If you have salt and pepper hair, you might be curious about how to take care of it. Finding reliable information on grey hair can be challenging and there aren’t very many YouTube tutorials about it.
Letting your hair go gray is gaining popularity among naturals and it’s surprisingly welcome as more queens seek to wear the hair they were born with.
In this post, you’ll find out how to take care of your salt and pepper hair. If you want to discover how to take care of greys so they can maintain their health and shine, keep reading.
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How does the hair structure change when it becomes grey?
Grey hair begins inside the bottom layer of the skin’s epidermis with melanin-producing cells. Age, genes, and hormones can cause these cells to reduce their melanin production.
When melanin production slows, the hair becomes grey. When melanin production stops altogether, hair turns white.
You may notice that the texture has changed too. Age, genes, and hormones can also cause the sebaceous glands at the base of each follicle to slow oil production. Having less oil production means your hair will become more dry, wiry, and brittle.
How to Maintain Hair That is Starting to Grey?
Grey hair needs extra moisture because your scalp will have likely reduced its sebum production. With less sebum, you’ll see more frizzy grey hair and you’ll experience breakage.
Follow these guidelines:
- Don’t pluck your greys. As you age, the body tends to slow down hair production. If you pull your greys, the follicle could stop producing hair altogether.
- Massage your scalp. Massage follicle-stimulating oils such as Butta Butta Cream and essential oils like rosemary, lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus into your scalp 20 minutes before you shampoo. This will help to increase circulation and hair growth.
- Use deep conditioners 3-4 times per month. Applying a deep conditioner will help to infuse moisture and nutrition into the hair shaft. It will also help to soften your greys.
- Do the LOC method for natural hair. The liquid-oil-cream (LOC) method will protect your hair from friction and breakage. Butta Butta Cream is an excellent product to use for the second step in the LOC method.
What Are the Best Moisturizing Products That Won’t Turn Grey Hair Yellow?
If you don’t want to turn your greys yellow, you must choose products that are either white, clear, or dark. Aim to avoid products that are yellow.
Surprisingly, purple shampoos and conditioners work well too. They provide an intense violet color that counteracts yellow hues. Look for anti-yellow products on Amazon. Honey Skin’s Purple Dream Shampoo & Conditioner set contains no sulfates and can help to prevent yellow hair.
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What is the Best Shampoo and Conditioner for Salt and Pepper Hair?
Most products on the shelf are for masking gray color, but a few companies are beginning to catch on to the popularity of grey hair.
Here is a list of shampoos and conditioners that help to preserve the color of your greys:
- Clairol Shimmer Lights 16 oz. Shampoo + 16 oz. Conditioner. This duo helps to enhance the color and luster of greys.
- Jhirmack Silver Brightening Ageless Purple Shampoo Set. This set is formulated with green tea extract, folic acid, and CoQ10 to strengthen and protect silver hair.
- L’Oréal Paris Hair Care EverPure Sulfate Free Brass Toning Purple Shampoo. This shampoo corrects brassy yellow and orange from gray hair and contains no sulfates.
- Paisle Botanics Re-line Purple Hair Toning Shampoo. Paisle Botanics boasts being able to tone down brassiness in gray hair while protecting against UV. It is sulfate-free and vegan-friendly.
If you’re looking for the best highlights for salt and pepper hair, try making some blond sun-kissed strands. Experiment with Clairol Natural Instincts, a semi-permanent hair color that does not contain ammonia.
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What Are the Best Products to Use on Grey Edges?
Cream of Nature makes an excellent gel for grey edges. The gel is black and can help to control edges and cover greys too. The grey coverage is only temporary and will wash out, but it’s a great way to conceal grey roots.
The gel can also help to minimize the appearance of thinning edges by coloring the hairline darker. Find Creme of Nature Perfect Edges in Black here.
If you don’t want to use gel, try a touch up spray like Style Edit Root Concealer Touch Up Spray or a powder-like Style Edit Root Touch Up. Style Edit products have unique binding agents that don’t come off when you sweat, so the color will stay until your next shampoo.
Hairstyles for Older Black Women
Are you looking for hairstyles for black women over 50? Modern hairstyles like pixie cuts and short feathered layers work for older women.
Pixie cuts come in many varieties and it can be one of the trendiest hairstyles for a 60-year-old black woman. The front of the hair is usually longer than the back in a typical pixie cut. Try a tapered pixie or even an edgy pixie faux hawk.
Wigs, hair extensions, weaves, and crochet hair are also an option if you have grey hair.
How to Find Grey wigs for Black Ladies
Silver curly hair and grey wig styles have been trending among younger women for many years now, and they’re still popular.
Do you have an impulse to try grey hair? This curly grey wig has great reviews. Or you might be interested in doing some box braid styles for gray hair or goddess braids. Look for shiny gray hair extensions and weaves that will compliment our facial features.
MSBELLE has kanekalon grey braiding hair extensions for crochet and box braids. Using synthetic grey hair is a fun way of checking out styles without having to dye your hair.
How to combat grey hair that is thinning?
Diet, hormonal changes, age, and the way we handle our hair can cause thinning. If you have grey hair that is thinning, you have options you can try. Always seek medical counsel when you notice your hair is thinning because there could be an underlying condition that is causing the shedding.
Here are some things you can do at home:
- Eat a healthy diet. Make sure you have plenty of iron, vitamin b, and protein in your diet. A dinner that consists of salmon, spinach, and brown rice can help to stop shedding.
- Get active. Exercise helps to circulate the blood of the scalp and it will send nourishment to the follicles. Yoga is the ideal activity to do if you’re experiencing hair loss. Inverted poses work to reduce shedding and speed hair growth.
- Take hair, skin, and nails vitamins. Pills and gummies can help to supplement the body with nutrition. Most hair vitamins contain biotin, which is known for promoting hair growth.
- Massage with essential oils. Rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint are scientifically proven to aid in hair growth. Blend your essential oils with Jamaican black castor oil to make a scalp treatment that can reduce thinning. Massage a few drops into your scalp several times per week.
Taking care of your grey hair doesn’t have to be a big project. It’s important to maintain the color and moisture of your changing hair so you do not experience breakage.
Do you have salt and pepper hair, and if so, do you do anything special to care for it?
Hey Curl Friend, I’m Patrina Haupt the creator and author of Natural Hair Queen. I hope you find my healthy hair care tips helpful in your hair journey. Healthy hair care practices are definitely, what helped me to achieve waist length hair.
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