Gray Hair & Yellowing Temples

Q: Hi, I'm a 42-year-old male who sprouted his first gray hair at the age of 12. Now I would say that at least 70% of my hair is gray. Over the last few years, I've found yellowing mainly in the hair around my temples. I smoke so that would probably explain it.

I've heard of bluing shampoos such as Touch of Silver by Schwarzkopf which I used and it did help but none of these products are available over here and it's very difficult to maintain a supply from abroad. Would you happen to know of any natural remedy which I could try? I wouldn't want to bleach it or do anything that would affect the 25% black that's left.

A: Since you don’t want to lose any of the black color left to your pigmented hair, you can use a deposit-only hair color in a very pale “platinum blonde” shade (one that uses a blue or violet base color) in order to counter the yellowing in your hair. However, before resorting to more permanent chemical processes, try using a clarifying shampoo in order to remove the residues that are discoloring your hair.

You might also try using a laundry additive, bluing agent mixed using one-two drops per quart of water as a final rinse in your hair to help cut the yellowing.

You don’t mention where “over here” is, so I can’t make any suggestions for more local outlets at which to search for products, but since you do have email services I can recommend that you simply look online for outlets from which to purchase the shampoos and conditioners you need to maintain bright-looking gray hair.

Aside from the ‘Touch of Silver’ by Schwarzkopf, you should also look for Clairol’s ‘Shimmer Lights’ which is basically their version of the same product. You can also look for Revlon’s “Roux brand” Fanci-Full temporary hair rinse in Ultra White Minx or White Minx colors.

©Hairfinder.com

See also:

How to dye your own hair

Yellow streaks in gray hair

Clarifying shampoo and color treated hair

Is it normal that tobacco smoke makes my hair yellow?