Gray hair, how to get it?
Just like platinum blonde, gray is a very technical color to achieve. Indeed, for an optimal result, gray must be done on a bleached-white base.
Sorry ladies, but if you have a very dark natural base, you'll have to forget about that beautiful pastel gray that's catching your eye. Going against the advice of your hairdresser or hair supplier risks ending up with a failed color that's difficult to fix.
First step: bleaching
To get a beautiful gray, the very first step is to go through bleaching. And yes, gray is earned, at the risk of somewhat damaging your hair. Bleaching is a chemical process that aims to remove all pigment from your hair. It is a technical operation that requires great mastery of hairdressing. We therefore encourage you to make an appointment with your hairdresser and, above all, not to do this at home, as it risks a hair disaster.
The bleaching process, or processes, depending on your hair base, must be very thorough to achieve a white result without any yellow undertones. If yellow undertones persist, your gray is very likely to turn green. Much less glamorous all of a sudden…
We repeat, this step is not to be taken lightly and should be done by a hair professional.
Second step: coloring
Once your hair is properly bleached, it's time to move on to coloring to achieve that desired gray. To do this, you just need to choose the shade of gray you like to adorn your hair.
You can opt for variations such as lilac gray or bluish gray for an extra touch of originality. You will have a choice of several types of coloring: permanent, tone-on-tone, or temporary, according to your desires. Find all our colorings on our Gouiran Beauté website.
So, which shade of gray will you fall for?
How to enhance gray hair?
After enduring successive bleaching steps (because let's be honest, it's very rare to get a white base after just one bleach) and coloring, your hair color is perfect. The shade you've been dreaming of is finally on your head. The only problem? After just a few shampoos, your color no longer looks anything like that result. But why?!
- Hair will oxidize due to sun rays and can cause the color to yellow.
- The pigment will gradually fade, especially for those who opt for a pastel color because the color pigments are very light.
But what is the solution?
The solution is purple shampoos and toning treatments. Formulated with blue or violet pigments for the most powerful ones, these hair care products will allow you to maintain a radiant gray over several shampoos by neutralizing yellow reflections. Also used for the maintenance of platinum blonde, these shampoos will save your color!
For an even more effective result, you can do a toner treatment between your salon visits. This way, you can permanently erase yellow reflections and have a shiny color!
It's therefore crucial to keep in mind that going gray requires a budget for your salon visits as well as for maintenance. If you think you'll quickly get tired of it or don't have the energy to maintain it, we don't recommend you go for this color.
You now know the secrets to having and keeping beautiful gray hair!
