Silver hair has always been a topic of discussion.

For too long women have unfortunately viewed silver or grey hair as something to be ashamed of, something they should hide at all costs, whereas men are seen as being silver foxes if ever they are blessed with salt and pepper hair. 

Nowadays, it’s a whole other story! People, especially women, are starting to embrace silver hair.

Those with grey hair are letting it grow nonchalantly, whereas those without it have even resorted to coloring their hair to follow the trend. Because yes, silver hair is now a trend! 

Is it an act of appropriation, or is it a fight against ageism? Better yet, is it simply a trend stemming from admiration? We don’t know. But what we do know is that silver hair can be outstanding. 

I’m not sure if it were part of my constant fight against the patriarchy and archaic, ageist beauty standards, or the simple fact that it looked fantastic on every person I saw it on, but silver hair became somewhat of an objective of mine.

So following a lot of experimentation and trial and error, I finally attained the perfect color that I’d been wanting for so long.

Having gone through that experience, I thought I would share this tiny “how-to” manual with everybody who wishes to know more about adopting the silver fox look. 

Disclaimer: I am not a hair professional, colorist or stylist, far from it!

This guidebook is made up of my personal reference only and comprises products and steps I have personally used to attain silver without having to go to a salon. 

Before Beginning…

Back when I still had my natural color, I must admit I never had to do as much maintenance as I do now that its silver.

Being completely honest with you, it truly is really a fairly rough color to keep up, therefore please make sure you’re mentally prepared and ready to handle it! 

In the event that you have never ever dyed or bleached your hair before, I would advise doing this in a salon in order to ensure that it’s done properly, precisely and safely.

If you choose to go the salon route, be prepared to select the dye. It might be handy to show up with visual aids such as pictures to help the hair professional get a clearer idea of what you want.

Oh and please read up very well on bleach beforehand!

Hair coming 101: If you do not bleach your hair, you will not attain the desired color if it’s lighter than your natural hair color, and seeing as the desired color in question here is silver, it is intrinsically lighter than your base.

You will need to use 10 volume developer to bleach your hair, if not, then you cannot attain this shade. 

Based on your own natural color, you might need to go about the process more than once. 

It is really that crucial your hair reaches the best possible result before actually dying it silver. In other words, it ought to resemble the inside a banana peel. 

Take note here that you are definitely going to be stripping down the shade of your current hair, which is likely to make it super brittle.

The smart thing to do would be to stock up on a few deep conditioning treatments and to opt for shampoos that can help with rebuilding the structure of your hair. 

While bleaching, you may feel a slight burning sensation.

That just means that the bleach is working away, trying to get rid of that horrible yellow color that can be left behind when discoloring your hair.

If ever that yellow hue is left behind, rest assured that you will not be able to attain your perfect silver hair.

Another thing that can help with eliminating the yellow color is toner. You are going to want to use a good purple toner such as the Wella T-18 Lightest Ash Blonde toner. 

I always use this product with a 5 or 10 volume developer instead of the 20 they recommend on the label, only to keep my hair out of further additional harm seeing as a harsher product can be more damaging to the hair.

With a 5 or 10 volume developer, it is perhaps not very likely to elevate the shade any longer, but as an alternative, you can simply just apply it to your hair.

You can use it with the bowl/brush procedure and adhering to instructions that come with the product. 

A good piece of advice that you may also find in the bleaching manual would be to play it by ear:

apply the product that to your own hair for approximately 20 to 30 minutes and it should be good, however, continue assessing your hair through the duration of the procedure.

Another option, even though less lasting, would be to try out a semi-automatic do-it-yourself toner that is completely fool-proof and won’t result in any harm to your hair.

However, remember it will not always have exactly the exact same effect. 

Toning your own hair might have already gotten you to your desired color without even having to resort to a dye, but should you like something more vibrant and vivid, then a silver/grey colored dye would be the next step 

To dye or not to dye!

I have experimented with a few silver dyes, and so far the most effective one has been the Pravana Chromasilk Vivids in Gold.

It’s a longer-lasting semi color that doesn’t require any developer, do no harm to your hair. You can use this with a  bowl and brush. 

There are certainly many ways to achieve the silver look.

It’s possible for you to empty the whole tube into the bowl and then use it to get a darker more metallic gray shade, or you may dilute it the way I usually do to get a milder silver shade.

In order to do that, first, fill out your bowl using a ton of inexpensive conditioner and then add the dye.

I usually use roughly half of a tube into 3/4 a-cup of conditioner to get my own gentle silver color. Mix it all up and apply using a brush.

Silver highlights

If you don’t want to go silver all the way, there’s still a healthy middle ground that allows you to have some silver in your hair, without drastically changing your look: Silver highlights.

It’s subtle enough for you to easily adjust to it and different enough for you to be able to sense a change. 

If you do choose to go this route, here’s a video showing you how to go about it. 

Brownish Grey Enchantment

Photo credits: @mizzchoi

Long Dark Waves with Silver Highlights

Photo credits: @tommyamazinghair

Brown to Grey Babylights

Photo credits: therighthairstyles.com

Silver and Grey Highlights on Black Hair

Photo credits: @jeffreyrobert_ 

Ash Bronde Balayage with Golden Babylights

Photo credits: @habitsalon

White and Ash Blonde Highlights for Chocolate Hair

Photo credits: @Glamhairbymarie