We want to encourage more women to drop the redundant beauty standard of constantly covering their greys; so, Beauty Expert Bahar Niramwalla is sharing her tips on how to grow out and look after your beautiful grey mane. 

Firstly, we must understand what grey hair is. Grey hair is a combination of normally pigmented hairs interspersed with white ones. Hair turns white when the pigmentation cells responsible for colour stop being produced. These pigmentation cells make melanin, and are responsible for hair, eye and skin colour. With age, these cells begin to die, and the hair colour grows lighter to shades of grey, silver and eventually white. Grey hair is thinner than hair with natural colour because its cuticle has now become thinner. Plus, it tends to look dry and damaged most of time, so it needs extra care. 

Brassy Hair

Something you’ll notice during the growth stages is that your greys can take on a yellowy brassy look, and can become dull-looking. These changes are due to multiple factors like products, heat styling, environment and the new reality of dry, pigment-less hair.

To banish brassiness and keep your silvers looking refreshed, use a purple or lavender tinted hair care product to combat the yellows in your locks. Pantene has a great set of shampoo and shampoo and conditioner for just this purpose. These products will help counteract that dull look and brighten the silvers. Also, make sure your conditioner is giving you the both the colour and care it needs. Leaving your conditioner in for 3-5 minutes is a great way to boost the moisture in your hair.

Transitioning From Coloured to Grey

Once you’re about a month into the transition, you might be grasping for something to get you through any period of the growing out stage you feel uncomfortable with. Temporary covering or blending products to get over the hump will allow you to keep growing your greys while feeling in control of the process, the whole way through. Read the label to make sure you’re using a semi-permanent or temporary colour. If you don’t want to go the colouring route, a headband, hat or scarf is a quick and easy way to camoflague your greys for the time being.

If you want to go the temporary colour route, we recommend:

• L’Oreal Root Touch-Up Colour Refreshing Spray
• Clairol Root Touch-Up Colour Blending GelPureology Color Fanatic Leave-In Spray

Styling Grey Hair

Styling grey hair might needs some adjusting to, as hair can become more difficult due to texture changes. Be careful with heat styling when it comes to your greys as too much heat can yellow or tint your hair. Finer hair is more susceptible to high heat damage so it will require lower heat and more moisture. To protect your hair, lower the heat on your hot tools and use a heat-protectant styling product – or opt for non-heat options altogether! Use a leave-in treatment daily, pop a hair oil like this Saffron Hair Elixir Oil from JOON or Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray from Pureology on to seal in some hydration and your greys will thank you. The golden rule is to treat your hair kindly.

B also has these pink curling ribbons on the display head beside her. It’s the no-heat styling option (vs. heat tools) brought to us by Heatless Hair.