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, which can correct brassiness and dullness in gray or silver hair.

Jump to

• Why Does Hair Turn Gray?
• Why Does Gray Hair Have a Different Texture?
• Caring for Gray Hair

The Secret to Stunning Silver and Gray Hair

When you see grays, a new choice opens up to you 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 sparkles 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 starts to gray, 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 that surfaces when going gray can be 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 themselves produce less oil that hydrates the hair, otherwise known as sebum—the lack of sebum results in drier hair, which in turn feels wiry in texture.

Caring for Gray Hair

To keep your gray hair looking gorgeous, it’s a good idea to tailor your haircare routine to what gray hair needs. Learn more about the different ways you can maintain gorgeous gray or silver hair.

Use a Purple Shampoo and Conditioner

Your gray hair deserves the right shampoo. Since gray hair loses 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 comes in. OLAPLEX® No.4P Blonde Enhancer™ Toning Shampoo and OLAPLEX No.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, No.4P and No.5P are proven to tone, strengthen, and smooth for shinier hair that's 89% smoother with 52% less breakage​ after one use. Both No.4P and No.5P can also be used on their own.

To add even more vibrancy to your hair, finish with OLAPLEX No.7 Bonding Oil.

Try a Moisturizing Mask

When you go gray, your hair requires more moisture. Consider a moisturizing mask to care for your gray hair like OLAPLEX No.8 Bond Intense Moisture Mask, which treats damage and provides intense moisture. This moisture mask is easy to use: apply it to clean, damp hair; leave it on for 10 minutes; and then rinse thoroughly.

Prevent Damage

Your gray hair may be more prone to damage due to its texture and porosity. Stop damage in its tracks with OLAPLEX No.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 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. , purifying treatment.

Using the right haircare products 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

1. https://www.vogue.com/article/natural-gray-hair-care
2. https://www.byrdie.com/how-to-care-for-gray-hair-5077505

SHARE