Now that we are in the throes of the gray days of winter, it doesn’t mean we have to let our hair follow suit. For those of us whose hair is adorned, for better or worse, with silver strands, learning how to cover gray hair is a useful skill to master between salon appointments. It takes about four to six weeks for grays to start making their way back after a color treatment. And while some may welcome regular touch-up trips to the hairdresser, others can find it hard to leave the house in the winter months.
Gray coverage comes down to strategic camouflage to quiet the shine that comes with white, silver, and gray strands. The trick is not to detract from your natural or currently dyed hair shade. Products for gray cover are usually applied to the root and close to the hair follicles, but you want to keep scalp health in mind. Overuse of buildable sprays and powders can lead to unintended results, such as hair loss, general irritation, and dullness. Here are a few tricks to obscure gray hair at home.
First, try a root concealer spray. These aerosols function similarly to dry shampoos and don’t require too much precision.
L’Oreal Paris’ Magic Root Cover-Up spray is ideal for temporary touch-ups that quickly cover grays with no mixing or mess. The non-sticky formula is alcohol-free, ammonia-free, peroxide-free, and made for all hair types and textures. It comes in nine different shades and lasts until your next shampoo.
Oribe’s Airbrush Root Touch-Up Spray offers dirt and oil-absorbing benefits to refresh hair with a boost of color. Of course, with these sprays to keep the coverage up, you may have to use them multiple times a week. So be careful of buildup and try not to apply daily.
For more meticulous coverage, there are root touch-up powders, which are essentially a packed palette designed to be brushed over gray strands.
John Frieda’s Roote Blur Color Blending Concealer can be dusted over problem areas, is best for blond or platinum shades, and provides renewed color in between washes.
Or you can DIY this fix even further with your own collection of eyeshadow palettes, brow powders, and brow gels to disguise those errant gray strands. Just make sure that these powders and gels don’t come with unwanted shimmer or sparkle. You don’t want to draw attention to the cover-up with unforeseen glitter.
Speaking of DIY, there are more natural means to hide gray roots that pose little to no harm to your hair. If you’re already a proponent of natural and holistic remedies, try some apple cider vinegar, either applied directly or mixed into shampoo, to calm, tone, and clarify grays. For darker hair, look to black teas as a means of darkening or tinting bright silver strands.
Be careful; natural washes, just like over-the-counter options, will typically color all of the hair they saturate, so opt for a brush versus an overall wash for better control over this at-home method.
Of course, staying at home, comfy and cozy, is high on the priority list for many of us this winter season; instead of trekking to the salon for touch-ups, why not just color your hair at home to tackle gray?
For permanent color, try L’Oreal Paris’ Fade-Defying Shine Hair Color. This translucent gel formula and conditioner help keep color vibrant for up to 8 weeks and is available in over 50 shades.
Another permanent, less intensive option is Clairol’s Root Touch-Up by Nice’n Easy. This comes with a brush for spot treatment and was designed specifically to clean up slivering roots.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to at-home dye jobs, so start slow and consider chatting with your colorist or hairdresser before diving headfirst into the pigment pool.
Hopefully, one of these options will keep your grays away as we slough slowly towards spring.
