The beauty industry is often criticised for being youth-obsessed, and for promoting a narrow aesthetic “ideal” and encouraging women to aspire to it. Though some progress has been made on this front in recent years, the passage of time also presents new complicating factors – we now exist in the time of widely accessible GLP-1s, AI influencers, and the normalisation of facelifts. One positive development to focus on? The current, long overdue shift towards women embracing their greys. If this is you, or you’re considering making the change, then colour blending is the technique to know about.
“Grey blending shifts the conversation from hiding to working with what you have,” says hairstylist Vipul Chudasama, “In my experience, clients today are not asking, ‘How do I cover this?’ but rather, ‘How do I make this look natural and beautiful?’”
“Grey hair has always been a ‘problem’ women were expected to correct, usually with full-coverage dye that erased every silver strand,” says Sonia Presswala, of Looks Salon. “The grey blending technique integrates silver strands with highlights, lowlights, or tonal glosses, allowing them to coexist with the dyed sections.”
Presswala adds that the majority of clients actively embracing their natural grey are still in their 40s and 50s, mostly women tired of the constant root-touch-up cycle. But salon owner Florian Hurel notes that women in their 20s and 30s are embracing this shift, too. “For many of them, it comes from a place of confidence and a slightly rebellious mindset,” he says. “A feeling that they don’t want to be tied to the cycle of constant colouring, recolouring, or using chemicals on their hair so early on.”
How to grey blend
For someone transitioning from dyed hair to their natural greys, the focus is on softening the line between previously coloured hair and new growth. When greys look unnatural, it is often because there is a strong line of demarcation between old colour and new growth, or because the tone appears dull rather than reflective.
“Grey blending requires thoughtful colour placement,” points out Swati Gupta, of Bodycraft Salon. “Stylists often add white-toned highlights, soft lowlights, or translucent grey tones to give the colour depth instead of making it look flat. The idea is to create a blend where the greys sit naturally within the rest of the hair.”
What is often underestimated is the complexity of the process. “It’s rarely an overnight transformation; sometimes the hair would need to be lightened several levels to match the grey tone, which is not always easy or advisable,” Gupta continues. “Because of that, the process often involves gradual blending techniques that allow the hair to grow out naturally while reducing the contrast.”
Shop Vogue’s favourite products for grey hair, below.
