On some lucky 50+ people, a silver mane looks distinguished. For most of us, grey hair just makes us look old. Fortunately, today there are remarkably hair-friendly ways to hide it. If you are already dying, be aware that how your hair reacts to dye will fluctuate as it gets grayer, coarser, finer, or thinner. It may be time to update your haircolor formula and shade for optimum coverage and maximum conditioning.
Dying to know more? Here's how to rev up your own crowning glory safely and stylishly.
No fear of frying
Thankfully, gone are the days when harsh dyes often fried your hair. New, gentler formulas can actually make tresses look healthier, thanks to built-in conditioners plus pigments that bond to the hair. These swell the cuticles to plump up volume, filling in nicks to smooth damage and boost shine. The newest products are also nearly foolproof: Their drip free, scalp-nurturing, low- or no-ammonia formulas are self timing, making over-processing virtually impossible.
Which hue for you?
"What you want to avoid is a too dark and/or solid haircolor; it looks aging and dull, and it's harsh on the complexion, accentuating fine lines and wrinkles," says celebrity colorist Rita Starnella, color director at New York City's Valery Joseph Salon. She and other color pros also say that the conventional practice of gradually going lighter as your complexion inevitably fades is passé. Brown, natural hair color of the majority, is really "in" these days. "Brown hair calls for less maintenance than blonde or red; it covers gray best, and there are so many different tones on the market. It's no longer a mousy looking option," says Starnella. "Going just a shade or two lighter than your true color or simply adding a few highlights is most flattering," she adds. "Something as simple as enriching your natural color to a more golden blonde, a warmer brown, or a brighter auburn can instantly perk up a washed-out complexion."
Although a bit higher maintenance, multi-tonal color is the big trend in tints. When you mix highlights and lowlights (lightening some strands and deepening others, perhaps in addition to changing the base shade), it "...mimics the nuances and vibrancy in natural, youthful haircolor," explains Nick Arrojo, the hair color makeover wiz on TV's What Not To Wear. "Plus since hair isn't all one tone, roots are less obvious," he adds. Once a job best left to the pros, multi-tonal coloring is now something you can confidently try on your own. Products such as L'Oreal Feria are designed to add multi-tones to your hair in a single step -- no special skills required.
Gray matters
Disappointed with gray coverage? You're not alone. Lack of pigmentation and coarse/wiry tendencies makes gray hair extremely color resistant. "With gray hair, it's tougher to nudge open the cuticle, deposit pigment, and then seal it in for adequate, long-lasting shade saturation," says Arrojo. The big news: Recently, color companies have begun offering heavily pigmented dyes that target even the most color resistant grays. "The results are remarkable,"Arrojo reports. For at home use, new Nice 'n Easy Gray Solution from Clairol ($8.99) and Revlon's Colorist Expert Haircolor ($15.99) promise 100 percent gray coverage.
"Technique is also important when battling grays, so be sure your colorist leaves your haircolor on for 45 to 60 minutes. For at-home coloring, allow the maximum recommended time," Arrojo advises. "Heat opens the cuticles more quickly and helps lock in color, so ask your colorist to seat you under a heat lamp or hood dryer. At home, cover your color-coated hair with a disposable plastic cap to generate warmth."
Despite formulas that provide better coverage, gray regrowth is an ongoing challenge. To minimize root visibility, a colorist can use "gray lights," a technique that involves highlighting non-gray hairs so that grays blend right in and look less noticeable. Unlike single process color, it does not create an obvious root line when your hair grows, so you can do touch-ups less frequently. But here is the catch: the technique only works on hair with pigment. Once you're more than 30 to 40 percent gray, you'll need to switch to a single process color.
Silver savvy
If Meryl Streep's chic silver 'do in The Devil Wears Prada inspires you to give in and go for the gray, here's how to do it right.
- Brighten and soften dry, coarse strands with occasional deep conditioning and color gloss treatments, either at a salon or at home.
- Weave in lowlights - strands of your natural color or darker, peppery strands. It makes gray hair looks richer and younger.
- If your gray locks take on a brassy, yellowish tinge (not blonde or pretty), use a violet shampoo -- like Joico's Color Endure Violet -- once a week.
Making it last
How long your gray coverage will last depends upon the formula you choose and how fast your hair grows (i.e., how quickly your roots show). Permanent color buys you the most time because it stays put either until your hair grows out or your roots become a nuisance. Demi-permanent color lasts through about 28 shampoos, and semi permanent washes out in 8-12 shampoos. However, with all of these formulas, color fading can be a problem between treatments. In some instances, fading color can even take on a purple tinge as the pigment wears away.
The good new is that most formulas are gentle enough to do touchups fairly often without damaging your hair, says Starnella. Her gray-phobic clients might visit her once a week while others wait months. To keep your tint looking best between touchups, the pros suggest:
- Wear a hat. Sunlight fades haircolor, so keep it covered on bright days.
- Blur the roots. Bangs and/or choppy layers hide gray regrowth along the hairline, and a jagged or zig-zag part detracts attention from roots along the part or crown.
- Touch up the roots. Use a natural-looking temporary touch-up dye such as ColorMark (colormarkpro.com) or Quick Tint (www.quicktint.net).
- Don't shampoo for 24 hours after coloring. If you wait, the pigment will bond better to the hair shaft better. Then wash your hair every other day or even less to prevent fading.
- Use gentle hair care products. Those formulated for colored treated hair are milder, offer more conditioning and won't strip color or shine. Boots Botanics Colour Care Shampoos and Conditioners ($6.99 each at Target stores) do the trick.
Do it yourself?
Anyone who's ever turned her hair orange or squirted hair dye onto the bathroom wall knows that putting yourself in the hands of a pro may be a wise investment. "If you've never colored your hair before, go to a salon the first time around to let a pro pick the best shade options for you and to see how it's done," advises Starnella. "Attempting highlights or bleaching your hair blonde on your own is too tricky."
If you're strictly a do-it-yourselfer, stick close to your natural color. "If the shade shown on the box isn't similar to your own you'll never match it. The end result depends on the color you start out with," says Starnella, who recommends Clairol Natural Instincts to her clients if they must color at home. The product is not very harsh, and it fades with time if you don't like the shade.
Forever brown, blonde, or red
If you are not yet gray enough to really need hair coloring, you may be in luck. Recently, Harvard medical school scientists, studying stem cells for skin cancer research, discovered that hair turns gray as certain stem cells -- which provide a continuous supply of melanocytes, or pigment-producing cells that give hair its natural color -- gradually die off and trigger pigment loss. Once we devise strategies to control these specific stem cells, researchers speculate, we may be able to maintain our natural hair color for a lifetime. Unless we think it would be more fun to be a blond -- or a redhead or brunette.
