Go Grey and Tint Remover

Q: My mom wants to go grey. She's been coloring her hair forever! Where do I start? Tint remover? Then what?

A: Actually, the tint remover won't really work that well, especially if she's been using permanent color. It will leave the non-grey a beige color, and the grey will look a little yellowish.

I generally recommend she switches to a demi-permanent color in a lighter shade than she currently has and let the permanent color grow out. If she's already 100% grey, you could try the tint remover and then do some level ten color corrections to negate the yellowing effect, using demi-permanent color of course, and get a faster result.

There's always give-and-take with the hair. On the more positive side, using the demi-permanent color you will do less damage to the hair than permanent color (even deposit-only permanent color). The down-side is that this process of growing out will require color touch-ups every 6-12 shampoos (depending on how porous the hair is).

If her hair is really porous from years of coloring, have her simply cleanse her hair using only conditioner. This will help to smooth and close the cuticle layer and help the color hold longer between touch-ups. Just be sure to look for a conditioner infused with fruit oils, like Argan or Olive oils.

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See also:

Going gray

How to color hair

Can I increase the progression of my gray hair?

Can I use a product to remove my hair color and go all grey at once?