15 Ways to Blend and Enhance Your Silver With Highlights for Gray Hair

The Gist

• Depending on your desired look, highlights can either help your grays grow out gracefully or completely camouflage them.

• Below, three professional hairstylists share what to ask for at the salon, with inspo pictures for every hair color and texture.

With so many celebrities embracing their grays, from Salma Hayek to Sarah Jessica Parker and Andie MacDowell, there’s no better time than the present to lean into your own. In fact, silver strands are actually one of this year's top hair trends, spotted on red carpets and runways alike.

Whether you’re looking to grow your grays out gradually or blend them seamlessly with the rest of your color, the stylists we spoke to agree that highlights are your best bet for doing so. “By adding dimension, they allow gray to blend into your natural base, creating a softer, more natural look,” says Sierra Adam, a balayage expert and salon owner. “[For] anyone wanting a modern, lower-maintenance, lived-in approach to gray coverage, highlights will deliver.”

According to celebrity colorist Kelly Novobielski, demi-permanent color is best when working with grays because it gives the most natural effect as it grows out. “Think of permanent color as matte lipstick: full coverage and pigment,” she says. “Think of demi permanent color as lip gloss: sheer, translucent, high shine.”

Below, discover 15 ways to wear highlights for gray hair, with inspiration and expert tips on what to ask for once you’re in the salon chair.

Meet Our Expert

• Sierra Adam is a balayage and blonding expert, and owner of Salon 650 in San Diego, California.

• Kelly Novobielski is a celebrity colorist whose clients include stars like Brittany Snow and Whoopi Goldberg.

• Elba Rodriguez is a hairstylist and John Frieda Hair Care ambassador.

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Muted Blonde

“Highlights are a great option for grey blending for when a client does not want to change whatever natural pigment is still existing,” says Rodriguez. In this case, Sarah Jessica Parker's grays blend seamlessly with blonde highlights, concentrated closely around the face (which is where grays tend to be most prominent).

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Glossy Black

On deep brunette or black hair like Salma Hayek’s, Adam recommends asking your stylist for neutral-toned highlights. “Think neutral browns, soft caramels, and muted blondes rather than anything too bright or high-contrast,” she says. “This will gently blur the grays, not spotlight them.”

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Golden Tint

When blending grays on dark hair, Rodriguez recommends only going a few shades lighter than your natural color, like the golden highlights seen here on Paulina Porizkova. “Soft and subtle techniques work best for dark hair when blending grays,” adds Novobielski.

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Pearl Blonde

This bob looks so chic on celebrity hairstylist Dimitris Giannetos’s mother. Her silver roots blend seamlessly into her bright, glossy pearl-blonde color. For a similar effect, Adam recommends asking your stylist for micro-weave highlights or babylights, which will “help blur the contrast in these brighter colors.”

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Gray-Kissed

“The most natural gray-blending mimics how gray organically appears and keeps your natural color as the majority,” says Adam. “Think of it as simply kissing the hair with dimension.” Viola Davis’s grays look subtle rather than stark against her dark hair.

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Liquid Silver

Nikki Boyer's shag looks effortlessly cool and melds her crown of silver with her espresso brown ends. As you grow out your grays, Adam recommends prioritizing sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners to lock in moisture.

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Face-Framing

Highlights can help create the illusion that your grays are growing in evenly around the face and hairline, even if they’re naturally more prominent in certain spots than others. Kelly Hu’s look is striking in that her silver strands brighten her face and melt into her black base color.

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Mocha Mousse

Ash-toned highlights can help cleverly disguise grays, especially on a brunette base. This look features a full head of highlights with extra brightness concentrated around the face.

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Dimensional Silver

Andie MacDowell stopped coloring her hair in 2020 and hasn’t looked back since. That doesn’t mean you can’t mimic her look with a combination of highlights and lowlights, though; her gray has a lot of dimension that can be hard to come by naturally.

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Icy Tones

For those with naturally light hair like content creator Gina Drewalowski, icy blonde highlights will make grays look practically imperceptible. However, it’s important to note that a look with this much dimension will call for more frequent touch-ups—ideally every eight to ten weeks.

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Champagne Blonde

If you have curly or coily hair, Rodriguez recommends asking for thicker, chunkier highlights. Not only will they be more visible on your texture than babylights, but they’ll also soften the line of regrowth and appear more natural.

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Butter Blonde

Amy Madrigan’s buttery blonde lob brightens her face and softens her face-framing grays. For blondes, consider using a purple shampoo every two weeks to prevent brassiness and freshen up your color between salon visits.

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Kiss of Caramel

Novobielski likes to stain grays a few shades lighter on natural brunettes, similar to this style seen on Amal Clooney. “This allows the grays to look like a golden [or] lighter brown highlight themselves,” he explains.

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Copper Tones

“For redheads, subtle coppers, strawberry blonde, or golden highlights add warmth and dimension while helping grays blend naturally,” says Adam. Here, the warmth of Jodie Foster’s auburn hair color makes her icy blue eyes stand out even more.

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Soft Blend

Hilarie Burton's grays blend gradually into her golden blonde ends. For a similar effect, Adam recommends booking a full head of highlights twice a year and a “face-frame refresh” every three to four months to ensure your look “stays soft, seamless, and natural as it grows out."

Read the original article on InStyle