Experiences with “grey blending” (salon highlights to blend grey hair)?
July 12, 2022 2:21 PM Subscribe
Do you have naturally dark hair that is going/went grey? Have you ever had “grey blending” (highlights) done at a salon? Here are some examples of what I mean. What did you ask for in order to get what you wanted? Were you happy with the results? What was it like in terms of growing out and maintenance?
I have shoulder-length, almost-black Asian hair (a little coarse and a little wavy). This was me 7 years ago. As I get closer to 50, I’m getting a lot more grey, so my amateur-hour streak covering methods are now no longer cutting it. This is normal and I expected it.
What I didn’t expect was instead of just having more and more threads of grey/silver mixed in among my black hair, the rest of my hair that isn’t grey now seems to have faded to a kind of unflattering mousy reddish-brown. Where I do have larger grey streaks, my hair almost looks transparent and it is giving the illusion of bald patches! Definitely not optimal.
I don’t actually want to dye my whole head back to my original hair colour, because I think it might be too harsh for me at this point and it would also be high maintenance/upkeep. Ideally I’d like to do a graceful transition to full grey, silver, or white, and it seems like “grey blending” or strategic highlights might be a good way to do it.
I’ve never had any kind of salon colour done, so other than showing the colourist the pictures I like from the link above, I don’t really know what to ask for, and I don’t know what my expectations should be in terms of maintenance.
So if you have had “grey blending” done on your dark hair (or had highlights that helped you transition to grey):
I have shoulder-length, almost-black Asian hair (a little coarse and a little wavy). This was me 7 years ago. As I get closer to 50, I’m getting a lot more grey, so my amateur-hour streak covering methods are now no longer cutting it. This is normal and I expected it.
What I didn’t expect was instead of just having more and more threads of grey/silver mixed in among my black hair, the rest of my hair that isn’t grey now seems to have faded to a kind of unflattering mousy reddish-brown. Where I do have larger grey streaks, my hair almost looks transparent and it is giving the illusion of bald patches! Definitely not optimal.
I don’t actually want to dye my whole head back to my original hair colour, because I think it might be too harsh for me at this point and it would also be high maintenance/upkeep. Ideally I’d like to do a graceful transition to full grey, silver, or white, and it seems like “grey blending” or strategic highlights might be a good way to do it.
I’ve never had any kind of salon colour done, so other than showing the colourist the pictures I like from the link above, I don’t really know what to ask for, and I don’t know what my expectations should be in terms of maintenance.
So if you have had “grey blending” done on your dark hair (or had highlights that helped you transition to grey):
- What did you ask for in order to get what you wanted?
- Were you happy with the results?
- What was it like in terms of growing out and maintenance? That is, how often did you have to get it redone to keep it looking the way you liked?
Response by poster: That is very helpful, thank you! I will use your language to tell the colourist what I’m looking for (about how I want less obvious regrowth and for my greys to look like intentional highlights). I will also prepare myself for possibly needing another session.
I hope yours works out how you had wanted!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:07 PM on July 12, 2022
I hope yours works out how you had wanted!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:07 PM on July 12, 2022
I should add, I had six months worth of root regrowth for her to work with. For the stylist to blend in your natural root colour with the rest of your hair, you need roots to begin with. It’s painful but you’re better off letting it grow out for as long as you can handle it so the stylist has something to work with.
posted by Jubey at 10:16 PM on July 12, 2022
posted by Jubey at 10:16 PM on July 12, 2022
I haven't had grey blending done (mine has blended itself), so apologies for this orthogonal answer to your question! That said, if you haven't already tried using purple shampoo/conditioner, that will help brighten and de-mouse your hair while you wait for it to grow out enough to do the grey blending (and will be a good idea once you've made the transition to grey, as well). I use Amika and like it, but there are lots of options, and it really does make a difference.
posted by dizziest at 6:55 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dizziest at 6:55 AM on July 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Jubey: Luckily I haven’t been dyeing my hair so basically all my hair is roots, ha ha. I’m not transitioning to grey from a dyed colour, just trying to make it a little less unattractive while the rest of my hair takes its sweet time going grey.
Dizziest: I’ve been using purple shampoo and I like it. I’m using Playa but I will also check out the Amika stuff because I like their masks.
I’ve made an appointment and am looking forward to it! I’ll report back on how it goes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:21 AM on July 14, 2022
Dizziest: I’ve been using purple shampoo and I like it. I’m using Playa but I will also check out the Amika stuff because I like their masks.
I’ve made an appointment and am looking forward to it! I’ll report back on how it goes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 1:21 AM on July 14, 2022
Response by poster: So I did the deed and I’m happy with it. I made an appointment with a stylist that had a lot of good reviews over several years at a salon that tends to hire good people. I took a look at her Instagram page and liked what I saw.
She spent a good amount of time asking me what I was looking to do with my hair and what my long term plan was. I told her
She ended up putting in silver highlights and toning my hair so the greys were less yellow or warm. I left with a purple toning shampoo (Yubi Blonde anti-brass purple shampoo by Shu Uemura) that I’m supposed to use every 2-3 weeks to keep it that way.
I’ll admit, it took me a few minutes to adjust to being more grey when she was finished, but after a few minutes of getting used to it I quite liked it.
I’ll be going back in a couple of months and I’ll probably get her to put more highlights in and maybe make it a little less subtle? Don’t know yet. She said lowlights would be for when my hair is mostly grey, but right now she estimates I’m maybe at 40%, not even 50% yet, and it’s mostly around my face.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:53 PM on July 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
She spent a good amount of time asking me what I was looking to do with my hair and what my long term plan was. I told her
- I didn’t want to go back to my original (pre-grey) colour
- I wanted to put in grey highlights that looked like deliberate highlights but would also look natural when growing out
- I wanted the new greys coming in to blend as much as they could with the highlights
- I didn’t want to have to do touch ups more than once every few months.
She ended up putting in silver highlights and toning my hair so the greys were less yellow or warm. I left with a purple toning shampoo (Yubi Blonde anti-brass purple shampoo by Shu Uemura) that I’m supposed to use every 2-3 weeks to keep it that way.
I’ll admit, it took me a few minutes to adjust to being more grey when she was finished, but after a few minutes of getting used to it I quite liked it.
I’ll be going back in a couple of months and I’ll probably get her to put more highlights in and maybe make it a little less subtle? Don’t know yet. She said lowlights would be for when my hair is mostly grey, but right now she estimates I’m maybe at 40%, not even 50% yet, and it’s mostly around my face.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:53 PM on July 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
That sounds fabulous! Glad you’re happy.
posted by Jubey at 5:49 PM on July 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Jubey at 5:49 PM on July 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
What I said to my hairstylist is that whether it’s via highlights or lowlights, I want to introduce some way of blending so that when my greys come through there is a less obvious root regrow or demarcation line and to make it so my greys appear like intentional highlights or an intentional style rather than unkempt re growth.
Unfortunately I’ve only just had this done and don’t have enough regrowth to be able to report back yet but the stylist did say this would take more than one session to complete the look. Hope this helps.
posted by Jubey at 7:51 PM on July 12, 2022