If you’ve been on social media lately, you must’ve seen the icy grey hair dye trend. Celebs and influencers are inspiring so many women to try this hair color. Grey is usually associated with older ladies, but it’s such a gorgeous color when done right; it suits all ages. More and more women are letting their greys grow out, especially since quarantine has limited access to the salon. But even younger ladies are quickly adopting the silver hair trend.
So, whether you’re looking to enhance your grey hair or looking to give this color a try, check out our list of best grey hair dye recommendations. These products are easy to use at home, so you’ll be saving yourself a trip to the salon.
Is grey the color for you?
In order to prep your hair for the grey dye, it needs to be a light blonde. Therefore, if you have darker hair like brown or black color, you need to bleach it and lighten it beforehand. To prevent significant hair damage, it’s best to take it slow and lighten gradually until you achieve a light blonde or an icy cool blonde. Then, you can safely apply the grey boxed dye, and you’ll get that gorgeous color you want.
If your hair is already grey, then an at-home dye is going to infuse strands with richness and dimension to create a glowing shine. One of the challenges of grey hair is that it can look dull and lifeless. So, a fresh coat of dye will make it vibrant and healthy-looking and really make silver pop.
Table of Contents
Best Grey Hair Dye To Use At Home
Best for Light Blondes: L’Oreal Paris Feria Smokey Silver Permanent Hair Color, 1 Ea, Silver Grey S1
This is the perfect dye if you have a light blonde or grey hair color. It’s a permanent dye with ashy silver tones. This type of color gives a smoky multidimensional shiny color that’s sure to turn heads. It contains nourishing ingredients that protect and strengthen hair strands from root to tip.
The Feria range offers beautiful trendy shades that always stand out in comparison with other boxed dyes. This particular smoky silver shade three times the highlights for hair that shines beautifully in the light. The liquid gel formula is very easy to apply, and you get bold color for up to 8 weeks.
Pros
- Permanent hair color.
- Very trendy smoky silver color.
- The formula doesn’t dry or damage hair.
- Contains conditioning ingredients.
- Gives hair highlights, so it looks multidimensional.
- It can be used on permed hair.
Cons
- Washes out quite easily.
- It doesn’t cover your natural greys, but it blends in with them.
Best Metallic Grey: Got2b Metallic Permanent Hair Color, M71 Metallic Silver
If you love grey hair but want to make it have that unique metallic silver-tone, this is the perfect dye for you. This range of permanent metallics is very fade resistant and long-lasting. The color itself is very shimmery. So, if you want a trendy and modern take on the classic grey, this Got2B dye can do wonders.
The formula has a creamy consistency, and it applies evenly on the hair. But, this dye is only recommended for women with bleached blonde and light blonde hair color. It adds a vibrant sheen for visibly softer and healthier-looking hair, so you never have to deal with dull color again.
Pros
- Lasts up to 8 weeks.
- Adds shine and sheen to your hair.
- Beautiful metallic silver color that is very modern.
- Very shimmery in the light.
- Affordable.
- It doesn’t cause very much damage to your hair.
Cons
- It doesn’t work as well if the hair is not bleached first.
- Need two boxes to get the best results.
Best Classic Grey: Adore Semi-Permanent Haircolor #158 Mystic Gray 4 Ounce
The metallics and shimmery greys are not everyone’s cup of tea. If you want a classic grey color, this semi-permanent formula from Adore gives that natural-looking shade. This is perfect for mature hair that needs a boost to look more vibrant. If only a part of your head is full of greys, this dye will help give you uniform color all over.
Since this dye only lasts a few washes, you can continuously touch up the color, so it always looks fresh. It’s also a great way to experiment with the silver hair trend and test it out. With this gentle formula, you won’t cause damage, and your hair doesn’t feel dry and brittle. The color doesn’t bleed as much as other similar products, so it’s fun and easy to use.
Pros
- Lovely shade of grey.
- Bright, vibrant color.
- Hair has a silky texture.
- The formula doesn’t dry out the strands.
- Saturates the hair very well and spreads out evenly.
- Semi-permanent.
Cons
- You only get the color, so you need to get a bowl and applicator separately.
- Fades out fast.
Best Depositing Colorwash: Keracolor Clenditioner Hair Dye (18 Colors) Depositing Color Conditioner Colorwash
A depositing colorwash is a coloring product that works best if you already have a shade of grey hair. It adds a lovely silver color to your hair while it conditions and nourishes it. It’s a 3-in-1 product that cleanses, conditions, and colors. Therefore it takes very little effort to use every time you wash your hair. All you have to do is let it lather in your locks for a few minutes, and your hair is going to be shiny, vibrant, and full of silver tones.
Are you wondering how this formula works? Well, it works by brightening the hair every time you use it, but you start seeing results even after the first application. The formula is also infused with keratin, strengthening the strands and making them less prone to breakage. Best of all, this product will take a salt and pepper type of grainy grey and turns it into a shiny silver.
Pros
- Easy to use this 3-in-1 product.
- Makes hair shiny and vibrant.
- It contains keratin, which strengthens the hair follicles.
- This product doesn’t damage your hair like other dye type formulas.
- It is just like using shampoo, but it also deposits color.
- You can use it as often as you like, and the color keeps getting brighter.
- It’s a gentle formula.
Cons
- Expensive
- It only works on grey or very light blonde hair colors.
Best Ammonia-Free: Ion Semi-Permanent Hair Color, Titanium
Many people worry about grey hair dyes because they’re known to damage the hair, mostly because they contain ammonia. But with this ammonia-free formula, there is no need to worry any longer. This titanium shade is a beautiful darker grey/silver that is gentle enough to use on all hair types. It’s a semi-permanent dye, so you know it’s not going to strip your hair of all its nutrients.
The color lasts for about a month without losing its vibrancy and sheen. This dye is made in Italy out of the best ingredients, and it is ammonia and peroxide free. Even though it’s free of harsh chemicals, it still gives a very intense color that’s going to get noticed. We recommend you use two tubes for an even application, and then you’ll be satisfied with the pigment and coverage.
Pros
- It makes the hair feel very soft and silky.
- The formula doesn’t contain ammonia and peroxide.
- The color is very intense and vibrant.
- It also acts as a toner, so it makes the silver very multidimensional.
- Affordable.
- It works on balayage too.
Cons
- You need to use a developer depending on your hair color.
- The color doesn’t last as long.
Best Henna: Surya Henna Henna Cream – Silver Fox
When it comes to natural hair dye, there’s nothing quite like henna. This silver fox shade resembles that classic grey silver foxtail color. While it doesn’t cover your roots like a permanent dye, this is a great way to get all over grey color, especially if you already have almost-silver hair. It’s a powder product, so you simply mix it with water and apply it all over your strands.
Henna is still a beloved hair dying method and has been for centuries because it doesn’t damage the hair. Unlike with other dyeing products, you don’t have to worry about ruining your beautiful hair, no matter your age. This type of formula is also great for people with allergies and sensitivity to harsh chemical dyes. This way, they can enjoy a beautiful silver color safely.
Pros
- The product doesn’t cause hair loss and damage.
- It’s easy to mix the powder and apply it.
- You can use it more often than regular dyes.
- It gives a silver fox kind of color that’s vibrant and bright.
- It also covers roots but only if you let it sit for over an hour.
- Inexpensive.
Cons
- The product is not quite as natural as it claims.
- It washes out faster than permanent dyes.
Buying Guide
How to get lovely grey hair color
The best way to get grey hair is to apply the dye onto light platinum blonde hair. If your hair is a medium blonde, you can still get the color, but you’ll need to use more dye. However, if you’re a brunette, the color just won’t turn up grey. Therefore, you need to lighten and decolor or bleach your hair. This can take several weeks, and you need to consider the potential damage to your hair.
Is grey hair high-maintenance?
It can be a high-maintenance color, especially if you already have greys growing. Then, you need to transition to wearing the grey full-time. The dye needs to make your hair color look even, so it’s all about combining the highlights and lowlights to get vibrant, shiny grey strands.
You also need to think about washing and conditioning your new color. First, you might want to co-wash your hair in order to make sure you clean it without stripping it of color. For shampoo, we recommend using a purple and silver shampoo formulated explicitly for grey hair. Then, it’s important to use a color-friendly conditioning treatment that keeps hair healthy-looking. This is especially necessary if you bleach and lighten the hair before going grey.
Once you have grey hair, you need to use a toner to maintain the beautiful tones. You don’t want any yellows and coppers ruining your color. Any brassiness is only going to ruin your color so use the toner regularly.
As well, we recommend getting Olaplex treatments to strengthen the bonds and prevent fading. This is optional and costly, but it just makes hair look and feel so much better.
What you need to dye your hair grey
Now that you’re fully committed to getting that pretty timeless grey, then you’ll need a few accessories. Not all hair dyes come with everything you need. For example, the Adore dye is just a bottle of color, and you don’t even get a developer. So, check out this handy list and see what you need.
- The dye you’ve chosen
- Bleach or decoloring cream
- A good toner
- A towel to drape over your shoulders as you color. After all, you don’t want to make a big mess in your bathroom or color your skin.
- A special cream to apply to your skin to prevent staining. We recommend petroleum jelly. Apply it to the hairline and around the ears.
- A bowl to mix in.
- An applicator, usually a brush that you can use to apply the product to the hair.
Conclusion
It’s time to try the grey trend and see for yourself that this is not just a granny color. When it’s done right, it looks so radiant and vibrant that this foxy silver shade is sure to get you lots of compliments. But best of all, there are many at-home boxed dyes so you can try out the look at home without heading out to the salon. So, who says foxy silver hair is not timeless? It’s the perfect color for any age because it always looks classy and stylish.