Tired of hiding your greys? Our brunette grey blending guide shows 28 beautiful ideas for making those peeking silvers an elegant part of your hair color and style.
From silvery white streaks and icy money pieces to ashy balayage looks, herringbone highlights, and mushroom brown lowlights, let’s explore the color combinations and techniques master colorists around the world use for gray blending for brunettes.
Warm Toned Grey Highlights on Shoulder-Length Brunette Hair
Loving the way these soft, warm-toned grey highlights catch the light. This seamless grey blend on brunette hair creates an all-over, brightened glow that enhances the natural shine. Grey blending doesn’t always mean visible grey—it can be toned warmer, like this, to give a radiant, soft effect while seamlessly blending with the brunette base.
Soft, lighter grey and very light grey highlights create a seamless blend with natural salt and pepper hair on a short cut. Strategically placed babylights and subtle highlights add dimension, making the grey blend look effortless and natural. This technique works best with a shorter cut, like a pixie or bob, for a smoother transition. Keep those cool tones fresh with regular toning and moisture.
In this grey blending and blonding look, the highlights go right to the root for a seamless, natural transition. By bringing the highlights to the roots, the grey blends effortlessly with the blonde, softening the regrowth and creating a more cohesive look. This approach not only minimizes the appearance of regrowth but also enhances the overall brightness.
A warm balayage with caramel tones adds depth to a brunette base while masking the current and incoming greys. Caramel tones seamlessly blend away the grey by softening the contrast between the natural grey tones and darker brunette, creating a more gradual transition. In other words, the warmth of the caramel helps to neutralize any harsh lines, making the grey appear more natural and integrated by creating a gradient effect.
This rooted gray blending ombre starts with soft, silver-gray tones at the roots, flowing into darker shades underneath for a subtle peekaboo effect. The money piece highlights at the front are brighter, almost platinum blonde or white, framing the face with a striking contrast that draws attention. The combination of cooler grays at the roots and the bright money piece creates a dynamic, fresh look that blends seamlessly while still offering a bold pop of lightness. To maintain, use purple shampoo to keep the grays fresh and avoid brassiness, while regular conditioning will keep the hair soft and healthy.
Golden Blonde, Ash Grey, and White Highlights on a Dark Base
This close-up view showcases the meticulous process of gray blending, where golden blonde, ash grey, and white highlights are carefully placed to soften the contrast between existing color and natural gray. The deeper graphite tones provide a rich foundation, allowing the lighter highlights to blend seamlessly and create a harmonious balance. This technique ensures a smooth and natural grow-out.
This cool-toned gray blending style by @savannahlynnstudiosllc is simply stunning, and we just can’t get enough of it! Achieving a result like this will take a couple of years as the grays slowly grow out, but pairing them with cool-toned blonde highlights like the ones done here will help you get a look that’s totally worth the wait!
Silver and Light Brown Highlights Combined With Lowlights
The stylist used a combination of silver and brown highlights and lowlights to work with the client’s existing gray, creating ribbons of color that naturally blend with the hair. This technique ensures the gray grows out seamlessly, without a harsh line or rooty look. By alternating between highlights and lowlights as needed, along with occasional toning and trims, the result is a long-lasting, dimensional gray.
Honey-Toned Grey Blending for Brunettes With First Grays
This long brunette look features grey blending with soft honey-toned highlights, adding brightness while seamlessly blending the greys. The honey hues lift the brunette base, creating a natural, sun-kissed effect. Subtle highlights and lowlights soften the greys, giving the hair a smooth, multi-dimensional finish. A great way to embrace greys with a polished, effortless vibe.
If you’re looking for a way to blend those greys without losing your brunette depth, this blonde toning service is a great option. The delicate, thin highlights add a touch of brightness while maintaining the rich base. The custom toner brings out soft, sun-kissed warm tones, seamlessly blending with your natural color.
Light Brown Highlights Perfectly Blended Into a Dark Base
For your next appointment, this warm-toned gray blend is the perfect inspiration. The rich brunette base is seamlessly enhanced with soft light brown highlights that, together with the natural grays, create a beautifully dimensional look. Toning is key here, keeping the grays warm and balanced to avoid brassiness. It’s a subtle, low-maintenance way to embrace your grays while maintaining a fresh, refined vibe.
Subtle Honey and Caramel Balayage on Brunette Hair
Obsessed with this grey blend! The stylist used warm honey and caramel balayage to blend the grays seamlessly, enhancing the natural tones. This technique softens the transition, making the grays feel integrated rather than covered, creating a smooth, cohesive look.
Hairstylist @styledbysamvay achieved this gorgeous gray blending result using products by Redken and a few different coloring techniques. Her formula was 6B+6N for the gorgeous brown violet lowlights and 9T+9V for the gloss that gives her client’s grays a gorgeous icy finish. We’re totally in love!
An ashy balayage is the perfect way to blend greys with an intentional placement that creates a natural, lived-in look. Ash tones are ideal because they cool down the warmth of grey hair, blending it beautifully without harsh contrasts. The soft highlights melt into the hair, creating a seamless transition from dark roots to lighter ends.
This remarkable grey blending transformation, achieved on virgin hair and left to grow naturally for a year, demonstrates the beauty of a gradual transition. Warm blonde highlights and the emerging greys at the top harmonize beautifully with the rich brunette base, while the deeper ends add depth and richness. The warm tones create a sun-kissed, dimensional effect, offering a perfect, low-maintenance solution for those embracing their natural grey.
Dark grey lowlights with silver highlights on a deeper base are the perfect way to embrace your greys without the cover-up. The dark lowlights bring depth, while the silver highlights give that cool, fresh glow. It’s all about blending those greys in a way that feels effortless and intentional, letting your natural hair shine through
Blending natural brunette roots with cool ash-blonde and silver highlights creates a dynamic effect with a perfect balance of light and dark. A root smudge or shadow softens the transition from the darker base to the lighter highlights, allowing the silver tones to melt seamlessly into the hair. The grey blending highlights neutralize brassiness and flow naturally through the base. Styling with a soft wave enhances the depth and texture of the overall look. This technique can be done in just one session with a natural-looking transition to grey. Ideal for anyone with darker roots who wants a seamless, multi-tonal blend.
This client wanted to rock her natural gray but with a little extra sparkle! A gray blending technique was used, adding some strategically placed silvery white highlights while keeping most of her gorgeous natural gray. Check out how those subtle, bright pieces make her own gray shine!
Silver Herringbone Highlights Mixed With a Natural Dark Base
Silvery grays and soft browns are interwoven through the hair using herringbone highlights, creating a fluid gradient of color that moves effortlessly from dark to light. The result is a rich, multi-dimensional masterpiece, full of depth and movement, never flat or one-dimensional.
Silver-Gray Blonde Highlights with Airtouch and Color Correction
This color correction uses the Airtouch technique to create a seamless, dimensional silver-gray blonde. Starting with Guy Tang’s Magnum 8 powder lightener and dedicated developer, the highlights are carefully placed to ensure a natural blend. A glaze with Guy Tang’s Liquid Demi Reflect 9SI + 6Vol (1:1) on dry hair for 15 minutes enhances the cool, silvery tones. This technique provides a gradual, low-maintenance transition to gray, with a few sessions needed for the perfect blend. To maintain, use sulfate-free shampoos and regular conditioning treatments, and consider a layered haircut to enhance the overall flow and texture.
This stunning blend starts with a rich, dark base, which acts as the perfect backdrop for scattered twinkling grey highlights. The key to this technique is balance because too much grey placement can overwhelm the dark base, but scattered highlights like these create a gentle, airy effect to embracing grey. The cool, almost ethereal shimmer of grey against the deeper shade creates a seamless transition, giving the appearance of subtle yet sophisticated grey blending.
Blonde Higlights for a Natural Salt and Pepper Look
The gray blending highlights are placed over warm tones, creating a striking contrast that makes the greys pop while blending seamlessly. This technique enhances the natural depth and richness of the hair. To maintain this look, use a sulfate-free shampoo and a purple shampoo weekly to keep grays cool and vibrant. Regular deep conditioning will also help preserve the hair’s health and shine since grey hair can feel drier overall.
Grey Blending with Subtle Silver and White Highlights
Experience the transformative power of gray blending—no full foil needed—masterfully executed by Wella Master Colorist Lisa. This technique blends brighter white, and silver-gray tones seamlessly with carefully foiled strands, creating a soft, natural look that’s more dimensional than a traditional full foil. A consultation is essential to discuss your personalized plan, pricing, and maintenance. The results speak for themselves!
Mushroom brown is a great choice for blending greys thanks to its cool, ashy tones that transition smoothly into grey without harsh contrasts. Its neutral base helps camouflage grey hairs, making it low-maintenance and perfect for a natural grow-out. This shade is versatile, chic, and timeless, offering a soft, seamless blend that flatters any look.
Sunlight dances through the hair in this stunning balayage transformation, a delicate blend of soft, ashy blonde tones and naturally placed highlights. For gray blending, this approach is key because it mimics the natural dimension and variation found in gray hair. The color flows like liquid light, creating a sense of movement that blends seamlessly with existing gray patterns.
Chunky Warm Blonde Highlights for First Emerging Greys
This is perfect for those with only a few greys who want a gentle, fresh update without a drastic change. Soft, warm blonde streaks are scattered throughout, blending effortlessly with the greys to create a natural, sun-kissed glow while masking new growth. Highlights around the face and crown brighten the complexion and ensure a seamless, low-maintenance grow-out.
This grey blend features soft brown lowlights that are perfectly blended into the client’s brunette hair, creating a natural, effortless look. The soft lowlights add a nice contrast, while the babylighting technique ensures a seamless, low-maintenance transition. It’s the perfect way to embrace your grays with confidence and ease.
If you’re a light brunette with greys just starting to show, grey blending is the perfect solution to seamlessly integrate them into your natural color. Techniques like herringbone highlights and lowlights in silvery white and darker brown tones work together to create a multi-dimensional effect while blending your greys. Lowlights, in particular, help tone down the contrast between your natural color and greys, giving you a smooth, natural look that’s easy to maintain.
