salon to lighten your locks, then bleach your hair to the shade you want it to be. “This can be costly and will take around six months to a year to achieve the lightness you desire,” says Santana – not to mention the bleach could potentially damage your hair.

Once you’ve got your hair colour to where you want it, it’s all about maintenance. “A silver shampoo and conditioner are a must to keep the hair free from brassiness and the grey/silver tone looking its best,” explains Santana.

Stop grey hair from drying out with regular hair masks and treatments
A beautiful black woman with white curly hair smiles for a headshot

“Hair masks and treatments are also important to avoid hair from drying out or becoming further damaged, as the hair would have gone through a lot of bleach and colour to get to the stage it’s at.”

Even though you need to take care of your hair, you’ll no longer need to worry about dying it periodically or constantly getting your roots touched up. If you want the colour to pop you might consider getting your hair toned once in a while, but otherwise you can sit back and enjoy your natural-looking locks.

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