How To Make Gray Hair Bright and Shiny

For those of us flaunting natural gray hair, these are exciting times. Gray hair is increasingly popular and is considered a sleek and trendy style that you’ll want to show off with pride regardless of your age. To help bring out the natural beauty in gray hair, there are countless hair care options—from nourishing treatments to toning shampoos, conditioners, and low-commitment color products. Keeping gray hair looking beautiful, bright, and shiny silver for your clients requires you to know which products and techniques are best suited for each person that comes into your salon. Below, we’re covering the top recommendations for hair professionals.

8 SIMPLE TIPS FOR ANALYZING YOUR CLIENTS’ GRAY HAIR

There are many factors that can affect a client’s overall hair quality, especially if it’s naturally gray. It’s important to take a close look at your client’s hair when deciding on the best type of service to provide. Additionally, you’ll also want to take some time to discuss their hair goals, current routine, and past treatments. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key factors to pay attention to when working with gray hair.

1. Percentage of Gray Hair

The first step when analyzing gray hair is to take a quick glance at the person’s hair to assess how much gray hair they have. Take notice if they are almost completely gray or if a small number of grays are just beginning to appear. As a general rule, gray hair tends to appear first in the areas near the temples or around the perimeter of the hairline. The percentage of gray hair will help you decide on the right steps to take, as well as which shine-boosting products to use to help them achieve their desired look.

2. Thickness of Gray Hair

Believe it or not, not all gray hair is created equally, as some strands are thicker than others. Natural gray hair can vary in texture and thickness, ranging from thick curls to very fine straight hair. By analyzing your client’s hair thickness, you can better utilize hair products for gray hair and offer a personalized service that’s most suitable for each strand.

How To Make Gray Hair Smooth and Shiny

Gray hair requires special attention and professional care to help keep it from appearing dull, dry, or lackluster. With a few easy tricks and the right products, it’s possible to keep those gray tresses looking bright and shiny silver. Here are a few professional tips for maintaining and adding shine to natural gray hair.

3. Purple Shampoo

As you probably already know, purple shampoo can be your best friend when it comes to helping gray hair look its best. That’s why a high-quality purple shampoo is a must-have for your gray-haired clients. We recommend our RE/START™ Strengthening Purple Cleanser and Eksperience™ Color Protection Blonde & Grey Hair Cleanser, which help neutralize brassy tones and brighten gray hair. These purple cleansers are formulated without sulfates and delicately cleanse gray hair, while fighting yellow tones and improving vibrancy and shine.

To apply it, simply wash the hair (focusing on the roots), and with the lather, finish washing the mid-lengths and ends. Follow with a nourishing conditioner in combination with a few drops of RE/START™ Color Anti-Brassiness Purple Drops once a week, or as needed. These purple drops provide customized neutralization and help beautify gray shades. The number of drops used should be customized based on the client’s hair shade and level of neutralization needed.

4. Leave-In Products and Protectors

If you want to preserve and beautify a shiny silver gray hair, don’t forget about leave-in products and heat protectors! Two options to consider include Revlon Professional® Equave™ Instant Leave-In Detangling Conditioner and the fantastic heat protector Style Masters™ Lissaver. Additionally, you also have Revlon Professional UniqOne™, a hair treatment that features ten benefits in one spectacular leave-in product. Together, these products can help gray hair appear shiny silver, softer, and more controlled.

Essential Shine Products for Gray Hair

When you’re working with gray hair, there’s an endless amount of hair care products to choose from. Although some of these products are must-haves for your salon, others are not. To help you decipher between all of these product options, below are our top picks of the products you don’t want to miss out on for enhancing gray hair’s shine.

5. Toner

For your gray-haired clients, we recommend Color Excel Gloss by Revlonissimo™ as an absolute salon essential. Now extending beyond neutralization and toning, our exclusive in-salon service for beautifying natural gray hair is perfect for removing brassiness while softly toning it. This ammonia-free* acid toning range helps neutralize yellow residues on natural gray hair. Give uniformity to gray hair and deliver extra-shiny, beautiful results by selecting from one of these select shades: Nude Satin .123, Silver Ash .11, Intense Iridescent .22, or Mushroom .821.

6. Serum

Hair that is naturally gray requires a well-formulated serum to help keep the ends looking healthy, such as RE/START™ Hydration Anti-frizz Moisturizing Drops. This long-lasting, leave-in serum helps tame hair while locking in moisture and improving hair shine and softness. It even helps to balance the scalp’s microbiome, as well!**

7. Sprays

To help reveal silky and shiny gray hair, use a shine spray like our Style Masters™ shine spray GLAMOURAMA™. This quick-drying, lightweight hairspray delivers a touch of glamorous shine to gray hair, while also helping to preserve color. Use this product on your gray-haired clients to add spectacular shine, without weighing their hair down.

8. Foam

If you prefer to style gray hair with the soft texture of foams, we recommend PRO YOU™ The Toner Neutralizing Conditioning Foam to help neutralize unwanted warm undertones. Specially formulated for blonde, bleached, and gray hair, this product works wonders as a leave-in product. Best of all, it also conditions the hair, which can make natural gray hair easier to style.

Embracing gray hair has never been easier. Whether those very first gray hairs are starting to appear, or you want to take the leap from traditional hair dye to low-commitment coloring, you now know how to make gray hair soft and shiny with every step you take. To discover more professional gray hair tips, check out our article on how to enhance gray hair.

*Formulated without adding ammonia.

**When used with RE/START shampoo.