Whether you’re all silver or your hair has a little sparkle, shades of gray are beautiful, natural, and increasingly popular. Going gray is a natural part of life, and once you’ve decided to let your salty and peppery streaks thrive, it’s important to know how to protect them. Finding the right shampoo is important when grooming gray hair as this hair can easily become brittle or malnourished. To keep it in good condition, a gray hair shampoo specially formulated for your hair strands is definitely a good idea. Read our top tips on how to choose the right shampoo for gray hair and how to take good care of your natural hair color to have shiny and healthy hair.
With the right shampoo for gray hair, your hair can become much healthier
Finding the right shampoo is important when you are looking to take care of gray hair
Why does hair turn gray?
Before we dive into new tips and routines, it would be worth mentioning what causes gray hair in the first place. Simply put, the graying process begins when the melanocytes, your melanin-producing cells responsible for pigmenting your hair, stop producing more melanin and their entire supply is used up. The reason for gray hair is largely determined by genetics. But stress also seems to be an important factor. Once the graying process has begun, it is irreversible. However, taking folic acid can slow the rate at which you gray, and adding antioxidants to your hair care routine can protect melanocyte cells that are still active.
The shampoo for gray hair should clean the mane without drying it out
Technically, gray hair is not gray. It has no pigment at all. Instead, it reflects light, giving it its distinctive color. Gray hair can also feel coarser and limp, making it difficult to find products that will soften and moisturize the strands without weighing them down. Gray hair grows thicker and can also change shape. That is, if your hair used to be straight, as it turns gray it may become wavy or curly. Gray hair also loses moisture and needs to be moisturized more often.
Make your hair shine like a diamond
How to choose the best shampoo for gray hair?
Gray hair most commonly shows up at the roots and crown of the head before it spreads everywhere. In the early stages, you want to hide them with a shine treatment or cover them up with a balayage treatment, which requires a color shampoo. If you keep your gray hair, you need two shampoos. A moisturizing shampoo to ensure moisture is retained and a purple-blue shampoo to use once a week. Gray hair tends to turn yellow easily due to external factors such as pollution, wind and sun. The purple shampoo counteracts these unwanted effects and ensures that the hair looks clean and shiny. Here are our picks for the best shampoos for gray hair.
Instead of dying white hair, embrace it
#Use a moisturizing shampoo
When hair loses its pigment, it absorbs less moisture. This makes it brittle, wiry, dry and consequently more prone to breakage. It’s important to keep hair moisturized to control the brittleness that accompanies graying. Moisturizing shampoos are essential for gray hair as they increase the pH of the hair’s environment, making it less acidic. When conditions are acidic, the cuticle layer that surrounds the hair shaft tends to remain elevated, which means the hair retains less moisture and becomes brittle. Since graying hair is already dry and brittle, a moisturizing shampoo provides an extra buffer.
Look for shampoos with tea tree oil or olive oil to moisturize the scalp and hair follicles
#Use purple shampoo to avoid yellowing
Any light colored hair including platinum, all blondes and grays can benefit from a purple shampoo. That’s because brassy hair comes from pollution, product build-up, and hot irons. The reason gray or white hair can appear brassy is because hair is naturally made of keratin, which is warm in color and there is no longer any pigment in these strands to mask the natural warmth of keratin .Also, environmental factors such as sunshine and pollution can cause gray hair to appear more yellow. Violet shampoo can help neutralize this yellow to keep gray hair looking shiny, bright and healthy. We recommend using a purple-blue shampoo once a week to counteract these unwanted effects and keep hair clean and shiny.
You can ask your barber about the best purple shampoo for your hair
#Avoid detergents with sulfates
When looking for a shampoo that protects gray strands, avoid options with sulfates. While sulfates can remove buildup, excess oil and products, they can also strip hair of its natural oils, such as sebum, which is produced in the follicular layer and helps prevent moisture loss. Since gray hair already has a harder time retaining moisture, sulfate-free shampoos are your best bet.
Products with sulfates are more aggressive to your hair
Tips for proper care for gray hair
Once you accept your gray hair and find the best shampoo, you’ll find that caring for it isn’t all that difficult, even if you do have to change up your routine a bit. Here are a few gray hair care tips that we highly recommend.
Ultra-hydrating and purple shampoos help with dry, brittle hair
#Experiment with different cuts
When your hair is going gray, the shape and texture of your haircut are just that much more important. Worn well, gray hair can exude a great deal of sophistication. So, together with your stylist, try out a few shapes that emphasize your natural texture. Check out our tips for hairstyles for gray hair.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your hairstyle
#Protect your hair from the sun
In case you didn’t know, it may surprise you, but gray hair burns and turns yellow very easily in the sun, which can take months to correct. Unlike pigmented hair, which is protected from UV damage by the pigments, gray hair does not have a built-in UV defense system. As a result, the proteins in gray hair are more exposed to UV stress, which can lead to weakened hair (UV light breaks the hair’s protein bonds). Therefore, it is important that you cover your hair with a hat when you are outdoors and preferably also braid it and tuck it under the hat.
Don’t forget to protect your hair from the sun like you protect your face
#Avoid heat-sensitive styling tools
Due to its unique nature, gray hair also burns much more easily when using hot tools. So be careful to control the temperature, not to exceed 180C and not to spend too much time in one particular spot. Also, use a good heat protectant before using a heat gun.
If you want curly hair, go for natural curling methods
#Use satin pillows
Finally, it is important to remember to take care of your gray hair at night. For example, tying your hair in a topknot will reduce the pulling. Another tip is a satin pillowcase, which will reduce friction and protect your hair from breakage.
You can also sleep with a satin cap
