Warm or Muted now I'm going grey?

by Verna
(UK)

QUESTION

I'm really enjoying your website but have a question about Warms going grey and not willing to dye. I would very much like your opinion on this subject: stay in the Warm or go Soft/Muted. Looking forward to your answer.

ANSWER

Although our genetic makeup never changes, our hair does of course change both in color and texture as we get older. In the same way, sadly (!), we lose the bloom of youth and pigmentation color in our skin tone. This is often more obvious with a warm skin tone.

It’s usually accepted that Warm coloring doesn't turn into the most attractive shade of grey because, as color fades, the yellow undertone remains. Skin tone will retain a deeper tone for longer and any yellowing of the hair can drain existing color from your face.

But that's not always the case, look at the lovely images above.

Contrary to the accepted fact that we color hair lighter rather than deeper as we get older, with Warm coloring it's usually better to recreate the color of your youth rather than add in a lighter shade if you want to color. A lighter tone can introduce too much yellow.

I’m assuming that you want to avoid coloring your hair if you can but want to continue to enjoy your Warm color family.

As I know little about your natural coloring it's difficult to be precise. If you are primarily Warm with bright eyes and a good skin tone you may have enough color to balance and still feel at one with your colors. If you are feeling a bit overpowered take a look at some of the slightly lighter and brighter tones from the Warm palette to see if they give you a lift.

It really depends how you feel in yourself. If you feel that your colors are taking over then take a little more trouble with your makeup. We all forget that as color changes we need to update makeup from time to time - perhaps worth treating yourself to a makeup lesson. A slight change of tone and a little more definition can work wonders and prevent us from ‘fading away’!

Give your hair some extra care. Grey hair becomes more porous which is likely to make it look dull and can enhance the yellow even more. Use a quality conditioner and a silver based shampoo to give it a lift.

Experiment a little within your color palette but avoid going deeper. Don’t ever feel that you have to conform to the ‘norm'– just go with whatever makes you feel good in yourself.

Take a look at some real women going grey and see how they've coped with a similar challenge.

kind regards
Pamela