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Covering Gray and Choosing a Shade

Gray hair behaves differently from pigmented hair, and choosing a shade is where most home coloring goes wrong before the box is even opened. Super Kelly Beauty on Gratiot near 8 Mile stocks color, developer and applicators, open until 8:45 PM Monday through Saturday.

Why gray resists color

Gray hair has lost its pigment and often has a tighter, more resistant cuticle, particularly at the temples and hairline. Color takes less readily and fades faster. Permanent color with a 20 volume developer is generally needed for full coverage; semi-permanent blends gray rather than covering it, which is a fine choice if you want a softer result.

Choosing a shade you'll live with

Go no more than two levels away from your natural color if you want it to look natural as it grows. Going darker than your natural level makes regrowth more obvious, not less. Skin tone matters: cooler shades suit cooler complexions and warmer shades suit warmer ones, and a shade that flattered you at twenty may not at fifty as skin tone changes.

Applying for coverage

Start where the gray is heaviest, usually the hairline and temples, since those need the longest processing. Section properly and saturate rather than skimming, because gray that isn't fully coated stays gray. Follow the timing on the instructions rather than adding time, and don't overlap fresh color onto previously colored lengths, which builds up and darkens the ends.

Root touch-ups

Roots generally show at four to six weeks. Apply only to the new growth, then pull the color through the lengths for the last few minutes if the ends need refreshing. Root touch-up sprays and powders bridge the gap between colors without another chemical process, and they wash out.

Our Eastpointe store

Super Kelly Beauty in Eastpointe is at 20902 Gratiot Ave, on Gratiot just north of 8 Mile, so it's an easy stop for Eastpointe, Harper Woods, St. Clair Shores and the Grosse Pointes. It's open until 8:45 PM Monday through Saturday and 6:15 PM on Sunday. Every sale on the monthly flyer runs here, and online orders can be shipped to Eastpointe for $4.99 or picked up at our Detroit store a few minutes down Gratiot.