Which hair colours look best when you're turning grey?
Do you still dye your hair to the colour you had before you started turning grey? When you're turning older, that's usually not the best choice. Let's take a good look at the hair dye you use. Because when the pigment disappears from your hair, it also disappears from your face. Your skin tone usually turns a bit lighter. Even though your ideal colour will be close to what you used to have, it's probably better to pick a lighter colour. You'll look younger, and your eyes will pop! Grey outgrowth also stands out less with light colours. But what is the best hair colour for grey hair?
Pick a lighter hair colour
When you want to dye your hair because it's turning grey, there's a big chance you'll pick your old colour. After all, you just want to stay yourself. In the beginning this a perfectly fine choice, but as you're turning greyer your face slightly changes tone as well. A lighter colour will then look better.
Your hair follicles produce less pigment as you're turning older. If there's no more pigment being produced in the hair follicles, your hair turns pigmentless. Pigmentless hair is always white (colourless). So grey hair doesn't actually exist! It appears grey because there's white hairs between your own hair colour.
With the disappering of melanin in your hair, your face turns lighter too. That's because your skin loses pigment as well. Your old hair colour often isn't the best choice anymore. It won't be a complete metamorphosis, your ideal colour is close to what it used to be. You'll look younger if you pick a slightly lighter colour, and your eyes will pop! The colour around your face should be lighter, to frame your face, but if you want you can make it fade to a darker colour in the back if you want.
You often hear from people that are turning grey that a dark hair colour looks 'harsh'. That's because the contrast with the skin increases as your skin turns lighter. If you use foundation, you'll notice how your usual shade will be too dark. Of course nothing is mandatory, but another great advantage of a lighter colour is that your grey outgrowth is less prominent. You'll have to dye your hair less often.
Best coverage hair dye for grey hair
If you indeed want to go for a slightly lighter colour than you are used to, it is important to choose a permanent hair dye colour and nuance with good coverage. Generally, these are the natural and gold shades.
Was your hair originally blonde? Then the best covering hair colours are, for example:
- very light blonde (10.01);
- light blonde (9.0);
- intense light blonde (9.00)
- golden light blonde (9.3);
- medium blonde (8.0)
- intense blonde (8.00);
- golden blonde 8.3.
Is your colour not included? Then you can also mix one of our other colours with a natural or gold shade to ensure good coverage.
Are you a brunette? Then the following colours cover your hair best:
- dark blonde (7.0);
- intense dark blonde (7.00)
- gold dark blonde (7.3);
- light brown (6.0);
- intense light brown (6.00)
- brown (5.0).
Prefer a different colour? Then you can also mix your colour of choice with a natural or gold shade to ensure good coverage. Read more about good coverage on grey hair in our blog 'How do you get a good coverage on grey hair?
Do you have black hair? Then you could try if the 3.0 (black brown) gives a good result on your grey hair. The 3.0 is so dark brown that it almost looks black. If it does not cover well, you can also mix the 3.0 (dark brown) with the 1.0 (black). Is your hair already completely white? Then you can also try if one of the brown or blonde colours above will cover your grey hair.
How to slightly transition to a lighter colour
In this example we're transitioning from a dark brown (colour level 4) to a dark blonde (colour level 7 at WECOLOUR). You can always alter this example to go from a lighter colour than colour level 4 to an even lighter colour. Do you want to go two colour levels higher? Then you'll have achieved your goal sooner! In this example we assume you want to dye your outgrowth every five weeks. If you want to dye quicker than that, that's also possible.
If you already have blonde hair, don't go for a blonde lighter than colour level 10.01.
From colour level 4.0 to 7.0 in 60 weeks
Dye all of your hair with the 5.0
At 5 and 10 weeks: Dye your outgrowth twice with a mixture of the 5.0 and 6.0 (without freshening up the lengths, in a ratio of 1:1)
At 15 weeks: Dye all of your hair with a mixture of the 5.0 and 6.0 in a 1:1 ratio
At 20 and 25 weeks: Dye your outgrowth twice with the 6.0 (without freshening up the lengths)
At 30 weeks: Dye all of your hair with the 6.0
At 35 and 40 weeks: Dye your outgrowth twice with a mixtyre of the 6.0 and 7.0 (without freshening up the lengths, in a ratio of 1:1)
At 40 weeks: Dye all of your hair with a mixture of the 6.0 and 7.0 in a 1:1 ratio
At 50 and 55 weeks: Dye your outgrowth twice with the 7.0 (without freshening up the lengths)
At 60 weeks: Dye all of your hair with the 7.0
Add a little warmth to your grey hair
With the pigment, a bit of the warmth from your skin also disappears. It is then best to add more warmth to your hair colour, or at least not to use ash tints. Ash tints also have weaker coverage on grey hair. Do you want to keep a neutral tone? Then pick a natural colour (all colours ending in .0).
Does a warm tint sound good to you? If you mix them with natural colours, you can decide for yourself how warm you want it to be. Never use only a warm tint for your outgrowth. This will look very bright or have weak coverage. It's best to mix with a natural tint so you have good coverage and a colour that isn't too bright. You can dye the lengths of your hair with only warm colours. Warm tints are the copper, mahogany red brown, golden and chocolate tints.
Take good care of your grey hair
When your hair turns grey, it also changes structure. Grey hair is a lot more stiff and brittle than you're used to. If your hair is brittle and dry, it makes you look older. Taking good care of your hair is highly necessary! You'll look much younger if your hair is in a good condition. By using hair care products without sulfates and resorcinol the quality of your hair and scalp will stay a lot healthier. Your hair will be less dry and more cared for. The dye will stay good-looking for longer if your hair is healthy. The colour also won't be too dark, because your hair won't absorb the pigment too much. Our shampoo and conditioner are as pure as possible and therefore much better for your hair and scalp. You can also use our conditioner as a mask, by letting your hair absorb it overnight.
Our clay shampoo on a basis of black bamboo is especially for dry and coloured hair and also ideal for grey hair. The hair will be less hard and have a softer feel to it. Dark Bamboo is completely based on natural ingredients and doesn't foam. It's best to apply it to dry hair, so all the caring elements can do their work properly. The hair is cleansed by the bamboo, which you can feel after you've rinsed it out. Next to the Dark Bamboo we also have an Argan Silk. This is a rich, caring formula for your (coloured) hair. Argan Silk hydrates, feeds and cares for the hair. It also protects your hair from heat and moisture. Perfect for dyed hair! You can use the Argan Silk after washing your hair, and you shouldn't rinse it out. Even more TLC? Our pride is the Colour Mask. You can add this product to your hair dye or use it as a very intensive mask.
If you take into account the colour choice and care tips from this blog 'which hair colours look best when you're turning grey', you really make a difference!
