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The thought of going gray is no longer something that freaks people out. Instead, many are dyeing their hair gray before it naturally turns that silvery shade. Over the past few years, the gray hair trend has been slowly yet surely picking up steam on the runway, Instagram, and among celebrities. (I'm looking at you, Kim Kardashian West.)
Now, gray hair — both dyed and natural — is more popular than ever before. And I'm not just saying that because two of my personal friends just so happen to be coloring their hair gray next week or because I recently noticed that several K-pop stars became silver foxes in 2017. (If you ask me, the latter does make for a convincing argument, though. You can see a selection of my favorite looks below.)
As far as concrete facts go, Glamour U.K. reported that according to a survey of 2017 hair trends by L’Oréal Professionnel, 28 percent of the women included in its research are embracing or considering silver hair. In addition to this statistic, L’Oréal Professionnel noted that sales of silver shampoos went up by 55 percent compared to 2016. Damn. I suspect those numbers will rise by the end of the year. This survey didn't account for the percentage of women embracing their naturally gray hair, but I would like to believe that number is escalating, too.
Convinced you need to go gray in 2018 now? You should keep a couple things in mind before making an appointment with your stylist. First of all, plan on completely bleaching your hair to a platinum shade to achieve the iciest silver. As celebrity hairstylist Brittan White, who dyes her hair gray too, has told Allure, you may even need to bleach your hair twice to get it the whitest it possibly can go.
From there, "Make sure your colorist uses a strong blue-purple pigmented toner afterward to get all the yellow out of your hair," White adds. Then, the actual gray dye comes in. Be sure to show your stylist a picture of someone with your desired shade of gray, so they know what kind of formula to whip up. (If you need references, you can find some here.)
Unfortunately, gray dye doesn't stick around for long. To maintain the color for as many weeks as you possibly can, White recommends using a shampoo with a blue or purple hue, like Sachajuan's Silver Shampoo or Matrix's Total Results So Silver Shampoo, and a conditioner designed for platinum or silver hair like Oribe Silverati Conditioner. You can also mask with one of Overtone's color-depositing Deep Treatments.
OK, now you can go forth and seek out what's posed to be the biggest hair-color trend of 2018.
Related stories:
- 32 Instagram-Worthy Gray Ombré Hairstyles
- Covering Up Gray Hair Is an Emotionally-Draining Chore
- Pro Stylists Share Their Best Tips for Going Gray — and Looking Great Every Step of the Way
Now, learn why this woman decided to embrace her gray hair:
