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.”
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”.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
“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.
Best-selling grey hair products
Stuck for inspiration? Check out our list of best-selling Amazon products!
- THE PLANTUR 39 COLOUR EFFECT Purple Shampoo and Conditioner specially made for bleached and grey hair, provides a fine silver shine to blonde and grey hair with every wash. Set of Plantur 39 Colour...
- PREVENTS MENOPAUSAL HAIR LOSS With its unique galenic formula and its Phyto-Caffeine Complex (caffeine plus active botanical substances) Plantur 39 Shampoos and Conditioner support natural hair...
- COLOUR SILVER CONDITIONER Boosts the enhanced silver sheen effect of the shampoo. Makes your hair more vibrant and leaves it easier to comb. Unwanted yellow hue is reduced.
- Shine Duo combines our essential everyday Glorious Shampoo and Luminous Conditioner together.
- Gentle cleansing, added moisture and nourishment and suitable for all hair types.
- 1x Glorious Shampoo: 200ml A creamy white formula for everyday shine and moisture, with a detoxing complex to neutralise shine-dulling pollutants plus a luxurious touch of hydrating white truffle.
- Provoke Go Icy hair mask intensely brightens your hair colour by removing warmer brassy tones for an extra bright icy platinum effect in just 1 use.
- WHO IS THE PERFECT MATCH? Light tones of blonde, white and grey hair
- HOW DOES THE ICY MAGIC WORK? The purple and blue pigments acts against both yellow and orange tones leaving you with an instant extra bright and light Icy platinum blonde. Not only will it transform...
- Formulated with SilverGloss technology, this John Frieda Shimmering Silver shampoo and conditioner duo, neutralises brassiness and enhances shine to reveal youthful, radiant shine, it locks in...
- Formulated to transform dull grey or white hair to bright silver hair
- Formulated with SilverGloss Technology to moisturize and polish silver strands
- Sulfate free shampoo and conditioner for lightened, gray or bleached hair
- Refresh blondes with effective color toning
- Neutralizes unwanted yellow tones
Last update on 2024-04-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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