I’ve stopped coloring my gray hair. Now what?

Gray is in. But, is it? A client recently told me, “We need to do something about this color.” She spent over two years growing out a medium brown which reached her collar bone. Didn’t touch it. Didn’t try to blend it. Now the process was over and, though Covid gave her plenty of time to reconsider her color, it brought out an underlying fear: Change.

That’s right. Touching-up their hair every few weeks had gotten tiring for many people, so the obvious choice in a global pandemic was to stop. Another long-term client told me for many years that if given the chance, she would grow it out…and, she did. She took the same road. Two years later, there was no color except some gray and a much darker shade underneath. Few people get that bright white, which everyone asks if they’ll have. You most likely will not get that shade naturally, but one thing is true: Everyone loves that color!

For the “we need to do something” client, we did some lowlights. These are small pieces that match your natural shade (Remember the darker shade which grows in underneath while only some of your hair is gray?). Her hairline and part show the gray so she’s not in the salon every four or five weeks, but there is less gray… and less maintenance! We also gave her a silver gloss, which adds more color and life to the remaining gray. Imagine a darker gray with no regrowth line. That’s a win, and it’s easy too!

Another client highlights her hair, but now has a “lived-in” placement. Lived-in? Yes. You may see a bright front color on some people with a more natural color showing through the rest. By allowing some of your natural color to show, you’ll see more movement, too. This requires less maintenance: which is the change people wanted, but were unable to see when they were coloring so frequently.

Anne Kreamer in her book Going Gray (2007) wrote about being middle-age and trying to hide it. But is coloring your hair a lie? Is it not accepting your age? Though her decision to go gray made sense for her, there are too many color options available now to completely throw in the towel (or in this case, the color brush). Color sales are booming and will reach 40 billion by 2023. That’s an 11 billion dollar increase from 2019 (Statista). Color can really change your appearance, and it’s a trend that really has no limits. Always ask about options with your color, and remember to have some fun with it! Change is good.

Salon 822 Gray Hair Style

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