By Leesa Suzman, Good Housekeping
[post_ads]Did you know that before
you even start to see silver strands that you might already have a good
idea what kind of gray hair you'll have? Childhood photos will help
predict your future shade of gray, says Barbara Lhotan, creative
director of Elie Elie salons in Winchester, VA. Black hair turns
steel-gray, redheads and brunettes have more gold undertones mixed with
their silver, and childhood blondes tend to go white.
When the first signs of graying hit, there are a few easy things to do to make sure your silver hair shines:
1. Get a haircut.
The
easiest way to go gray: Get a shorter cut and just let your hair be,
suggests Lhotan. This way, as your hair grows in, the silver will
naturally blend in with your hair color.
2. Dye your hair sparingly.
Avoid
the two-toned look by covering gray strands with semi-permanent color
until they're plentiful (six months or more), then go cold turkey on the
dye. A semi-permanent formula should wash out in four to six weeks,
revealing the gray.
3. Pick the right shampoo.
Gray
hair is very porous, and soaks up everything you put on it — including
the pigment in your shampoo. So skip the shampoo with the green tint in
favor of white or clear formulas. Or, try a purple-tinted shampoo to
tone down brassiness, such as Pantene Pro-V Silver Expressions Shampoo ($5, drugstores).
4. And don't forget to condition.
Since
gray hair can be coarser and wirier than your pigmented hair, it may
need more conditioning to get it under control. A good choice:
conditioners meant for curly or coarse hair, which tend to have
softening and smoothing ingredients. Periodically, give your strands a
deep cleaning to get rid of dulling residues.
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