Gray roots can be unwanted and difficult to cover. If you are looking to color resistant gray hair, we can help you improve your color coverage to give you consistent, complete and beautiful gray coverage.

Gray hair isn’t actually gray – it’s white. Pigment loss occurs naturally in hair as we age. Along with the changes in pigmentation, gray hairs can also undergo structural changes Gray hair is often also coarser. The outer cuticle layer of grays can be more tightly packed and layered, making them resistant to color absorption. As a result, it can be more difficult to color resistant gray hair and to cover visible regrowth.

Here’s our top tips for coloring color resistant grays:

1. Strategic Product Placement for Perfect Color

If you are coloring frequently, have porous lengths, or are just focussed on preserving the condition of your hair, then our color Perfection approach will give you permanent color coverage over grays, while avoiding adding or layering permanent color in your lengths.

Our color Perfection technique involves applying permanent color to each section of hair once only. After an initial full length color application with a permanent color, you then apply permanent color only to the roots.

Boost and refresh color and tone in your lengths with a toner or a semi-permanent color. A toner is best to reduce warmth and balance your tone. You can achieve a semi-permanent color effect by blending the same color that you use on your roots with a 5 vol no lift, deposit only developer. The 5 vol developer is very gentle, and will deposit color and tone only, without lifting. It is the perfect light-touch approach to keep your hair healthy and to keep your color refreshed in your lengths, while avoiding applying a stronger developer to your lengths.

2. 27 Vol Developer to Cover Stubborn Grays

Our 27 vol developer is specifically formulated to cover colour-resistant grays. It has a bit more lifting power than our standard 20 vol developer, and it can lift the tighter outer cuticle layer of stubborn grays. Use a color blended with a 27 vol developer on your roots only.

3. Less color, more often

The darned thing about unwanted grays is that they keep on growing. One big shot of color glory every 8 weeks is not going to keep the silver halo at bay.

So, if you’re coloring at least partly to cover stubborn grays, your new rule of thumb needs to be – less color, more often. color over resistant grays can fade faster than grays which readily absorb color, so adding less color more frequently can help you achieve ongoing gray coverage.

Add color to your frontline and regrowth of your hair only but increase the frequency of coloring. If your coloring frequency increases, then it is best to avoid adding permanent color to your lengths every time you touch-up your roots. Be careful to avoid overlapping the new color on already colored hair. Overlapping the color can result in darker and duller color and color build-up. 

Frequency and color placement are key – If your grays are coming through thick and fast, then you may need to color every 2 weeks (you won’t be alone in this, believe me).

The good news is you can use half a tube of color with half a sachet of developer, for two roots-only color applications. Fold the top of the developer sachet over, seal with sticky tape and pop it in a plastic bag until you are ready to recolor.

Apply twice the color to your visible regrowth, and extend coloring time to 45 minutes over stubborn grays. coloring every 8 weeks isn’t going to hide those grays. Increase your coloring frequency to stay on top of gray regrowth.

4. Add heat

Adding some heat to your roots area while the color is processing will lift the outer cuticle layer and boost color absorption.

Use your hairdrier to add heat for 1-2 minutes at the roots and then pop a shower cap over your color while your color is processing. Your humble shower cap will help you retain heat at your scalp which will speed up your color processing at the roots.

5. Extra time for extra color

Leave your color on your resistant grays for the full processing time plus extra ten minutes.

6. Review your color selection with a colorist

Bear in mind that warm tones can look lighter and brighter over grays than over hair with natural color pigments. A color blend with a warm and a neutral color can be the best approach to give you a balanced, consistent color result over grays – talk to our colorists who can recommend a color blend that will meet your color goal.

You CAN master home coloring and color resistant gray hair at home, and achieve gorgeous, natural looking color results at home.

Make sure you are blending your color with our 27 vol developer which will help you banish the grays while giving you complete, beautiful color coverage. Keep your lengths refreshed and gorgeous with a semi-permanent color or toner. This approach will give you complete gray coverage, while keeping your color and overall hair health in its best possible condition!

Yay! Fun, no awful fumes, neat, professional kit. I can see how this will help me when I am just doing root touch-ups so I don’t overlap color. Gorgeous look and feel to my hair. So happy with this!

Kathy L

My hair grows so quick that before i know it I have new silver ‘highlights’. Grrr. I use half a tube/dev on my roots only but color twice as often, so I am staying on top of it, color blends perfectly, and I dont have to suffer the smell of regular color at all. So this is really working for me! Lovely color, softness and pro tools to help me get my salon results at home.

Penelope H.