Embrace Your Grays with These Gorgeous Hair Color Ideas
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Thinking of going gray? You're in good company! Thanks to the recent gray hair dye trend, more and more women are opting to go gray earlier than they might have a decade ago. Or, they're more interested in experimenting with colors beyond the usual suspects. After all, there are so many gorgeous gray hair color ideas out there, from dark silver to nearly white.
If you're going gray naturally and want to embrace it, you can either cut your hair short or wait six to 12 months while your roots grow out. To make the transition between your gray roots and the rest of your hair more seamless, ask your stylist to add gray highlights and lowlights to your whole head. You'll also want to protect your hair beyond the usual frizzy hair products. Opt for a gray hair shampoo or a purple shampoo, like Clairol Professional Shimmer Lights, which helps neutralize yellow, brassy tones and keeps your strands looking vibrant. Be sure to condition regularly, too, since gray hair is coarser than its pigmented counterparts. And always protect your locks from the sun to prevent discoloration.
Whether you want to let nature take its course, add highlights to match your roots, or make an instant transition to gray hair, here are tons of great ideas for rocking a stunning silvery style.
Long Platinum Gray Hair
Helen Mirren stunned on a recent red carpet when she debuted this wavy long-hair look. It features platinum gray roots with cool blonde ends. So stunning!
Glam Gray
This silvery gray look is so striking on Cardi B. Add a headband and tease back your hair to bring glamour to your gray.
Face-Framing Grays
Still unsure if you're ready to go fully gray? Dip your toe in the trend with a few face-framing strands, as seen here on Kelly Hu.
Icy Blue-Gray Hair
Cara Delevingne paid tribute to Met Gala honoree Karl Lagerfeld with this icy gray shag. The tone is so cool that it appears to have shades of blue. So pretty!
Salt and Pepper
Andie MacDowell knew she was onto something as soon as she started growing out her stunning salt and pepper style: "I felt more powerful and I felt more genuine and I felt more myself.” She has also said it makes her eyes pop!
Monochrome Magic
TV host Sibley Scoles proves that the only thing cooler than a pompadour is a silver pompadour! And if your hair matches your dress, all the better.
Short and Sweet
Singer Anne-Marie's sleek silver lob makes quite the statement. Contrasting dark roots add to the appeal of this edgy look.
Li Yuchun
Superstar Li Yuchun's pixie cut has just enough length to show off her ashy gray hair color.
Swept Silver
Sarah Moyle's gorgeous light gray hair color is on full display thanks to this swept-back look.
Frosted Strands
Enhance your naturally dark hair with frosted silver strands like singer Harriet Rose's. They'll add so much dimension and style.
Solid Gray
Gray hair doesn't have to shimmer to shine. Singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers subdued solid gray shade is proof of that.
Dark Gray Lob
To put it bluntly, British jockey Victoria Pendleton's super straight bob looks fantastic! Especially with this trendy shade of dark gray.
Embrace the Curl
Take a cue from author Margaret Atwood and embrace your grays and your curls. A look like this will really make you feel like a natural woman.
Youthful Bob
Actress Zosia Mamet's grayish-brown hair is balanced out with a bouncy cut to keep her look young and fresh.
Cool Silver
If you're hesitant to go gray, consider this sage advice from Emmylou Harris: “A lot of times, Mother Nature knows what she’s doing." The country music icon went prematurely gray in her early 20s but didn't embrace it until a red henna hair dye disaster in her 40s!
Silver Streak
Stacy London's signature streak is actually a medical condition—she's had poliosis, which causes hair follicles to go gray, since she was 11. Stacy has embraced the look, as have plenty of other women who chose to let their streak flag fly.
Pearly White
Cynthia Erivo's hairstylist Coree Moreno matched her hair to her dress for the 2020 Oscars! He upped the glam with a glitter-infused hair gel.
Highs and Lows
Gray hair doesn't have to be one-note. Achieve a multidimensional look like Diane Keaton by asking a stylist for a range of gray highlights and lowlights.
Gray Balayage
The youthful balayage trend works just as well on gray hair as it does on blonde or brunette strands. Just ask model Nicola Griffin!
White Blonde
You don't have to go totally gray: Dame Helen Mirren's chic white-blonde bob proves you can have the best of both worlds.
Platinum Pixie
Dame Judi Dench has rocked a pixie cut since the '60s. An icy white-blonde hue keeps the iconic look as fresh as ever!
Silver Bombshell
Did you know that Lady Gaga is a natural brunette? If you're dyeing darker hair silver or gray, don't try it at home. You'll have to first lighten your base shade to blonde, and you should turn to the professionals to lessen damage.
Gleaming Silver
Silver strands don't necessarily have to look natural! Ciara gave her retro updo an unexpected twist with this edgy platinum shade.
Gray Blonde
Meryl Streep's gray roots blend seamlessly into her natural blonde hair. For a similar look, you can ask your stylist to turn your grays into highlights!
Super Toned
Jane Fonda might be known as a blonde bombshell, but her stylist Jack Martin transformed her hair for the 2020 Oscars by toning it with silver and platinum shades.
Purple Haze
Lavender-gray hair is super trendy, and Kelly Osbourne was on the forefront of the look. Her hair was so fashion-forward, she joked she was contractually obligated to keep the shade by her bosses on Fashion Police.
Sideswept Silver
Sideswept bangs freshen up Glenn Close's gray pixie cut. They're a perfect match for her young-at-heart tie-dye sweater!
Natural Roots
Jessica Biel's glam updo put the focus on her gorgeous silver roots at the 2018 Golden Globes.
Cropped Curls
Novelist Alice Walker lets her gray grow in naturally, creating a gorgeous salt-and-pepper effect.
Shadow Roots
Possibly the lowest-maintenance trend out there is shadow rooting. Model Lauren Hutton leaves her grayish roots untouched, giving her hair a cool ombré effect.
Silver and Smooth
How striking is fashion businesswoman Linda Fargo's bob? Flyaways are more noticeable with white hair, so use a serum to ensure super-sleek strands.
Snow White
Model Maye Musk considers her all-white hair to be one of her greatest assets. "It's become the most important part of my modeling career, because everyone's loving it," she told Yahoo.
Gunmetal Gray
Trend alert: Match your hair to your outfit! Model Jourdan Dunn shows off a cutting-edge ombré bob to go with her metallic dress at the Met Gala in 2016.
Gradually Gray
Blythe Danner's gray roots create a natural two-tone effect with her blonde locks. Plus, bouncy layers keep her 'do fresh and youthful-looking.
Fluorescent White
All-white everything! Jamie Lee Curtis dyed her signature gray pixie a bright white shade to match her dress for the 2019 Golden Globes.
Silvery Blonde
For this chic blonde hue, blogger Victoria MacGrath uses a silver toner between bleaches to neutralize any brassiness.
Face-Framing Streaks
These days, feminist icon Gloria Steinem's trademark blonde streaks are a gorgeous white hue, which draw attention to her eyes.
White Roots
"Natural Woman" songwriter Carole King proves natural is gorgeous! Her white roots add flair to her bouncy blonde curls.
High-Gloss Silver
For this sleek silver hairstyle, Kim Kardashian West's stylist Chris Appleton polished Kim's strands with Color Wow's Pop and Lock High Gloss Shellac.
Inside-Out Roots
Some women like to show off their gray roots, and actress Javicia Leslie flipped the trend with her gray ends at the Elle Women in Music Awards for 2020!
Gray Ombré
Legendary actress Cicely Tyson shows off a three-toned ombré lob (long bob). It probably goes without saying, but to recreate a show-stopping look like this, you should call a professional stylist!
Edgy Gray
It may not match Pink's colorful name, but this darker gray color perfectly suits her rockstar persona!
Spiky Silver
Singer Anne Murray's spiky 'do adds some spunk to her cool silver hair color.
Peekaboo Pink
Many women under 40 are dyeing their hair gray. Actress Dascha Polanco makes the trend even more playful with a pop of pink.
Salt and Pepper
Katie Holmes's silver strands stand out against her dark hair, which she styled into a flapper-esque pixie for the 2018 Golden Globes.
Icy White
"Today, I am in a territory that business considers unmarketable: age and white hair," model Carmen Dell'Orefice told New You magazine. "Slowly, however, I started to own that territory little by little because I stood up for age."
Dove Gray
Sharon Osbourne was as well known for her fiery red hair as her fiery personality. But this year, tired of weekly dye appointments, the talk show host made the decision to transition to her natural color. We think it looks fabulous!
Mushroom Blonde
It's hard to tell just what color Lily-Rose Depp's hair is—and that's the point! This trendy multi-tone hair color is a mix of light brown, dark blonde, and gray shades.
Spectrum of Gray
A mix of white and gray highlights gives actress Christina Pickles' hairstyle a little more oomph.
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