How to Cover Grey Hair at Home: Your Ultimate Guide

Whether you’re looking to subtly blend a few greys or fully cover them with long-lasting colour, there’s an option for you. In this guide, we’ll walk you through different methods for colouring grey hair, answering common questions like “can you dye grey hair?” or “can I bleach grey hair?” to help you choose the best approach for your hair goals.

For vibrant colour and healthy-looking hair, we always recommend visiting a salon to consult with a professional about the best option for you. But if you're going for a makeover at home, here’s everything you need to know before you get started.

Before jumping into it the first step is to ask yourself how much grey you’re working with and what kind of finish you want. 

Few Greys = Keep It Subtle

If you just have a few grey hairs and want a low-commitment refresh, consider subtle options like colour depositing shampoos and masks.

Shampoos are better for those with lighter grey hair or those looking for subtle coverage, on the other hand masks are ideal if you have medium to dark grey hair. These products refresh colour and help manage regrowth while providing intense shine, helping to extend the life of salon colour.
 

If you have more than a few grey hairs but are still not ready for total commitment a semi or demi-permanent colour is a great choice to blend your greys as these fade out gradually with shampooing.

Semi-permanents: Better for blending offering a 30%-50% grey coverage and subtle blend. As these pigments only live on the surface of your hair follicle, they will never give you full coverage, but instead more of a diffused look, which might help grey hair blend in a bit more with your overall shade, making them a great choice for first-time home colourers. Semi-permanent colour lasts for approximately 5 or 6 washes.
 

Demi-permanents: Better for temporary coverage offering a 50%-70% grey, natural coverage. They deposit tone but do not lighten or darken the natural hair. They offer more coverage than a semi, and can hold the tone for around 24 washes. 

If you're looking to completely cover grey hair, a permanent colour is your best choice. Permanent colour provides long-lasting coverage and is ideal for those with a high percentage of grey. Remember all permanent colours must be mixed with an oxidant (developer) 20 vol works best for grey coverage. 

Permanent colouration has lasting effects on your hair, so if mixing products and selecting tones sounds daunting to you, we really recommend you visit a professional.
 

Blonde shades can blend beautifully with natural grey, but they need to be lifted correctly to avoid patchiness, so we wouldn’t recommend it to first time at-home colourers. 

If you're already blonde and want to tone or enhance your colour an easier route might be to use purple shampoos or glosses to neutralise warmth and keep your blonde bright.