Gray blending is a hair coloring technique that melts your grays into your base color instead of covering and hiding them completely. The result is a beautifully harmonious look that seems natural and is typically low maintenance as well.
There are a few different ways colorists can blend your grays:
By adding highlights – these are a touch lighter than your base color, and help bring more brightness to your hair, reducing the visual impact of the grays.
By adding lowlights – these are a shade or two darker than your natural hair color and help bring dimension to your hair by breaking up the solid color of your natural base.
By combining the two, which will help mimic the natural variations in your hair color and disguise new grays and regrowth better than a uniform shade.
One popular color used for gray blending is silver, a color that can vary from deep, metallic tones to lighter, almost white hues.
In this article, I’m sharing stunning gray blending ideas using silver, from icy silver highlights to white face-framing money pieces and subtle gray balayage. You’ll find over 30 gorgeous dark and silver hairstyles and color ideas that I’m sure you’ll absolutely love!
This masterpiece by stylist @aaashleee has taken a ton of work to achieve, but the result is absolutely worth it!
After multiple sessions of lifting the client’s dark hair color to lighten the base, adding icy gloss to make the whites shine, color correcting warmer tones, adding darker lowlights for dimension, AND topping it up with a platinum money piece, the result is a low maintenance style that can be further customized at any time.
The trick now is to keep the highlights nice and icy, which can be done by using a blue toning mask.
For this stunning lady, stylist @hairbymayque used the balayage technique to paint in ashy highlights that look completely natural and mix perfectly with the existing grays.
Done on previously undyed hair, this look is easier to achieve than if the client had had any color in her hair, but the darker ashy grey will not be any easier to maintain than lighter blonde shades, and will require regular glossing touch ups and using color protecting styling products.
To blend the grays in her client’s natural hair, @beautybymelodyg added partial highlights using Schwarzkopf Pro’s BLONDEME series products and toned them with Redken Shades EQ. For volume and length, she added gorgeous hair extensions that tie the whole look together perfectly.
I absolutely love this totally understated look that was achieved using only ash gray highlights. The client’s natural hair color is working in her favor as no additional color or lowlights were needed to get it.
To maintain the ash gray shade, regular salon appointments for toning and to retouch the highlights are recommended every two months or so.
This gray blended style was achieved using multitonal babylights that look super natural and make it impossible to distinguish the real grays from the added beige-y/ash-y/silver highlights.
Babylights are perfect if you don’t have a lot of gray yet but want a more harmonious and blended look.
Here, the stylist opted for purer and brighter silver tones to blend with her client’s existing whites, adding darker lowlights for a more multidimensional and natural look.
Because the colors are higher contrast, the natural grays are barely visible and will grow out naturally as well.
One bold option for blending grays is doing a full (also know as high) balayage where the color is applied throughout the hair, including close to the roots.
Stylist @skabos opted just for that using gorgeous grey tones, achieving a super low maintenance style in terms of root touchups.
The only thing required to keep the color as gorgeous as it is now is using purple shampoo and color depositing masks.
Almost All-Natural Gray & Brown Hair With Money Piece
This right here is a beautiful gray transition story! The natural part of the hair looks absolutely amazing and works surprisingly well with the partly grown-out brown tips.
I absolutely love the platinum white money piece, which gets all the attention and takes the whole look to a new level.
One of the reasons adding silver highlights is so popular for blending grays is that the color usually matches natural grays very well and blends perfectly with other shades.
@thelashinghairstylist has taken her client back to the silver side and the result is absolutely gorgeous. If I ever decide to start growing out my grays, this is the look I would want to achieve!
@samcoiffeur has created the perfect salt and pepper look using silvery gray highlights, and I’m absolutely in love with it!
The silver can be kept healthy and shiny using a professional gloss treatment or an at-home gloss/glaze like L’Oreal Paris Le Gloss Toning Gloss that also comes in a gorgeous steely silver shade.
Stylist @iamginamaihair used titanium blonde to achieve this gorgeous gray blended look.
The metallic highlights were placed following the client’s natural gray pattern with more brigthness added around the face and to the tips.
The growout will look super natural and the whole style requires very little work to maintain, apart from using purple shampoo/conditioner and color protecting styling products.
This hairdo mixes cool tones and edgy contrasts with its black and white highlights. It’s a playful yet chic way to experiment with gray blending, offering a fresh twist to your style that’s sure to grab attention.
A captivating ombre transition that starts with deep, natural roots and melts into a luxurious cascade of silver grey. The gradient is smooth, with the grey tone revealing smoky hues as it progresses towards the ends.
Delicate strands of silver weave through the hair here, giving the impression of a glossy metallic sheen. These highlights are not merely streaks, but fine, intricate ribbons of color that look super natural and give the hair a sense of motion and liveliness.
Natural Dark Hair With Fine Streaks of Silver Highlights
This chic look showcases long, wavy black hair highlighted with natural and dyed silver streaks. The highlights are thicker where they need to be and cascade into lighter ends from the middle. It’s a completely natural look that will help you grow out your grays while still looking elegant.
This stunning style features a beautiful blend of gray/silver/platinum highlights on a dark brown base. The chunky platinum streaks add dimension and a chic, modern edge to the look. The silky smooth finish and voluminous layers futher add an effortlessly glamorous appeal.
Silver balayage is the perfect way to blend those peekaboo greys! This gorgeous style here does exactly that by combining a dark base with striking silver balayage highlights. The applied technique creates a natural-looking gradient from brown to silver that makes the unwanted greys disappear completely.
Make a statement with these bold ash-grey strands blending into luxurious waves. This style not only accentuates the volume and the flow of the hair but also proves that gray can be as glamorous and versatile as any classic color.
In this stunning example of gray blending, the darker roots transition into a lighter gray at the tips. The full highlights soften the contrast between the dark base color and the bright silver, creating an elegant and natural gradiation. The loose waves add a playful touch to the sophisticated salt and pepper hair color palette.
The seamless mix of silvery grey blending highlights and dark tresses showcases a bold and contemporary take on going grey. Striking yet effortlessly chic, the silver streaks are placed in a way that frames the face, catching the light and lending a luxe finish to the locks. This style is a sophisticated choice for those looking to make a transition to grey with grace.
For a subtler take on the silver trend, these long, flowing locks with understated gray, almost ash-like highlights offer a gentle transition. It’s a perfect choice for anyone wishing to add a dash of refinement to their natural color without fully committing to a bold silver look.
This style showcases a striking ombre effect that starts with deeper roots and flows into a cascade of silver platinum hues. The transition is expertly graded, achieving a mesmerizing interplay of light and shade that gives the hair incredible dimension and a feeling of movement.
Here, the silvery white highlights stand out against the darker hair with an almost crystalline clarity. The grey is not just blended; it’s a completely natural look that is perfect for hiding those first greys. The white streaks catch the light and bring a dynamic energy to the overall hairstyle.
Here, silvery-grey streaks are masterfully painted into the natural dark hair, creating a sophisticated contrast. It’s a seamless blend, where the grays transition smoothly from the deeper shades, suggesting a natural progression rather than stark highlights. This approach is ideal for those looking to naturally integrate their greying hair, or for anyone seeking to add a touch of coolness to their palette.
The balayage technique here is masterful, creating an almost imperceptible transition from the dark roots to the shimmering silver ends. The hair seems to capture the essence of silver turned to silk, with the color brushed on so delicately that it appears to be a natural part of the wearer’s hair.
This hairstyle exhibits a sublime fusion where warm brown hues give way to luminous silver highlights. The grey is woven through the hair with a light hand, suggesting the softest whispers of color that brighten and lift the natural tones. The result is a fluid and almost organic blend that looks completely natural.
Here’s a beautiful example of gray blending that brings life and dimension to the hair. The silver streaks meld with the natural brown hair color, creating a look that’s both playful and refined. With curls that catch the light, the silver tones enhance the hair’s natural movement, providing a dynamic and youthful edge to the classic curl.
This elegant look features finely woven silver highlights on rich dark hair. The straight, sleek strands mix with the highlights beautifully, creating a harmonious blend of brown and silver that enhances the overall shine and depth. A perfect option for covering greys while adding a touch of sophistication.
This image captures the beauty of gray blending with a masterful touch of silver highlights that bring a new dimension to dark hair. The effect is a graceful grow-out and a low-maintenance look that is perfect when you have a bit more grey to cover.
This look combines both highlights and lowlights to blend and hide grey hair. The dark and light shades interplay beautifully, adding texture and volume to the hair. Plus, the greys disappear into this color combo completely!
