Color Hair Gray

Woman with hair that is turning gray
Photo: Cunaplus/Shutterstock
Q: I have been searching for an answer on my gray hair dilemma and have had no luck in finding an answer. My hair for the most part is dark brown. Gray hair is coming in at the front, and I would like to let it remain gray while continuing to color the rest of it.
 
Is there anything I can put in my hair at the front to help the gray progress? I guess I am asking if it's possible to color your hair gray (or at least some of it). I love the look of dark hair with a streak of gray, but I am too lazy and my hair is too long for me to wait for the natural process.
 
A: There is nothing, insofar as I know, that will increase the biological progression of gray hair. Gray hair is caused by a combination of genetics and aging. The hair becomes gray because it loses its natural pigmentation, and the hair follicles no longer produce pigments in the hair that grows.
 
While you cannot speed up nature, you can synthetically create that gray streak - but it is a highly technical process. Because hair bleaching uses an artificial process to disperse the pigment in the hair, you can only remove so much pigment via bleaching. The best you can hope for tends to be a pale yellow color (the shade of the inside of a banana peel).
 
With darker hair especially, bleaching to the palest possible color level can cause severe damage. Many women have literally destroyed the structural integrity of their hair trying to get pale, pale blondes. Because your hair is quite long, attempting a solid, stark bleach streak at home could easily lead to severe breakage.
 
However, your options are no longer limited to the temporary, chalky white hair toners primarily used in theatrical settings for aging make-up effects. Modern salon technology now utilizes high-quality demi-permanent and semi-permanent silver and gray toners. These are wearable, professional cosmetics for the hair that can be applied to bleached hair to create a realistic gray effect. Keep in mind that these are not fully permanent; they will fade over the course of a few weeks and require regular salon maintenance, but they provide a beautiful result.
 
If you want to pursue this look without waiting years for nature, you should absolutely see a professional stylist who specializes in gray transitions. Instead of bleaching a solid block of hair, a skilled stylist can use a technique called "babylights" (micro-fine highlights blended right into your natural grays) and tone them to silver. This gives you the immediate look of a striking gray-and-brown blend while allowing your natural grays to grow in seamlessly.
 
Once you have that streak established (whether naturally or chemically), you can continue coloring the rest of your hair dark brown. To protect the gray front from the brown dye, you can use the "foil method" in reverse: isolating and wrapping the gray sections in protective foil while the dark color is applied to the remainder of the hair. You can find instructions on the foiling technique here on our site.
 
©Hairfinder.com
 
See also:
 
Going Gray
 
How to color hair
 
Can you give me some options on ways to let my gray hair grow in?