I love doing Salt & Pepper but I won’t do big-bleach transitions.

Silver isn't an actual hair color.

We can't mix up a silver hair dye like we do with brown, red or black. We have to bleach the hair and then make it look silver. 

Your natural color is measured on a scale from 1 to 12. Level 1 is the darkest hair and level 12 is clear, pearly white.

To make hair look silver, we have to bleach it to at least a level 9 or 10.

For most people, that's a dangerous level of lightening.

And if you're starting with dark hair that has been colored repeatedly for years, we're not just lifting your natural pigment. We're trying to remove layers of artificial color that have accumulated in the hair.

Getting all of that hair to a 9 or 10 in one or two appointments can be extremely aggressive.

So Where Does the Silver Come From?

Let's say we successfully lighten your hair to a level 9. Your hair isn't silver. It's pale yellow.

To make that yellow hair look silver, we have to tone it. Depending on what we're trying to neutralize and the shade of grey we're trying to create, that can involve combinations of purple, blue and green.

The toner changes how you see the underlying color and gives the hair that beautiful silvery appearance.

But here's the problem:

The silver comes from the toner. And that toner fades.

Underneath that toner, the hair we lightened is still pale yellow.

Why Does Silver Toner Fade So Quickly?

Think of highly lightened hair like a sponge. The more porous the hair becomes, the more readily it can soak up toner, but it also has a harder time holding onto it. Every shampoo begins pulling some of that temporary pigment back out.

But that's not all. Heat styling can accelerate fading. Sun exposure can affect your color. Your shampoo and styling products can affect it. Even the minerals and chemicals naturally occurring in your water can change what you see.

That's why maintaining an artificial silver can be so unpredictable.

It may look beautifully silver after one toning appointment. As it fades, you may see yellow. Another toner formulation or stage of fading may leave the hair looking slightly blue, purple or even green.

This doesn't necessarily mean your stylist did something wrong. It's how the chemistry works when we're trying to create silver on hair that isn't naturally silver.

You Have to Keep Toning It

This is the part that often surprises clients. Growing out 12 inches of hair is going to take over one full year.

Once we bleach all of your hair, we now have to maintain that artificial color while we wait for your real silver hair to grow in.

For some clients who want to maintain a very specific silver appearance, that can mean toning as often as every week.

Wash. Fade. Tone. Repeat.

And you're doing all of this on hair that has already undergone an aggressive lightening process.

What About Those Gorgeous Silver Transformations Online?

I see the same inspiration photos you do. Some of them are stunning. You're also looking at images that may have been edited or filtered afterward. It is very easy to tone down a yellow or green cast in a photograph.

You're not seeing that same head of hair two weeks later.

You're not seeing what happens after several shampoos, a week in the sun, regular heat styling or exposure to the minerals in someone's water.

She Regretted Her Silver Transition Before She Even Washed Her Hair

One of my clients learned this lesson the hard way. She had gone to another salon for a full grey color transition after years of dying her hair. Her hair was transformed over the course of two days, and she was told not to wash it for a week. Within a few days, her hair didn't even look silver, and she was seeing obvious color banding along with blue and green tones depending on the lighting. She regretted what she had done and didn't want to return to that salon so she came to me for help. This is her hair before it was bleached, then how it looked when she first came to me one week after having this done. 

Why I Don't Offer Quick Color-Only Grey Transitions

I don't want to compromise the integrity of your hair to create a color that I know won't stay. And I don't want you committing to a dramatic transformation that in all likelihood you are going to regret afterwards. 

That's why I no longer offer color-only go-grey-in-a-day services designed to turn dark, previously colored hair into silver in one or two aggressive appointments.

That doesn't mean I won't incorporate hair color as part of a grey transition.

It means we need to give your hair time.

There Are Better Ways to Transition to Grey

 I take a much more gradual approach to grey transitions. The right method depends on your hair, how much natural grey you already have, the condition of your existing hair and how you want to look while it grows.

Learn more about the different ways to go grey →

Transitioning to Grey With Hair Extensions

This is the approach I'm best known for.

Instead of trying to make all of your existing hair silver, we work with the natural silver that's already growing and use carefully selected grey and salt-and-pepper extensions to help blend the transition.

The extensions can introduce grey throughout the lengths while your own natural silver continues to grow. They can also add fullness and help us maintain a beautiful shape while we're gradually removing previously colored hair.

Learn more about transitioning to grey with hair extensions →

You can also see examples of how we use extensions to transition grey hair →

The Weave Out: A Gradual Color Transition

There are also clients for whom I am comfortable using hair color to transition to grey over a period of time.

I call this approach the Weave Out.

Instead of trying to bleach the entire head silver in one or two appointments, we work gradually over approximately 12 months.

Using foil highlights, I carefully weave out and leave out the natural silver hair rather than putting lightener on it.

We repeat the highlights approximately every 8 to 10 weeks, gradually introducing more lighter pieces as your natural grey continues to grow.

Early in the process, those highlights may be more neutral or cool-toned so they blend naturally with the existing hair. Over time, we can move toward ashier tones and create more of a grey appearance as the transition progresses.

It's still a chemical service. We're still lightening hair. But we're doing it selectively and gradually rather than asking your entire head of previously colored hair to survive a massive lightening process all at once.

Don't Rush Your Grey Hair

I understand why women want the quick transformation. Once you've decided you're done coloring your grey, you want to be done. But your natural grey hair still needs time to grow. There is no color service that can change that biological reality.

So my goal isn't to get you from dark to silver as quickly as possible. My goal is to get you where you want to go without sacrificing the hair you're trying to keep, while keeping your hair looking healthy and beautiful along the way.

Sometimes that means transitioning with extensions. Sometimes it means a year-long Weave Out. Sometimes it means a combination of extensions and carefully selected color services.

Ready to start growing out your natural grey?

Explore our grey and salt-and-pepper transition services →

Help, I'm barely in my 40's and constantly dying my greys →