Grey Ombré: Everything You Need To Know Before Trying The Trend

In the last few years or so, grey ombré, white ombré and silver balayage hues have become a permanent fixture on our Instagram feeds and Pinterest boards. A high concept colour that’s low-key chic, it’s been adopted by stars like Michelle Visage, Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian. The look can be recreated in shades ranging from silver-tinged platinum, white ombre and icy tones to blue-grey and deepest slate.

Grey ombré hair (does grombré work?) is also a stylish way of side-stepping regular root touch-ups – which, right now, isn’t really a choice. Over the past three months, ‘grey hair roots’ has seen a 60% increase in searches on google. There's even a ‘Grombre’ Instagram account that has over 180,000 followers proving it's a popular conversation. ‘If you’re embracing your greys at the moment then great,’ says Adam Reed, Hair Stylist and UK Editorial Ambassador for L’Oréal Professionnel, ‘"Grombre" is a big hit right now.’

Whether you’re growing out your natural grey roots or want to feel inspired for your next colour appointment, we’ve asked Adam Reed and Sophia Hilton, colour expert and director at London's Not Another Salon, for their top tips on this potentially tricky trend.

How can you work the grey ombré trend with natural grey roots?

‘If you are working grey roots at the moment, there are a few products I’d suggest to enhance the colour,’ says Reed. ‘When hair turns grey, its natural warm tones become visible. Try a silver shampoo, like L’Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Silver Shampoo, £12.90, at the root area to help neutralise these tones and give a beautiful cool tone.’

‘Personally, I think you need a soft blend to the hair for this trend to look it’s best which can take a little time. What you will find when growing out greys is that after two inches or so of growth it starts to soften down naturally as the colour fades.’

‘You can disguise the greys at the initial stage of growing it out with a root touch up like L’Oréal Professionnel Root Touch Up Spray, £9.99. I’d suggest going for a shade that is a little bit softer than your natural colour, don’t try to colour match perfectly. You will often find that when the hair grows, you will just see the contrast line and until that has grown out a little further a touch up spray can work wonders.’

How can you dye your hair grey or white ombré in the salon?

According to Hilton, you'll need multiple salon appointments to achieve the desired Instagram-friendly finish (this is certainly a case in which attempting balayage at home just won't cut it)...

**First appointment: '**Bleach your hair using INNOluxe [a protein treatment] to protect it,' recommends Hilton. 'Tone it so it's a natural shade (most likely it will be a warm shade) and take home a bucket load of products to try to get the moisture back. Warning, most people don't like this stage...'

**Second appointment: '**Bleach your hair with more INNOluxe, tone it with something natural. You might be able to get something cooler this time (but not if you have ever put a brown colour on your hair). More products, more treatments, rest.'

**Third appointment: '**Bleach your hair with even more INNOluxe. Pray to the hair gods you can get it to white or close to white. Tone it grey. Take home several toners to put on in the shower every week to keep away the yellow. Most likely you can never bleach this hair again as you will have pushed to the limit.' Yikes...

'Being honest sometimes "Grombre" works and sometimes it doesn’t,' says Reed, 'In my opinion it depends on the contrast of the colour, generally I say the softer the contrast the better it will grow out.'

Does grey or white ombré work on all types of hair?

Hilton seconds the above; 'my honest opinion is if you are really dark, and want a dye-job it is such a waste of money (yes, I’m doing myself out of business here). Grey and silver have to sit on a white base or almost white base, so to get you to that it's going to take many appointments at a cost of hundreds of pounds as a time. And you know the sad part? Your hair might never get to white. Then you are stuck with dry damaged hair and without the colour of your dreams.’

Does grey or white ombré work on hair that's already been dyed?

‘We now have a policy at Not Another Salon that if you have colour on your hair or your hair is super dark we won't take you on this journey at all. Why? Because the yellow of your hair is never going to remove, you will be in a constant battle to keep it away, always somewhere between yellow and grey,’ says Hilton.

What sort of after-care will dyed grey ombré hair need?

'There are a few top up options available now which is great,' explains Hilton. She recommends Crazy Colour 'No Yellow' shampoo which, she explains, 'keeps that warmth away for longer.'

However, this will only work if you've already reached the right shade in the salon. 'If you haven't got your hair light enough, these products can make you hair muddy or green,' she cautions. 'The secret is for your hairdresser to get you super light, or all the products in the world won't help.' She also recommends Crazy Colour's 'Graphite': 'It isn't expensive and it's awesome! The amount you go through, you don't want a product that costs the earth.'

Do you think naturally grey ombre hair is a trend that will continue?

'Embracing your greys is definitely a trend and something that it is here to stay,' says Reed. 'The key is to keep the hair super soft, well nourished, toned with a silver shampoo and to use a root spray if you don't like at the growing out stage. Finally have the confidence to embrace it!'

The Best Grey Ombre Inspiration Via Pinterest

Watch: Grey Ombre Hair Dye Tutorial

READ MORE: 8 Easy Steps To DIY Balayage Highlights At Home

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