Gray Hair and Highlights

Hair that is going gray — Photo: Cunaplus/Shutterstock

Q: My hair is naturally dark brown but now it is going gray and I would like to know if it is okay to have highlights put in my hair. One hairdresser has told me just to dye it the one color while another has said to dye it one color first and then have it highlighted. What is your comment on this?

A: If there is a specific pattern of highlights you want for your hair, in addition to covering the gray you have, then you will need to have your hair highlighted separately from the over-all coverage.

However, the initial stylist who suggested one color process probably intended that you use a lighter, deposit-only hair color to re-pigment your gray hair, effectively converting them into highlights.

In order to do this, you need to use a shade of hair color that will work well with your natural color (with a similar base color) and is at least 3 shades lighter than your natural color. This will cover the gray, but leave it light enough to be distinguishable from the darker hair.

The second stylist was obviously thinking in terms of giving you gray coverage, along with highlights. You can get the desired effect through foiling, where the stylist will apply highlighting color to certain segments of hair and covering them with foils, while applying the base color to the rest of the hair.

The process you choose depends on the results you desire. If you simply want gray coverage that looks very natural, then you simply need one color applied. If you want specific highlights, you need to have two colors applied.

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See also:

Color hair

Gray hair Q&A

The implications of going gray