The Secret to Stunning Silver and Gray Hair
Key Takeaways
- Your hair turns gray or silver when the cells in your hair follicles no longer produce melanin, which gives your hair its color.
- Gray or silver hair may have a different texture due to less sebum production.
- Upgrade your haircare routine with products like purple-toning shampoos and hair masks, which can correct brassiness and dullness in gray or silver hair.
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The Secret to Stunning Silver and Gray Hair
When you see grays, a new door opens, and you can choose to start the journey of embracing your natural gray hair. You may notice that the texture of gray hair is wirier and coarser than your pigmented hair. Understanding the changes your hair is going through will help you rock those gorgeous silver strands best.
Why Does Hair Turn Gray?
The pigment cells in hair follicles that produce melanin give hair its color. When the cells no longer produce melanin, the hair's lack of pigment turns it silver, white, or gray. As your hair ages, new growth from those follicles will grow in gray. It can be tempting to pull out sporadic strands of gray, but it's advisable not to do that. Plucking gray hairs can compromise your hair’s fullness.
Why Does Gray Hair Have a Different Texture?
One challenge you may face going gray is a change in hair texture. Though the texture feels coarser and wirier, the structure of the follicle doesn't change. Around the time the melanin-producing cells slow down, the hair follicles produce less oil that hydrates the hair, known as sebum. The lack of sebum results in drier hair, which feels wiry in texture.
How to Care for Gray Hair
To help keep your gray hair looking gorgeous, it’s a good idea to tailor your haircare routine to what gray hair needs. Learn more about how you can maintain the most stunning gray or silver hair.
Use a Purple Shampoo and Conditioner
Your gray hair deserves the right shampoo. Since gray hair is hair that has lost its pigment, it’s prone to turning yellow from metals or minerals in your shower water, sun exposure, and product buildup. That’s where our purple shampoo and conditioner system come in. OLAPLEX® N°.4P Blonde Enhancer™ Toning Shampoo and OLAPLEX N°.5P Blonde Enhancer™ Toning Conditioner work together to neutralize unwanted brassiness and yellow tones in gray hair while locking in root-to-tip brightness. When used as a system, N°.4P and N°.5P are proven to tone, strengthen, and smooth for shinier hair that's 89% smoother with 52% less breakage after one use.* Both N°.4P and N°.5P can also be used on their own.
To add even more vibrancy to your hair, finish with OLAPLEX N°.7 Bonding Oil.
Try a Moisturizing Hair Mask for Gray Hair
When you go gray, your hair requires more moisture. Prep your hair by removing any metals and minerals that have built up over time with N°.4C Bond Maintenance® Clarifying Shampoo. For severe cases of buildup, where a clarifying shampoo won’t do the trick, an OLAPLEX salon can provide an OLAPLEX Chelating treatment to remove those impurities. Once your hair is clarified, consider a moisturizing mask to care for your gray hair, like OLAPLEX Rich Hydration Mask or OLAPLEX Weightless Nourishing Mask. These masks seal the cuticle of your hair, helping them lie flat for up to five washes which prevents dryness and enhances overall hydration over time. If your silver hair is medium or coarse, use the Rich Hydration Mask weekly for instant detangling and intense hydration. For those with fine to medium hair, treat your gray hair once a week with the Weightless Nourishing Mask for instant volume and hydration and a 32% reduction in breakage. These masks help treat damage while helping to strengthen your hair over time.
Prevent Damage
Your gray hair may be more prone to damage due to its texture and porosity. Stop damage in its tracks with OLAPLEX N°.3 Hair Perfector™. This pre-shampoo treatment uses OLAPLEX Bond Building Technology® to repair, protect, and strengthen hair from the inside out. If you’re styling your hair with hot tools, protect your hair from heat up to 450°F (232°C) with Nº.9 Bond Protector Nourishing Hair Serum.
Get a Chelating Treatment
If you’ve noticed your gray hair has become become lackluster, you might want to try a chelating professional treatment. OLAPLEX Broad Spectrum Chelating Treatment is a high-potency purifying treatment that removes buildup in your hair from oil, hard water, metals, and minerals without stripping your hair. This helps brighten your hair, minimize discoloration, and restore shine and softness. The OLAPLEX Broad Spectrum Chelating treatment is a professional service only available at salons. Find an OLAPLEX Partner Salon near you to experience this deep, purifying treatment.
Using the right haircare products, like a hair mask for gray hair, can correct brassiness and dullness while keeping your silver or gray hair looking healthy and beautiful. Discover more OLAPLEX products that can repair and strengthen all hair types, or take the Hair Quiz to get a personalized OLAPLEX routine.
Sources
- https://www.vogue.com/article/natural-gray-hair-care
- https://www.byrdie.com/how-to-care-for-gray-hair-5077505
*Based on an independent consumer perception study of 60 women with bleached/color treated blonde hair using a system of N°.4P/5P.