Leaving grey hair natural after years of colouring

Have you decided to stop colouring your hair? Find out all of our tips on how to facilitate the transition to grey locks...

To have natural salt and pepper locks, you need at least 60% white hair as fully grey hair doesn't exist unless you opt for grey colouring! It is an optical illusion created by the combination of strands which are still pigmented with those which have gone white. If this is not the case, do not bleach your locks to speed up the process. This risks damaging your locks which have already been sensitised due to colouring treatments and the result will not look very natural. The colour of your hair will not evolve towards universal white but rather towards its own shade. Going grey takes time so do it gradually, step by step.

Gradually give up colouring treatments

Stopping colouring your locks and letting your grey roots grow through are two steps which can be difficult to bring yourself to do. Ideally, opt for a transitional colour by lightening your locks or if needs be, go for a darker tone than your usual colour to minimise demarcation lines.

- If your hair is fair: start with varying shades of blond to blend them into your grey locks. However, if your natural base is really dark with a light colouring on top, making your blond slightly darker will unify your hair colour much better.

- If you are a brunette: your hairdresser can apply highlights (such as Jean Louis David's Contrast treatment) or they can cleanse the hair fibre (removing pigments from your previous colouring treatment) to make less of a stark contrast between the roots and lengths.

Otherwise, a special spray to mask regrowth allows you to better overcome the unsightly "obvious roots effect" of your two-tone hair and will create an illusion for a few weeks after fully giving up colouring treatments.

Cut your coloured locks short

If you are ready for a radical change, speed up the process by going for a pixie crop as soon as your roots have grown out. Short cuts are ideal for boosting your look and adding more depth to salt and pepper locks. These hairstyles are excellent at taming grey hair which is thick and difficult to style. However, if you prefer to keep your hair's length, get the ends trimmed gradually as the hair grows out until you get a pretty on trend bowl cut or mid-length hair structured by layers put in by your hairdresser.

Change your treatment regime

Your grey locks are weaker as they do not have pigments which act as a natural protective filter. That is why the keratin in your hair oxidises under the effects of heat and UV, giving your hair highlights with a yellow tinge. To keep your hair looking wonderful, apply nourishing masks to strengthen your locks and use anti-yellowing treatments to neutralise yellow highlights.