It may once have been hidden with dye (Grandma’s purple rinse anyone?) or cut short to minimise its appearance, but embracing the natural beauty of grey hair is today’s modern, refreshing approach to the shade.
Stylish celebrities from Dame Helen Mirren to Andie MacDowell have helped elevate the look, as have younger faces including supermodel Kristen McMenamy and fashion stylist Sarah Harris, all proving that grey is gorgeous.
As with blonde, brunette or red, grey hair benefits from its own unique care tactics to help keep colour radiant and texture smooth. “Because grey hair is colourless, when there is a noticeable amount of it left undyed, it can easily appear dull or discoloured,” explains Tom Smith, leading hair stylist, colourist and trend forecaster. “This is because while some people’s grey hair is naturally more porous, any build-up of product or pollution from heavy metals and minerals is more visible due to the lack of pigment.
“Even the use of excessive heat can cause grey hair to yellow. Hair without pigment can also have a more wiry texture, so if your hair feels coarser as more greys arrive, increase the moisture content of your hair care and look for shampoos described as smoothing, hydrating or moisturising.”
Tapping into the huge shift in attitude towards celebrating grey locks and with a better understanding of how best to keep them looking fresh, haircare companies are providing tailored options that mirror expert advice. “A two-pronged approach is required to prevent or rectify yellowing,” says Smith. “Firstly, periodical ‘deep cleaning’ using a clarifying shampoo will remove build-up and keep grey hair bright”.
“For swimmers or those who use lots of heat or styling products, this could be required as much as alternate wash days; for others, fortnightly or even monthly may be enough. The second step is to neutralise the appearance of yellow tones”, he adds. “The subtle addition of violet pigment in shampoo filters the appearance of yellow from the hair, making the strands appear cleaner, clearer and icier. Alternatively, if your grey looks dull but not necessarily yellow, shampoos focused on shine will be a good choice.”
For those taking the purple shampoo approach, how often to use one should depend on the results you want to achieve. “Overuse can begin to make strands appear darker, greyer and slightly lavender in tone,” advises Smith.
“Some people love this, but if neutralising yellow is your main goal, a mindful approach is best. Initially using purple shampoo every three wash days leaves room to increase or decrease the frequency as you check in on the status of yellow tones. For the less patient, using two or three washes in a row will show how much yellow can be neutralised. Then you can hold off for a couple of washes until any excess lilac tint washes away and get into a maintenance phase of every second or third wash.”
Read on for our pick of the best shampoos for keeping grey hair looking and feeling at its optimum.
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Silvina Everyday Grey Hair Shine Shampoo
When other silver-specific haircare left her newly grey locks feeling dry or were lacking in natural ingredients, model and grey hair ambassador Silvina Nede created her own range, starting with shampoo and conditioner.
The shimmering lilac shade of the shampoo comes from pigments derived from gardenia fruit extract and a natural starch derivative that together help prevent brassiness over time - and because they are used at a carefully selected level, they won’t leave behind any blue tones.
Added black oat extract, coconut oil and hemp seed oil bolster the structure of the hair, helping to repair and protect so lengths are stronger while the colour looks more radiant. The formula is gentle enough for daily use and nourishing enough to keep Silvina’s (and everyone else’s) glorious curls hydrated.
Buy now £24.00, Silvina
Olaplex 4C Bond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo
Fusing together impressive deep cleaning, colour refreshing and strengthening properties, a weekly treatment for five minutes with this shampoo will hugely improve grey hair’s texture, tone and quality. Completely clear - making it ideal if you don’t want to deposit any colour through lengths - one application will remove damaging and dulling impurities from pollution to product build-up without making hair feel stripped or dehydrated.
It also contains the bond-building technology that Olaplex is famous for and gives a real boost to grey hair that’s becoming coarser. Just a little lathers easily as you focus on the scalp, then rinses just a fast to leave grey tones lustrous and lengths feeling silky and smooth.
Buy now £22.40, Amazon
Aveda Blue Malva Shampoo
Such is this shampoo’s cult status and popularity that it now only comes in a super-sized 1-litre bottle that fans say can last up to a year, even used every other day. The hero ingredient is wind-crafted and handpicked blue malva, or mallow flower, which helps balance the scalp as well as provides a deep violet shade that counteracts brassiness in all shades of natural or chemically-treated grey. Added coneflower is known for its ability to intensify colour too.
A single pump of shampoo is enough to get a good lather going, leaving hair feeling clean but soft, while afterwards, grey tones look bright, enhanced and shimmering. The delicious almond scent is another big bonus.
Buy now £50.00, John Lewis
Davines ALCHEMIC Shampoo Silver
The intense indigo tone of this transparent gel-textured shampoo may seem a little startling at first but be assured, it foams up white quickly and easily while the delicate violet scent will soothe any nerves. Specifically formulated for platinum grey locks (or even cooler blonde tones), this is a fantastic shine booster and leaves hair feeling noticeably thicker too from the first use.
Leave the lather to work for five minutes and then comb through before rinsing away and you’ll find all shades of grey look more luminous and fresher. If a natural formula is your preference, this is a great choice: it’s free from sulphates, silicones and parabens, plus the surfactant foaming agents are all of natural origin.
Buy now £18.86, Cult Beauty
Klorane Anti-Yellowing Shampoo
Renowned for its gentle but effective botanical hair care formulas, this silver-suited shampoo from Klorane is packed with 86 per cent naturally derived ingredients. This includes a pigment extracted from organic cornflowers that gives the fluid texture its vibrant blue colour to enrich grey strands with a soft, cool finish as it neutralises yellow.
Incredibly nourishing too, lengths feel soft and look shiny once hair is dry, while the scalp feels clean and isn’t irritated. Designed for everyday use without depositing any colour, leave it on for two or three minutes for maximum colour-boosting benefits.
Buy now £11.00, lookfantastic
Bleach London Purple Reincarnation Shampoo
This smart formula, from cool London salon Bleach, combines bond-building technology with anti-yellowing ingredients into a professional-grade shampoo. Infused with creatine, wheat microproteins and amino acids that offer hair natural building blocks, it fortifies and nourishes lengths to reduce breakage as it cleanses and also gives grey hair protection against damaging aggressors including pollution and heated styling tools.
Still gentle enough to use daily, it foams easily and is free from ammonia and parabens. Don’t be alarmed if the water mimics the deep amethyst shade of the shampoo as you rinse – it’ll take away all of the brassiness in grey hair without leaving any purple behind.
Buy now £14.00, Bleach London
Oribe Silverati Shampoo
For grey hair that needs to be brighter but isn’t turning particularly yellow, this shampoo has been specifically created to tackle dullness and infuse luminosity into lengths, much as a vitamin C serum would do for a lacklustre complexion. Rather than a purple tone, subtle blue and silver pigments are used so the clear fluid looks softly sparkling rather than being deeply coloured.
These pigments, combined with plant extracts including fir and mallow flower, both counteract and prevent any brassy tinge to give greys a lustrous finish. The protective, strengthening complex and elegant Côte d’Azur fragrance that both run through the entire range, add to the luxurious and effective experience. Pricey but will last a long time.
Buy now £29.00, Liberty
Justice Perfect Violet Shampoo
A range developed in conjunction with hairstylists from around the globe, this affordable, professional Australian brand has just arrived in the UK. The super-effective, fuss-free formulas include this super-nourishing purple shampoo that will easily take down yellow and brassy tones in grey and silver hair as it refreshes and brightens strands instead.
An extra hit of gloss as well as increased elasticity comes from panthenol, while a Japanese silk protein will help to deeply hydrate hair and tamp down any frizz or wiriness for a sleeker finish and plenty of body. Lather up and leave in for up to three minutes to get the full, purple-toning impact.
Buy now £13.00, Justice
L’Oréal Professionnel Series Expert Silver Shampoo
A clarifying and toning shampoo, this deep purple formula is designed to be applied to towel-dried hair and lathered up, then left on for up to five minutes. The star ingredient is magnesium fused with anti-yellow agents to counteract brassy tones while also giving grey a cooler, more platinum finish. To help fortify more fragile grey strands, amino acids work to strengthen lengths too in this already hydrating formula, lending a soft and supple feel to the hair.
A little goes a long way and the toning payoff can be intense so if you want to customise the cooling colour and effect exactly to your needs, start by using the shampoo every couple of washes, then tweak as works best for your ideal gorgeous grey.
Buy now £19.54, lookfantastic
Innersense Bright Balance Hairbath Shampoo
Used weekly as an intensive toning and brightening treatment, this vegan shampoo is ideal if you want to illuminate any shade of grey while adding an almost imperceptible, but cooling wash of violet that will neutralise any yellowing. With a focus on organic and natural ingredients, it includes moisturising and protective monoi oil, softening and hydrating apple extract, plus astringent witch hazel to remove hair-dulling deposits.
The beautiful jasmine and apple scent comes directly from natural extracts too. As this is a low-foaming formula, work up a little lather between your palms first before massaging into the scalp. It’ll rinse away easily for grey lengths that feel soft and look gleaming when dry.
Buy now £28.00, Face the Future
Verdict
As a powerful double whammy for optimising grey hair, Silvina Everyday Grey Hair Shine Shampoo is hard to beat. Packed with natural ingredients that help strengthen the structural integrity of greys that can feel wiry and coarse as well as brilliant super-nourishers, hair feels softer and smoother from the start.
Smartest of all, the balance of blue pigments has been so finely tuned that they have enough oomph to tackle brassiness on a daily basis, yet won’t leave behind any tint or residue. The look of the shimmering lilac shampoo and its delicate but addictive, juicy scent doesn’t disappoint either.
