I Spent 8 Years Perfecting My Gray Hair Routine. Here’s What Actually Works.
Inside: My gray hair care routine, including the products I use every week. I update this page whenever my routine changes.
Do you spend more time worrying about your gray hair than actually enjoying it? I can relate!
The first few years after I went gray, I wasted a lot of time and money on researching routines and products that I felt I MUST have to keep my gray hair looking its best.
But after spending the last 8 years perfecting my routine – testing, refining, and cutting out everything that didn’t deliver – I’ve finally landed on a daily, weekly, and monthly gray hair care routine that is simple, effective, and actually works.
A lot of you have asked me to share this information, so today I’m sharing exactly that!
📌 In This Guide
If you’re trying to simplify your gray hair routine, this guide will help you:
- Discover the silver-safe products that earned a place in my routine after 8 years of experimenting with a variety of products.
- Learn the daily, weekly, and monthly routines that keep my silver hair soft, healthy, bright, and manageable.
- Start using a silver-hair safe routine today without wasting money on products that don’t work.
Please note that this article may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
WHAT IS THE BEST GRAY HAIR ROUTINE?
The best gray hair routine focuses on keeping your hair moisturized, protected from heat, and free of buildup while preventing unwanted yellowing.
After eight years of testing products and techniques on my own gray hair, here’s the routine I recommend:
- Wash with a gentle, silver-friendly shampoo (avoid sulfates, parabens, and silicones when possible).
- Follow with a moisturizing conditioner.
- Use brightening products that won’t dry out your hair.
- Apply a heat protectant before blow-drying, or (better yet) air-dry.
- Clarify once a week to remove buildup.
- Once a month or so, treat your hair to a “spa day” with a special product, such as the QuickSilverHair Squalane Kit.
MY FULL GRAY HAIR CARE ROUTINE
Before we go any further, I just want to give you this little disclaimer: the products and practices I’m sharing in this article work well on MY hair, and they may work well for you, too, but there’s no way of knowing for sure unless you test them first.
I have fine, low porosity, and medium density hair – and hair type really does matter when picking out products and developing your own. (If you don’t know your hair type, make sure to read this article by QuickSilverHair).
Want to see exactly how I use these products? Watch the video below. If you prefer to read at your own pace, scroll down for all the details of my full hair care routine.
MY DAILY ROUTINE
During the week, I keep my routine simple. I leave for work at 6:30 a.m. (when I’m on time 😉), so I can’t do anything fancy or time-consuming during the week.
My regular shampoo is Silvina London Grey Hair Shampoo. It’s light and leaves my hair feeling quite soft and bright. It’s silicone and sulfate-free, too, which I love! And the best part? It’s the only purple shampoo I’ve ever tested that is safe enough to use daily, as it will not dry out your hair.
Related: Silvina London Review: I Tried It, and It Absolutely Is THAT Good
HOT TIP: When I use a regular (non-clarifying) shampoo, I always double shampoo to help brighten my gray hair. I do this because the first wash breaks down product buildup & residue, and the second wash removes the product buildup and residue. Doing this has made a HUGE difference!
After shampooing, I condition my hair with Silvina London Grey Hair Conditioner.
The shampoo & conditioner already leave my hair quite bright, but if I want my hair to look super bright, I add a few drops of Silvering Tonal Control to the conditioner, mix it in so it’s all one color, and condition my hair.
These three products (the Silvina London Shampoo & Conditioner and the Silvering Tonal Control) are the only brightening products I’ve found that I can use every day, without drying out my hair.
I love them!
Before I dry my hair, I need to take care of my scalp health, so I rub some Root Rouser Serum between the palms of my hands, and then I massage it in to my scalp, paying particular attention to my temples, where I tend to lose hair (Root Rouser stimulates hair growth! I even rub some of it on my eyebrows to help thicken them).
Since I want to minimize heat damage (to protect my gray hair from yellowing), I usually air-dry my hair.
First, I wrap my wet hair up in a t-shirt towel and let it rest while I do my makeup/get dressed. After about 10-15 minutes, I rub some SEEN Blow-Out Creme between my palms and use the “praying hands” technique to distribute the creme on both sides of my hair, adding more as needed to make sure every strand is coated.
I use the Blow Out Creme every time I wash my hair because it provides UV protection – and in sunny California, my fine silver hair really needs that extra bit of protection.
Even when I air-dry, I always need to blow-dry my bangs to straighten them. It makes a huge difference! Getting bangs has been the biggest style change I’ve had in years, and I want them to look their best.
If you’re not sure if bangs are right for you, I suggest trying on several different sets of clip-on bangs for gray hair to see how you like them and which style suits you best.
Some days, if I’m in the mood for big waves or curls, I’ll use a ribbon curler on my semi-damp hair and let it dry naturally. Then, I’ll spray Coola Mist SPF all over my head to give my hair full sun protection.
On days when I feel like blow-drying my hair instead of air-drying, I use my Dyson Supersonic on LOW heat or NO heat. (Yes, the Dyson is expensive, but it’s the only blow dryer I trust on my gray hair as it allows for such low heat – and it’s SUPER fast!)
Finally, I apply a non-staining hair oil to my hair to smooth it down and tame any wild, new baby gray hairs (the kind that stick straight up) on my head, and I pay particular attention to my ends as those tend to dry out. I like Silvering’s oil because it’s non-greasy.
Finally, if I’m going out in the sun, and forgot to apply my Coola Mist SPF spray, I always wear a UV protective hat for extra sun (and skin) protection. I just pull my long hair into a bun and tuck it under the hat’s brim.
Related: How to Use the Dyson to Achieve Frizz-Free Gray Hair
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MY WEEKLY ROUTINE
Once a week or so, I use a clarifying shampoo instead of my regular shampoo to reduce product buildup and prevent discoloration. The clarifying shampoo I use is Malibu C UnDo Goo because it works really well. But I NEVER double-shampoo when I’m using any clarifying shampoo, as they’re a bit too harsh for that.
Please note: Undo Goo is the only Malibu C product that is safe for gray hair. Their other products are not gray hair-safe, and that comes straight from Malibu C themselves.
After rinsing, I apply a deep conditioner to combat dryness, since clarifying shampoos can be quite drying. I leave the deep conditioner on for anywhere from 5-30 minutes before rinsing it out.
MY MONTHLY ROUTINE
Once a month (more or less – I’m not super-rigid about my routines), I use the QuickSilverHair Squalane Kit. It brightens my silvers, removes any discoloration from pollution or products, and makes my hair feel incredibly soft. It’s my favorite grey hair treatment, and I love that it was made by one of our fellow silver sisters!
You can read more about the product and the woman who invented it in my interview with Joli Campbell.
Note: I do get a little flyaway hair action going after I use the squalane kit, so once my hair is dry, I rub a little Shine & Define Dry Finishing Oil between my hands, and lightly smooth it through my ends and the crown of my head to keep everything looking sleek and shimmery.
WANT TO CREATE YOUR OWN GRAY HAIR ROUTINE?
Every woman’s gray hair is different, so one of the fastest ways to discover what works for your hair is to keep track of the products, techniques, and routines you try.
Download my free 16-page Gray Hair Routine Journal and start discovering what really works for your hair. Inside you’ll find 9 printable worksheets, planners, and trackers to help you record the products, techniques, and routines you try so you can identify what gives you the best results.
WHAT DID I DO DIFFERENTLY WHEN I WAS MID-TRANSITION?
When I was transitioning from dark brunette dyed hair to silver hair, my fading dyed ends turned brassy orange.
To combat that, I used to use Joico Color Balance Blue Shampoo once a week to brighten my silvers and tone down the orange tones that occur in fading brunette dye. (I had to use it a specific way for it to work, so make sure to read How to use Blue Shampoo before you use it!)
Since blue shampoo can be drying, I always followed it up with deep conditioner.
But now that my hair is all silver, I don’t have to use blue shampoo anymore, as it is designed to remove brassy orange tones from fading dyed hair, and I no longer have to worry about that!
FINAL THOUGHTS
After writing this all out, I realized I spend a lot of time and energy on my hair. That shouldn’t be a surprise, but for crap’s sake – it’s kind of ridiculous! Get a life, Katie!
But even though I spend a lot of time making its hair look its best, I swear that maintaining my gray hair is MUCH easier than taking care of my dyed hair! Not having to constantly chase your roots is a beautiful thing. 💖
Anyway, if I didn’t care about hair – mine and yours – this blog wouldn’t exist, so I’m going to put it out of my mind. I like hair, I like nice-looking hair, and I don’t care who knows it, right?
If you have any great hair care suggestions, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!
Please do me a favor and share this post to social media, as it helps me grow my audience and spread the word about our Silver Revolution! And remember to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and Pinterest Feed for more gray hair tips and product recommendations. Thanks!
Check out my Amazon Shop for all your gray hair needs!
Related Posts:
My Review of Pantene Silver Expressions
Thank you, Katie, this was very informative. Are you aware that there is silicone in the White Hot Hair Oil? Ingredients from their website are copied below. I used their products at one time, but currently avoid anything with silicone, especially an oil. Thanks again for all the info you provide!
“Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Parfum (Fragrance), Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Limonene, Citronellol, Linalool.”
Hi, PS!
Yes, I knew there were silicones in White Hot Hair Oil. I do try to avoid silicones in most of my products, but if there’s a product that I REALLY like (and it contains silicones), I just use it sparingly and I clarify my hair regularly so the silicones don’t dull my hair. Thanks for pointing that out!
I found your blog shortly before BTWCo closed down for the summer, and now it seems that they are closed indefinitely. Do you have any other recs for a daily shampoo and conditioner?
I’m sorry to say they are out of stock until the end of the year due to supply chain issues. They’re so frustrated, as you can imagine. I just updated my product list to include my newest recommendation – you can find it at Katie’s Faves. Hope that helps!
Years ago there was a product called Sun Glitz,it was organic and made out of clay.It was used to highlight instead of using bleach.We had taken a class on the product so we could get the full benefits from the product,the highlights were beautiful.However,I did a highlight on a co-worker that had a perm in her hair ,as soon as the water hit her hair the highlighted hair went down the drain.We were mortified,sick! They did not tell us the clay could have a chemical reaction with hair that had been chemically processed. Could this happen with this product?
Hi, Cyntha! I’m sure it couldn’t but just in case, I’m going to ask Joli (the founder of QuickSilverHair) to comment. I’ll let her know!
Hi Cynthia, SunGlitz has organic ingredients in it and uses clay as a carrier powder but it contains bleach and is a highlighting product. What happened to your co-worker was a severe pH swing to alkalinity. Highlighting bleach is one notch in alkalinity below drain cleaner, drain cleaner is made to melt hair. My guess is, her hair was already very damaged by the perm, and the bleach melted the part of the hair you highlighted.
QuickSilverHair Clay has no bleach, activators or lifting agents. Clay would not be able to cause any chemical reaction like this. I hope this helps.
So much great information in your blog! I can’t wait to try some of these products.
Thanks
You’re welcome, and thank YOU!
You mentioned that you use Clarifying shampoo as well as the blue shampoo once a week. Do you use them together ?
Great question – I need to clarify that (pardon the pun)! No, I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week, so one day I use the clarifying shampoo…and another day, I use the blue shampoo. They are both drying, so sometimes I will skip a week.
Curious, have you tried Aveda Blue Malva by any chance for brightening? I want to brighten the silver. Only Silverati (Oribe) has done this for me in a noticeable way – but its not Cruelty Free so I don’t plan to buy again. Thanks!!
Hi, Michelle: No, I haven’t tried it yet. However, I did just buy btwco’s Purple Shampoo & Conditioner this week. I’m going to try them out. I spoke with Lauren Stein and she said this product should brighten my silvers. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Forgot to mention that her products are cruelty-free!