Whether you’ve yet to get a grey hair or you’ve been hiding your silvers for years, we’re here to tell you that silver hair is in. Scratch that—it’s never been out!
If you’re on a hair journey and want to embrace your natural color, we hate to say it, but you can’t (or at least shouldn’t) let it roam free. You’ll need to do some maintenance and even color touch-ups, but trust us when we say it’s so much easier to deal with than a bleach-blonde or chocolate-brown look.
Intrigued? If you want to learn all about silver hair, continue below for our complete guide, along with some tips from Maria McCool, hairstylist, salon owner, and the founder of Calista Tools.
Meet The Expert
Maria McCool is the founder of Calista Tools. She’s also a stylist, salon owner, product creator, author, QVC brand ambassador, and lover of all things hair.
All About Silver Hair
If your hair is in the process of greying, you have just a few greys or your whole head is covered in silvers, there are a few things you should keep in mind. Since it’s a lighter color, it will be more prone to breaking, just as blonde locks are.
McCool tells Timeless Hairstyles, “When it comes to silver, greying hair, it tends to be a little more coarse, sensitive, and prone to breaking.” Remembering all of this info, you’ll need to take the proper steps to maintaining your silver hair, which we go into more, below!
Photo Credit: Instagram / @diane_keaton
Do You Have to Be a Certain Age to Rock Silver Hair?
You might be asking yourself, “Do you have to be a certain age to rock silver hair?” And the answer is a blatant NO. You can walk around with silver hair at any age, whether you’re in your 20s or 60s.
There is no right or wrong answer! McCool goes on to add, “Anyone can rock it! It’s more about recognizing your natural coloring and picking the right silver. Some are warmer, some are cooler, some are brighter, some are muted—it’s all very similar to how you pick your makeup or clothing colors.”
How to Maintain Silver Hair
If you have grey hair and are looking to take it to the next level, you truly can’t go wrong with a killer silver hue. And while maintenance isn’t going to be exactly fuss-free, trust us when we say it will be so worth it.
McCool tells us, “People always ask me if they should go silver, especially if they go grey early. My advice is that if you want to go silver and rock it, make sure you maintain it! Go to your stylist every six weeks, get a glaze on it, style it, and do a modern cut. Don’t just let your hair go! Be deliberate about keeping your hair’s style, texture, and color looking healthy and fresh.”
Speak with your stylist about how often you should be toning your hair, as it’s key to keeping beautiful silver locks!
As far as maintenance from home goes, we suggest taking preventative measures, like purple conditioners and heat protectants!
McCool goes into more detail, adding, “The biggest concern with grey or silver hair is yellowing, so my advice is always to use a product with heat protectant and SPF. These will shield your hair from the two main causes of yellowing: heated styling tools and sun exposure. Additionally, I recommend using a blue or purple-based conditioner once a week to keep your color bright.”
Not sure which products to grab? Our faves are the L’Oreal Paris EverPure Purple Conditioner ($10) and Purology’s Color Fanatic Heat Protectant Leave-In Conditioner ($35).
How to Style Silver Hair
Curly/Coily
If you have curly or coily silver hair, you have tons of styling opportunities. In fact, you can style it as normal, whether you’re letting it air dry, using a diffuser, or even trying out the hair-plopping method.
Regardless of your styling manner, those with curly hair tend to see dryness, so take McCool’s following advice: “Curly hair dries out more easily, so you want to use a serum to make sure that you’re getting the softness back and a hair mask to get the moisture back.”
Straight
Straight silver hair looks super sleek and chic, and our minds often go to Diane Keaton who knows how to rock the style! Take note from her and take care of your locks with a conditioning mask and even a volumizing product of some sort, especially if you have flat or fine hair.
“Straight hair often needs more volume, so I recommend using a volumizing product that also has ingredients that will add shine, like argan oil or coconut oil,” McCool tells us. We love Moroccanoil’s Volumizing Mist ($30)!
Natural
Want to embrace your hair’s natural texture? Whether you’ve got a bit of a wave to it or like letting it air dry, natural hair and silver tones go hand in hand.
McCool agrees and says that hot tools are absolutely not necessary, and to instead find a styling cream! “With a great styling cream, you can get that fullness and body while maintaining the softness and shine,” she goes on to say. “The worst thing you can do is use products and tools that dry the hair out because those can very easily age and dull your hair.”
Classic Silver Hair Colors
Nordic White
Photo Credit: Calista Tools
For a winter vibe that never goes out of style, we suggest taking a look at this Nordic White hue. McCool describes it as “a bright, bold white color with natural silvers intertwined,” and we couldn’t agree more.
Smokey Silver
Photo Credit: Calista Tools
Not quite ready to go full-blown silver? Ease into your hair journey and opt for this Smokey Silver color, which we think is just darling. For this particular hue, McCool says it’s a “ smoky, textured grey tone that embraces age while looking fresh.”
Platinum Grey
Photo Credit: Instagram / @hairstyelle
While it’s hard to choose a favorite silver-haired hue, if you were to twist our arm, we would have to say this platinum grey style. It’s a “youthful take on silver shading that is chic and elevated,” according to McCool.