Dye Naturally Black Hair Silver

To some, gray or silver hair is the sign of entering into a person's twilight years. To others, it is sophisticated and edgy. It is also a way to gradually transition from your colored hair to a new gray look. Dyeing naturally black hair a beautiful, silver color is more difficult than with other colors of hair but overall the steps are simple, and the results are stunning.

Steps

Preparing to Dye Your Hair

1. Stop dyeing your hair six months before you plan to dye your hair gray. This may seem like a major commitment, but if you want your new gray hair to look good this is the way to do it. You want to give your hair time to grow its way out of whatever previous color you were using for as long as possible. Otherwise it’s going to be much harder for the bleach to lift your hair to an even color all the way around. If you don’t currently dye your hair, you can skip this step.
2. Get a deep conditioning treatment a week or two before you dye your hair gray. You can have this done at your local hair salon. Using bleach is really hard on your hair. This is a preemptive measure to ensure that your hair doesn’t get as dry and damaged, or at least less than it would have been otherwise. Deep conditioning can help reduce breakage.
3. Stop washing your hair a few days before you dye it gray. This will allow the natural oils in your hair to build up, which can help you protect your scalp from the irritation that the bleach may cause.
4. Prepare to have to cut off some of your hair. Even with all these steps, be mentally prepared that you will have to cut off some broken or damaged hair after using the bleach. You may lose a little bit of length in the process, but it won’t be extremely drastic. Still, you don’t want to be surprised when it happens. Make sure your hair is at a length that you would be comfortable losing some.

Bleaching Your Hair

1. Get a bleach kit. In order to achieve, glossy, silver hair, you will first need to purchase a 40-volume bleach kit. You can buy these at many hair salons, even at pharmacies. Don’t buy the cheapest kind. Bleach can really mess with your hair, so you might as well invest in a high quality hair bleach. You don’t need to buy the most expensive one either, but it isn’t recommended to go bottom of the barrel here.
2. Apply Vaseline along your hairline. Start at the forehead and work your way down to the nape of your neck. This will help protect your scalp from the bleach and dye. Make sure your hairline is well covered.
3. Put on Latex gloves. This will protect your hands from the dye and the bleach. It also will help make the process less messy, so you might as well invest in them. You don't want stained hands.
4. Clip your hair into sections. You’ll want between four and six sections depending on the thickness of your hair. One by one, starting at the back, you’ll take down the clip and apply the bleach to you hair using a hair color brush that you can buy at a hair salon. You might want a friend to help you out with the back of your head.
5. Follow the directions on the kit's box. Every bleach has different instructions so it is hard to be too specific here, but generally you want to let the bleach sit and dry for 30 minutes to an hour on your hair but no more. This depends on the thickness and length of your hair.
6. Determine if you need to do it again. Your hair should now be a platinum or light blond color. If it is a shade of orange or light brown, you will need to bleach your hair again, following the kit's same steps. Remember to wait a week or so after the first bleaching process to lighten your hair again. You might even want to wait longer if your hair is in poor shape after the first bleaching. If you have black hair you’ll probably have to do it twice. Your hair needs to be a pale blonde for the gray dye to work.

Applying Toner and Dye

1. Purchase white or purple toner to achieve the silver or gray look you desire. White and purple toner works a bit like bleach, except it cancels out any orangery or yellow tones in your hair, and gives it a beautiful silvery tone. You can buy toner from stores such as Hot Topic, although you can probably find it at your local pharmacy also.
2. Put your latex gloves back on and separate the hair back into four to six sections. Remember, you want to stay sanitary and keep your hands from getting stained with dye. It’s not recommended to wear the same pair of latex gloves you used to do the bleaching with either.
3. Vaseline your scalp and hairline again. This will stop the dye from sticking to your skin or discoloring it. Don’t forget this important step.
4. Apply the dye evenly throughout the hair. Start at the root and work your way up. You’ll want to make sure each section is covered from root to tip. If you miss a spot you’ll have the bleach color showing up, so try to be thorough. You should keep the dye on your hair for about thirty minutes. For more precise motion you can use a dye brush.
5. Rinse your hair. Once the thirty minutes have passed, you’ll want to rinse your hair to get the excess dye out. Enough time should have elapsed for it to absorb the dye. Once you have rinsed your hair, wash it with a color-safe shampoo followed by a color-safe conditioner. These can be bought at your local pharmacy, but you should definitely double check to make sure that they are color safe. You don’t want all your hard work and money to go to waste because you washed your hair with the wrong type of shampoo.

Tips

• Black to blonde using bleach in one step may badly damage even the healthiest head of hair. Take this into account if you are trying to take the quicker approach
• Be cautious of using 40-volume bleach kit. Be especially careful near the scalp. The oxidation speeds are different at the roots of your hair because your head is producing body heat.
• Hair oils and creams can also help to repair damage that the bleach may do to your hair. You can also keep your hair healthy and strong by shampooing your hair with extra-virgin olive oil regularly, once every week or so.
• Try using 20-volume dye twice.
• You may need to touch-up on your silver hair as weeks or months pass with white-toner.
• You can also use coconut oil as a hair mask for healing. It is full of good nutrition and your scalp will love it.
• Using purple colored shampoo and conditioner can help maintain your silver color. Try Joico Color Balance Purple Shampoo and Conditioner.

Related Articles

• Dye Your Hair With Washable Markers
• Dye Your Hair Brown After It Has Been Dyed Black
• Naturally Darken Your Hair
• Dye Your Hair With Lemon Juice
• Dye Naturally Black Hair Gray

Sources and Citations

See also

• Do Ecaille Hair Color
• Dip Dye Dark Hair
• Lowlight Gray Hair
• Lowlight Blonde Hair
• Bleach Hair Blonde
• Prepare Your Hair for Bleaching
• Color Hair With Food Coloring
• Dye Hair
• Dye Your Hair Brown After It Has Been Dyed Black
• Dye Hair Two Colors

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• Dye Men's Hair
• Dye Naturally Black Hair Gray