Looking for grey hair styles? You came to the right place! But first, did you know there is no such thing as “grey” hair?  Grey hair is an illusion and a trick of the eye— the “grey” hairs are actually white! As you age, the hair that still contains melanin (natural color) and the hair that is now without pigment mesh together to create a grey tone. Those two tones mix together to give the salt and pepper effect in the hair. When you have a low percentage of white hair, the white hairs create a high contrast look and can significantly stand out. If you have dark hair, they’ll stand out even more. When someone’s natural base is lighter, though, the whites blend in for quite some time. They may even give the illusion of a highlighted effect. Redheads typically grey very fast, and earlier on in life. Experts still are not totally sure why people lose the pigment in their hair. Stress and genetics play a huge role along with environmental factors. It’s unsure whether or not we can prevent hair from prematurely losing pigment or “greying”. And, once the hair is white, there is nothing that can be done to reverse this transformation other than coloring to cover it up… but you can find grey hair styles you love  

So your hair is “grey,” now what? Choose the right grey hair style!

Cover the grey completely with an all over color.

This requires more maintenance as you will have a line of regrowth that will need to be covered. Its  recommended to maintain your root retouch every 4-6 weeks to keep the color and coverage consistent.

Add highlights and go lighter.

This is also a very pretty and effective camouflage for your white hair.  As I previously stated if your hair is lighter the amount of contrast between the white “grey” hair and the natural tone is less. This creates a more blended look but does not provide your traditional “covered’ look. You will see some whites but it will look blended and organic

Add Lowlights for a different type of camouflage.

Adding lowlights will add that depth but also keep your natural white base. It’s an extremely low maintenance coloring technique and is perfect for all hair types.

Brighten that white!

So what if you have a high percentage of white hair and just want to maintain it? White hair is extremely susceptible to yellowing, but using a violet based shampoo or conditioning treatment will help prevent severe discoloration. Turning hot tools down in temperature is key to keeping white hair shiny and healthy, too. When white hair comes in contact with an implement that is too hot it will discolor in many ways. It can turn bright yellow or even an orange tinge (yeah, seriously!). Hard well-water can also leave an orange tint in white hair. It’s important to add a clarifying treatment in your at home regimen. There are also professional products that are a more aggressive clarifying treatment that can be done in salon to improve the tone and add shine and removed staining and build up.

Last, but not least, embrace it!

If you have all over color, there’s no reason not to embrace your natural whites! Believe it or not, this has been a huge trend over the past few years— more and more clients are ditching the color brush entirely and opting to let their white hair show. I absolutely love this look. 

So what’s the verdict?

Cover it, camouflage it or tone it! There are endless possibilities, so pick the look that works best with your lifestyle. Ask yourself what kind of upkeep do you want? What’s your budget? How often do you want to be in that salon? Whatever look you choose, make sure you rock it and make the it your own.