For many older women with gray regrowth, recoloring to keep their hair looking rich and luscious every other week is a way of life.
Dyeing the gray roots is kind of an unwritten ritual for women in their golden years, something unspoken that everyone does to let their locks give off a more youthful vibe.
But there comes a point when every woman will start feeling like recoloring is tedious and unnecessary.
It may seem like a simple realization – just a small errand you want to free yourself from – but choosing to grow out your hair and transition to gray is a huge milestone in any woman’s hair journey.
So if you’ve decided to embrace your natural gray color and do away with your weekly touch-ups and salon appointments to cover your roots up, congratulations!
You’re finally going to be part of the silver fox club.
You’ll be happy to know that there are tons of ways to transition gracefully into your real and raw gray color.
Let’s talk about how to grow out gray hair that is colored.
Table of Contents
Why Transitioning To Gray Hair Is Nothing To Be Scared Of
Gray hair is beautiful, no matter the “aging” stigma around it.
While some older men and women may be self-conscious about growing gray and white hair now and then, millennials are paying big bucks to sport trendy silver and dark gray locks.
This is a true testament to how fabulous gray really is!
And while it may be scary and intimidating to finally decide on going gray permanently, it’s fantastic for you to finally recognize that your natural color is indeed something to show off.
Rocking gray and white hair properly is a sign that you’re aging gracefully, and who doesn’t want to do that?
But choosing to go gray isn’t a quick and easy decision.
It’s a huge commitment and requires more work than most people anticipate.
Priceless Reward
However, the reward of finally being confident in your own skin is priceless and well worth all the trouble the next few months are likely to bring.
Just think about it: in a few months or years, you won’t be stressing about dyeing your hair anymore, or feel your heart skip a beat when you notice new regrowth again.
You’ll be saving tons of money because you won’t have to schedule appointments at your salon every month, too!
Gray Hair Community
Plus, if you still feel iffy and nervous about making this decision, you’ll be happy to know that there is a solid gray hair community online.
There are tons of forums and YouTube channels dedicated to caring for gray hair.
So if you’re feeling alone or have questions about your transition to naturally gray hair, it’s never too challenging to find someone to lean on that’s going through the same thing.
Embracing Your Gray Hair Can Lead To Awkward Hair Stages
No one ever transitions from a colored mane to gray hair unscathed.
So many things can go wrong, no matter what method you choose to commit to.
There may be self-confidence issues, your hair not turning out how you imagined it would, and even temptations of falling back on your fave hair dye.
Needless to say, embracing your gray hair and transitioning to your natural color isn’t the easiest thing in the world.
Even if you’re not particularly vain or care about appearances, going gray can end up taking a toll on you because of the sheer amount of work you must put in.
One of the most common struggles among women going gray is dealing with the demarcation line.
You know the one – the harsh, solid line separating your gray regrowth from your lusciously dyed locks below it.
It makes one look rather unkempt and disheveled, so it’s a valid worry when transitioning.
It can be a pain to see this demarcation line the mirror, especially when you’re training yourself to hold back from coloring your hair with dye again.
Luckily, you don’t have to deal with that.
There are many ways to transition to gray without ever dealing with that harsh and dreadful line.
How To Grow Out Gray Hair That Is Colored
Ready to see your options that range from cute and clever to bold and daring?
Here are just some of the ways you can gracefully transition to gray hair from colored locks:
Chop Off All The Colored Hair And Sport A Shorter Length
The quickest way to transition to gray and get rid of your colored hair is to simply chop off your hair and sport a pixie cut or short bob.
It sounds crazy and incredibly bold, but it’s an opportunity to rock a new hairdo that can make you look younger and maybe show off your bone structure a bit.
This daring method may not be for everyone, but if you’re sick of your colored hair and are serious about embracing your pure gray locks right away, this is the fastest route you can take.
Who knows? You may even love your short length and stick with it even after gray hair has grown out.
Just be aware that pixie cuts can be difficult for frizzy and unruly hair types.
You’ll have to adjust to styling and caring for short hair, so be ready for the challenge that comes with managing this new ‘do.
Touch-Up Your Roots With Temporary Hair Color
One easy-breezy way to keep that demarcation line out of people’s sight is to simply cover up your gray regrowth with temporary, wash-off hair color.
These colors come in the form of touch-up sprays, color-depositing conditioners, and even clay.
You can use whichever one you’re most comfortable with.
It’s a great way to instantly get rid of that harsh line without committing to permanently dyeing your hair.
You can keep doing this until you’re happy with your gray regrowth, at which point you can just cut off the part of your hair that’s still dyed a different color.
Get Highlights To Blend In The Gray Better
Getting ashy highlights and lowlights won’t just give your hair color more dimension.
It also blends well with gray hair to make your transition softer-looking and natural.
Opting for highlights gives you a chance to bleach out any previous color in the lengths of your hair, replacing it instead with a tone that blends well with your natural gray.
The more touch-ups you get for your highlights and lowlights, the greater the chances of washing away your color over time.
Make sure that the tone of your highlights is cool and ashy so that it looks more natural sitting below your gray regrowth.
When the highlights become brassy, tone it at home with a high-quality silver or purple shampoo.
This method is perfect for those with lighter hair color, like blonde or a sandy taupe.
However, it can be challenging to pull off on dark brown and red hair, since it’s difficult to blend those into white or gray strands without them looking stark and unnatural.
Color The Rest Of Your Hair to Match Your Natural Gray
If you want gray hair from root to tip pronto, you can always have all your hair colored to match the gray growing out of your roots.
When you see regrowth on the top of your head, simply go to the salon and ask your stylist to bleach, dye, and tone your hair to match your natural gray.
The only bad thing about this method is that you’ll have to get your hair bleached, which causes damage to a certain degree.
And if you want to keep your hair long, you’ll need to come back into the salon for toning retouches.
Try The Viral Strip Dye Technique
Lastly, we have the strip dye technique, a clever method that has gone viral online.
It allows you to transition to gray in secret.
No one will ever know you’re transitioning!
The primary purpose of this technique is to hide your demarcation line.
All you have to do is pluck out a strip of hair covering your hairline and dye that section only.
When you wear your hair down, it will cover up your gray hairs and any distracting lines.
You may see a few silvers and grays coming through, but it’s not as harsh as a solid demarcation line that comes through from the top.
When your gray hair has grown out below the strip you dye regularly, just change your hairline so that this time, your gray locks cover up the dyed ones.
You can then wait for those to grow out before cutting off the colored areas. And voila!
Gray hair from root to tip. Genius, right?
This method is a lot of fun because it allows you to play around with your hairstyle, freshening up your look every couple of months so that you can look younger and more youthful each time.
One con to this technique is that you still have to continue coloring your hair for a bit longer.
It’s also not a possible solution for women with super short hair.
How Long Does It Take To Fully Grow Out Gray Hair?
Patience is a virtue when it comes to transitioning to gray hair.
It’s important to steer your mindset to ready yourself for the long wait ahead.
While it may seem like your hair is growing slower than it ever has now that you want to see a whole head of gray hair, you’ll get there someday.
You may be wondering how long it will take you to finally see the result of your hard work.
Well, it really all depends on the technique you choose to transition out of colored hair.
For some people, all it takes is six months, while for others, you have to wait over a year to get perfect gray hair with no dyed ends.
Another factor is how fast your hair can grow.
This is why it’s essential to keep your locks strong and rich in moisture and protein at all times.
Nothing promotes healthy hair growth like a solid, nourishing hair care routine.
Now, because you’ll be waiting months on end to get the result you’re happy with, you may be tempted once in a while to recolor your gray hair the way you used to.
Try to fight this temptation, or else all your hard work will be flushed down the drain.
Just think about the reward you’ll get if you stick it out: no more salon appointments, messy box dye sessions in your bathroom, and being self-conscious about demarcation lines.
How To Care Properly For Your Transitioned Gray Hair
When your hair starts to turn gray, it won’t be as smooth and silky as it once was.
So when you’re finally done transitioning and have a full head of gray hair to deal with, your routine needs to be extra nourishing to maintain your hair’s integrity and health.
As you age, your hair will get coarser, drier, and thicker.
You may also notice that there’s less volume now than when you were younger with bouncy locks.
That’s because gray hair usually has roughed-up cuticles.
Take extra care of your hair to make sure it still looks lively and hydrated, never dull and weary, as if it’s gone through the wear-and-tear of life.
Moisturize
Always moisturize with hydrating serums and detangle regularly to keep your locks silky smooth.
Switch to products that are gentler to your hair and won’t strip it of natural sebum.
In short, be as particular about your hair regimen as you are with your anti-aging skincare routine.
Oh, and another thing.
Gray hair tends to turn brassy and yellow over time.
This is usually due to sun and heat damage, as well as product and mineral build-up.
It can happen to anyone of any age, but now that you have gray hair, it’s more obvious, so you need to take action.
When this happens, grab your trusty silver or purple shampoo (there are tons designed for gray hair in the market!) to tone it.
This will keep your gray locks looking cool and ashy instead of unkempt and unflattering.
Conclusion
If you’re getting nerves and jitters about finally biting the bullet and going gray, calm down.
Yes, transitioning to your natural color is going to be a ride (and you better buckle up!), but as long as you’re 100% committed to your plan of action to get to a full head of beautiful gray hair, you’ll be alright.
Gray hair is gorgeous and should be a point of pride for any woman enjoying her golden years, not something to be ashamed of.
So whether you go for the raved-about strip dye method or opt to boldly chop off all your locks for a pixie cut, there’s no doubt that you’ll look absolutely glamorous.
There you go: you now know a few pointers on how to grow out gray hair that is colored.
