The ethereal and edgy silver hair color was huge a few years ago and this season it’s making a comeback. Whether you’re ready to jump on the trend—or you’re considering embracing your natural silver—this unique, captivating color has a range of options and works beautifully on various skin tones.
The downside? Achieving and maintaining this statement color requires significant effort and commitment. The upkeep is painful, but the results are amazing.
Here’s the inspo to convince you to take on the challenge, along with the tips on keeping your silver locks looking fresh and vibrant.
How To Get Silver Hair?
Going silver at home is possible, but unless you really know what you’re doing, the results won’t wow you. It’s best left to the professionals, but it’s going to cost a lot of money.
Achieving shiny silver hair is a lengthy process that might take several sessions at the salon, depending on your starting point. To get there, your hair first needs to be bleached as light as it can go. Next, your stylist will apply toner to neutralize the yellow pigment present in everyone’s hair, giving you your desired shade.
But walking out of the salon with the perfect silver hue doesn’t mean you’re done with your hair. Indra Tanudarma, Hairdresser and Director Of Education at L’Oreal says, “Most clients don’t know the commitment of owning silver hair, most stylist don’t have enough knowledge to communicate the consequences of owning silver hair.”
Silver Hair Color Maintenance
What to expect after getting silver hair? The biggest issue is that it fades incredibly quickly: it turns into an ashy blonde in a couple of washes, then your natural pigment starts to peek through.
“You cannot shampoo your hair everyday, you cannot wash your hair with warm water, you need to use sulfate free shampoo, you need to use purple conditioner or mask after your shampoo,” Tanudarma advises. “Last but not least, your silver hair will be back to your underlying pigment which is yellow. You have to do re-toning every 2 weeks.”
To get the most of your silver hair color, here’s what to do at home.
- Limit washing your hair to once or twice per week. Only use lukewarm water, never hot.
- Let your hair air dry whenever you can. Avoid using hot tools as much as possible and always use a heat protectant when you do.
- A gentle sulfate-free shampoo is a must. Avoid shampoos that claim to be color safe and still contain sulfates.
- Color conditioners are tricky. They neutralize orange and yellow tones (blue and purple conditioners respectively), but they dry out the hair. You can mix them with regular conditioner to get both the moisture and the color-correcting benefits.
- Pre-shampoo with hydrating and color-preserving hair masks to deep condition.
- If you want to tone your hair between salon visits, skip the drugstore brands and use professional toners.
If all the talk of silver hair upkeep hasn’t convinced to give up, here’s the other side of the coin: stunning silver hair color done right. Take a look and decide if the results are worth the hassle.
SILVER HAIR
The best thing about silver hair is that you don’t have to worry if you can pull it off; it will suit you, guaranteed. Every hair color eventually turns silver, so it matches every skin tone. Fair, medium or dark; warm, neutral or cool—you only need to find the right shade. From being nearly white to having slight purple, gray or blue undertones, the exact shade of silver hair can be adjusted to suit you perfectly.
1. Silver Hair Color
2. Silver And Rooty
3. Glossy Silver
SILVER BLONDE HAIR
Moonlight-silver hair is deeply captivating. With hair this color, you’ll feel like an otherworldly being or the coolest girl in the room. If you prefer the ice queen look, try one of these silver blonde shades.
4. Silver Blonde
5. Platinum Ash Silver
6. Platinum Silver
NATURAL SILVER HAIR
The decision to stop covering up your grays can be freeing: it doesn’t mean letting yourself go. Instead, you embrace who you are and get a whole new look. Natural silver hair color is easier to maintain, but it still needs love and care. To ensure the glossiest, most vibrant locks, follow the steps above.
7. Silver Grombre
8. Silver Gray
9. Gray Silver Hair Color
SMOKEY SILVER HAIR
Smokey, gray silver hair will benefit from using silver color-depositing shampoo to neutralize yellow or orange undertones. These moody shades are less soft and more edgy, and wearing them will give you an it-girl vibe.
10. Matte Silver Hair Color
11. Smoky Silver
12. Metallic Silver
PURPLE SILVER HAIR
Slight purple sheen is a great match to silver hair—think less pastel and more metallic. These gorgeous hues fade quickly, though, so you need to tone often. A possible solution is to go a step beyond color-depositing shampoo: consider mixing semi-permanent color with conditioner and leaving it on your hair for 10-15 minutes every other wash.
13. Silver Lavender
14. Chrome Silver
15. Silver Lilac
SILVER BALAYAGE
A full head of silver hair looks amazing, but don’t sleep on silver highlights. Slightly less demanding and just as gorgeous, these looks are cool, edgy and fashion-forward. A silver balayage matches any base perfectly and looks amazing as it transforms growing out. Regular toning is still a must, though!
16. Silver Balayage
17. Platinum Silver Highlights
18. Ash Silver Balayage
MULTI-TONE SILVER
If you like to experiment, incorporating silver in various multi-color dye jobs guarantees stunning results. Underdye, gemini hair or chunky money pieces—with all these options available, single color hair seems less interesting than ever.
