Gray Blending for Dark Hair: 16 Beautiful Transition Hairstyle Ideas & Trends (Women Style Guide)

Most people would want nothing more than to get their gray hair out.

However, gray blending for dark hair also looks gorgeous if done well.

Gray hair color is one of the hottest in the industry right now, and if you are thinking of getting it, this article will give you a few options.

16 Best Ideas to Do Gray Blending for Dark Hair

Here are some of the ways for you to get gray blending if you have dark hair:

Gray Blending Ombre Hair

Using silver-gray ombre on dark or black hair looks great. The gray color contrasts nicely with the dark background.
On the other hand, you can also use a gray that is a bit darker, but still lighter than your natural hair.

Rose Tint Gray Blending

Use some rose tint to add warmth to your gray hair. The gray color still makes the bulk of the hair, but a couple of streaks of rose here and there will help break the monotony of the colors. This combination also gives your hair a bit more depth and dimension.

Baby Lights

Baby lights are highlights that are just a couple of shades lighter than the natural color.
Using dark gray highlights on black hair will make your hair look more voluminous. The subtle highlights will also give movement to your hair.

This is an excellent choice if you have curly or even slightly wavy hair.

Copper Patina Gray Blending

This does the opposite of what rose tint does. Copper patina gives your gray hair a bit more cool, which will work great if you have a cool skin tone. The copper patina looks a bit like aquamarine, but with a bit of warmth due to a bit of orange added to it.

This is a great hair color for hazel eyes.

Classic Highlights

Using gray as the color to use for classic highlights can give you a kind of silver fox look.
Instead of hiding your gray hairs, use the same color as highlights. This is a great choice for highlights in black hair that is starting to gray.

Illuminated Black and Gray Hair

This is like a gray variant of the original balayage. Just like the original balayage, illuminated black and gray uses several different shades of gray to give the illusion of additional layers.

This will give the hair the illusion of more volume and movement, especially when you pair it with a good haircut.
So that you know, the butterfly haircut is a classic choice.

Blending Balayage Highlights

This hairstyle is a traditional balayage with a couple of gray streaks added for increased highlights.
Ideally, you should use silvery gray when you have a light blonde balayage.

If you want to try this technique, know that hair dye can expire, so choose your product carefully.

Cold Turkey Method

The cold turkey gained its name because you will literally stop dyeing your hair and let the gray hairs grow.

At first, your hair might not look too hot, but when you still take good care of it, like conditioning and using a hair mask regularly, gray hair will look nice.

Salt and Pepper Hair

This is the usual hair color combination that happens when you just let your gray hair grow out, but you can also have it done professionally. George Clooney made this hair color sexy, and you might like it on you, too.

Highlights and Lowlights

Using two different shades of gray-silver and using them as your highlight and lowlight colors will give your hair a lot of contrast.
The gray accents will give your hair a lot more dimension. It also looks quite beautiful when done correctly.

Dark Charcoal Blending

Make sure that this comes with gray lowlights. The dark charcoal blends almost seamlessly with black hair, and adding gray lowlights will give your hair subtle depth and dimension.

The gray colors look discreet, but when the light hits your hair just right you will find that the lowlights and highlights will suddenly appear.

Chunky Silver Strips

Adding thick silver stripes to your hair gives you a bit of Halloween vibes, but in a good way.
The gray metallic streaks in different layers look beautiful in an elegant kind of way.

You can also try caramel balayage with chunky silver strips. This will give your hair an updated look.

Soft Grays Featuring Money Pieces

A soft gray money piece is a nice way to frame your face. You need to bleach and dye the fringes in front of your face.
The gray money piece contrasts nicely against black or dark hair, which frames the face nicely.

When styled up, it will provide a beautiful streak on the side of your head.

Metallic Silver

The metallic silver hair color may not look that natural, but it is still quite beautiful. It is easy to attain this metallic color, but maintenance can be challenging. You will need to use purple-tinted shampoo almost religiously, as even a bit of brassiness will make the color look off.

Ashy Lowlights Look

Adding ash-gray lowlights to dark hair will give it more dimension. The gray color is not that far from your natural color, but it can still contrast well against a black background. If you want something a bit discreet, it will still increase your looks by a couple of levels.

Multi-Toned Gray Blending

Highlights and lowlights do a great job of adding dimension and movement. However, you should get a multi-tone gray blending if you want even more dimension. Using four or more shades of gray on your hair will give it several dimensions.

It is like every strand has a different color.

How to Style and Maintain Different Shades of Gray

Step 1 – Choose the right gray

You would think there are just a couple of grays you need to choose from, but you would be wrong.
It is not enough to choose the right shade of gray.

You will also need to choose between metallics and other colors and you can only use methods for lightening the hair without bleach.

Step 2 – Choose the best style

After choosing the shade of gray, you next need to decide on your preferred coloring style.
You don’t need to settle with one shade of gray throughout your head.

You can also use highlights and lowlights to give your hair more volume.

Step 3 – Maintain your gray color

One of the common problems that gray hair color experiences is brassiness, which also happens in blonde hair.
To counteract this, you can use a purple-tinted shampoo to neutralize the orange color.

Step 4 – Use the best hair care products

As mentioned earlier, you will need to use purple shampoo for the maintenance of your gray hair.

However, applying a leave-in conditioner, deep moisturizing conditioner and other products that will help replace the moisture sapped from your hair by the bleaching and dyeing process is also advisable.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Gray Blending

Not Preparing Before Jumping Into Swimming Pools

Like light blonde hair, gray hair can also turn green if you do not protect it before jumping into a chlorinated pool.

You can do this by either wearing a swim cap, applying liberal amounts of leave-in conditioner or just wetting your hair before you jump into a pool.

Using Purple Shampoo Too Much

You might think you are doing your hair a huge favor by using purple shampoo daily, but that is not the case.
Although purple shampoo will stave off the brassiness, using it too much will turn your gray hair into lavender.

Not Using Hair Oils

Freshly bleached and dyed gray hair is significantly drier and coarser than your hair was before.
Using hair oil will hydrate and protect your hair against further damage.

This is highly recommended and you should consider using hair oils to help your hair recover faster.

Gray Blending vs. Highlights

If you are still deciding whether to go for gray blending or highlights, you should consider differentiating the two using the following factors:

Application

Gray blending and highlights are applied differently. With gray blending, there will be a need to use a light balayage.
After that, the hair will be accentuated even further to blend the grays that were already in there.

Need for Hair Lightening

Gray blending does not necessarily need hair lightening. You can do gray blending with your natural hair color, as there is no need to lighten the rest of the hair. Meanwhile, highlights need to have certain sections of the hair lightened.

Ability to Blend Away the Grays

The biggest difference between gray blending and highlights is that the former blends away gray instead of highlighting them.
The gray blending process blends the grays into your natural hair color.

On the other hand, highlights tend to accent the grays even more. This is a way to transition your gray hairs effectively into your natural hair.

Target Users

Typically, people who get gray blending done are of advanced age. This means people with increasingly more gray hair than their natural color. This is a way to integrate the gray hairs into the natural hair color without dyeing them the same color.

This makes the transition softer and more beautiful.

FAQ

How much does gray blending cost?

It depends on the salon and the products used. However, on average, a typical gray blending color job costs between $200 and $250.

Which colors should I use for gray blending?

It will depend on the shade of color of your gray hair. To blend your gray hairs with the rest, you need to use color in between.

How do you know if you need to do gray blending?

If you no longer want to dye your gray hair, you can go ahead and try gray blending. Even if the colors from the gray blending fade, your hair will still look great.

Where should you begin with gray blending?

Start when the roots of your hair have started graying and show an unnatural-looking transition between your natural hair and the dyed parts.

How long does gray blending last?

The gray blending typically looks like new up until 6 months or so. However, once the dye does fade, your gray hair should have grown enough to allow you to wear your hair in its natural color.