15 Best Professional Hair Colors for Gray Hair In 2023

If you want to color your gray hair, you’re not restricted to pricey salon jobs. In this article, we will look at some of the best home professional hair colors for gray hair.

Best Professional Hair Colors for Gray Hair

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Best Type Of Hair Color For Covering Gray Hair

There are plenty of professional hair dyes on offer which can help you achieve the color you want with minimal damage to your precious hair. Below, we have outlined a few things to consider when it comes to choosing the best type of hair color for your gray hair.

Ingredients

Consider the ingredients you are willing to put on your hair. You might want to consider avoiding ammonia in your quest for color.

Although ammonia is effective in giving your hair permanent color, it is a harsh chemical that can damage fragile gray hair.

Alternatively, look for ingredients that strengthen and nourish hair, like keratin and shea butter.

Choose The Right Formula

Make sure you choose a product designed to give you the gray coverage you require.

The packaging might say something like ‘100 % Gray Coverage’. Some dye kits even provide a pre-treatment to support gray hair in better absorbing the color.

Semi-permanent Color

You should evaluate the percentage of gray you have to further help your choice of product.

If you have 10% to 50% gray coverage, a semi-permanent or demi-permanent should suffice.

Furthermore, demi-permanent or semi-permanent should be your product of choice if you feel like you might want to experiment with different colors in your gray hair.

They wash out within a few months and have little to no ammonia, so, therefore, is a kinder option for your hair.

Permanent Color

60% or more gray coverage and you might be better off opting for a permanent color.

A permanent color is a good choice if you are committed to a particular shade.

Trusted Brand

Ensure the color you purchase is from a trusted and well-known brand. Go for a product manufactured by a salon or hair brand you trust and with which you are familiar.

Best Professional Hair Colors For Gray Hair – Buying Guide

Here’s our roundup of the 15 best professional hair colors for gray hair:

Schwarzkopf Professional Igora Royal Permanent Color

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1.Schwarzkopf Professional Igora Royal Permanent Color

Schwarzkopf Igora Royal delivers multidimensional natural-looking color to gray hair. It offers complete gray coverage in 46 shades. This age-defying professional dye gives perfect color equalization, even on porous hair.

Why We Like It: Offers intense color


L’Oreal Professional Semi-Permanent Dia Richesse

2.L’Oreal Professional Semi-Permanent Dia Richesse

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This product by L’Oreal not only covers grays but also leaves them looking natural. A semi-permanent color, you can use it for touch-ups or complete make-ups.

If you’re after a subtle result which enhances your natural hue, then this could be the one for you. It leaves your hair conditioned and with a beautiful glossy finish.

Why We Like It: Ammonia free


Clairol Natural Instincts

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3.Clairol Natural Instincts

Natural Instincts by Clairol is their most gentle color. Formulated with 80% naturally derived ingredients, including coconut oil and aloe vera, this product adds a rush of color and a shine boost while blending away those grays.

Available in 38 shades, it is ammonia-free and paraben-free.

Why We Like It: Vegan product


Arctic Fox Vegan And Cruelty-Free Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

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4.Arctic Fox Vegan And Cruelty-Free Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

Arctic Fox hair dye deals with those gray hairs while leaving you with a beautiful, vibrant semi-permanent color.

Their products are formulated with safe high-quality vegan ingredients. They are gentle enough for frequent use and leave your hair beautifully conditioned.

Why We Like It: No harmful chemicals


L’Oreal Majirel Lonene G Incell Permanent Crème Color

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5.L’Oreal Majirel Lonene G Incell Permanent Crème Color

L’Oreal Majirel hair color gives you a beautifully uniform natural color with added depth. The innovative gel formula makes for easy application.

The consistency of the product means it can adhere better to hair, thus eliminating those stubborn grays. L’Oreal’s patented core to surface technologies deliver long-lasting conditioning and protection.

Why We Like It: Smells fresh and aromatic


WELLA Color Charm Paints Semi-Permanent Hair Color

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6.WELLA Color Charm Paints Semi-Permanent Hair Color

Why just blend in grays when you can paint them in color with Wella Color Charm Paints? Paraben-free, ammonia-free, and peroxide-free, these colors are ready to go straight from the tube, no developer required. They are available in 18 different semi-permanent colors and can last up to 20 washes.

It comes with a clear pastelizer so you can create a more subtle pastel look if you wish.

Why We Like It: Color fades over time with tone


Clairol Professional Flare Me Hair Color

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7.Clairol Professional Flare Me Hair Color

This professional hair color by Clairol gives creative multidimensional jewels-tone colors to gray hair.

The color penetrates the hair shaft providing long-lasting results. With this product, you can abandon grays and express yourself with colors like, ‘Turn Up the Beet’ and ‘Mulberry Fields Forever’.

Why We Like It: Its omega gloss nourishes the hair and leaves it feeling smooth and silky


Wella Koleston Perfect Permanent Creme Hair Color

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8. Wella Koleston Perfect Permanent Creme Hair Color

With over 60 shades to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice by the team at Wella. They have taken color technology up a notch.

This product removes impurities from the hair as it covers grays. It leaves your grays with a balanced tone.

Why We Like It: Built in avocado conditioner to replenish and nourish hair and scalp


L'Oreal Paris Excellence Creme Permanent Hair Color

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9.L’Oreal Paris Excellence Creme Permanent Hair Color

L’Oreal Excellence Crème gives gray coverage with triple protection: it seals, protects, and conditions.

Not only does it give you rich radiant hair color from root to tip, but it also pledges to rid you of even those stubborn grays. It has a non-drip formula and blends evenly with your natural color. If it’s good enough for Eva Longoria…

Why We Like It: Comes with weekly conditioning color treatment blended with collagen to protect hair and maintain color


Revlon ColorSilk Beautiful Color

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10.Revlon ColorSilk Beautiful Color

Ammonia-free, Revlon ColorSilk is one of the best professional hair colors to combat grays. Formulated using Revlon 3G Color Gel technology, it leaves you with a multidimensional natural-looking color from root to tip.

The non-drip formula makes application easy while imparting color and shine.

Why We Like It: Deep conditioning technology leaves you with soft supple hair


Elgon Moda and Styling Hair Color

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11.Elgon Moda and Styling Hair Color

Elgon Moda, an Italian brand, is a bit different. It uses 50% less ammonia compared to other products, constructing it kinder to hair. To add to that, it has smaller molecules than most dyes.

This means the molecules are less likely to ‘slip out’ of the hair shaft, giving you longer-lasting coverage on grays. Available in more than 75 shades, it contains silk fibers and synthetic polymers providing protection for the hair, scalp, and of course, the color.

Why We Like It: The tube contains more product than other color lines


John Frieda Precision Foam Color

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12.John Frieda Precision Foam Color

The team from John Frieda offers a non-drip foam for all-over gray coverage. The foam technology allows you to achieve beautiful color results every time.

With plenty of shades to choose from, you can enjoy salon-quality results.

Why We Like It: After-color conditioner seals in color while nourishing, to give long-lasting tonal richness


Zotos Age Beautiful Anti-Aging Haircolor, Permanent Liqui-Creme Hair Color

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13.Zotos Age Beautiful Anti-Aging Haircolor, Permanent Liqui-Creme Hair Color

As we age, hair not only turns gray but can lose volume, manageability, moisture, and shine. This product from Zotos is designed to fight the five signs that our hair is aging.

The color is formulated with melanin, keratin peptide, silk protein, and a patented conditioning technology to replenish hair with nutrients and moisture. It penetrates deeply and absorbs quickly to give 100% coverage of grays.

Why We Like It: Infused with scalp and hair nourishing vitamin E


Pravana ChromaSilk Creme Hair Color

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14.Pravana ChromaSilk Creme Hair Color

Chromasilk ensures complete coverage of gray hair and rich vibrant shades. A low ammonia formula means it is kinder to hair.

The product adds strength, protection, and shine to hair with its blend of keratin amino acids and pure silk protein.

Why We Like It: Gives unparalleled vibrant color as a result of its hydrolyzed silk amino acid technology


Garnier Nutrisse Nourishing Hair Color Creme

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15. Garnier Nutrisse Nourishing Hair Color Creme

Garnier Nutrisse pledges 100% gray coverage with its color boost formula.

The rich non-drip cream blend is fortified with avocado oil, shea oil,, and olive oil to nourish as it covers grays. It leaves you with healthy soft hair rich in color.

Why We Like It: Garnier has been blending naturally derived and naturally inspired ingredients since 1904


Should You Use Ammonia or Ammonia-Free Color?

Should You Use Ammonia or Ammonia-Free Color?

To choose between ammonia-free and ammonia-based colors, we need to understand the role of ammonia.

Hair coloring happens as a result of a chemical reaction. Ammonia is the agent that allows hair follicles to swell.

Swollen follicles mean the hair is more absorbent, allowing it to soak in the dye. This absorption results in a deeper longer lasting color.

Ammonia also helps in the lightening process as it works with the melanin and natural hair color while it undergoes a chemical reaction.

An ammonia molecule is very small which means it can evaporate quickly; this is the culprit of the strong smell you may experience when coloring your hair.

Ammonia-free products contain alkaline ingredients which are closely related to ammonia.

The results of ammonia-free products can be less impressive aesthetically in the short term than ammonia-based products.

This is largely due to the size of the particles: the agents in ammonia-free products have significantly larger molecules.

As a result, they are less capable of infusing into the hair follicles. The outcome tends to be a color that is less vibrant and less robust than its ammonia-based counterpart.

How Often Should You Dye Gray Hair?

You might want to think about coloring your gray hair every four to six weeks to keep it at bay, while simultaneously giving your hair time to recover between sessions.

However, be sure to follow the instructions given on the product to achieve the best possible results.

How often you dye your hair depends on a few factors like hair type, how fast your hair grows, and the quality of the dye. These vary from person to person.

Tips For Coloring Gray Hair At Home

A few tips to consider when coloring gray hair at home:

  • Use a hot oil treatment to condition your hair three days before coloring. This will allow your hair to take in the new color smoothly.
  • Avoid washing your hair the day before coloring as this can result in stripping essential oils that will aid in the coloring process.
  • Pamper your hair with a deep conditioning treatment prior to coloring- this will aid your hair in its recovery after coloring.
  • Use a detoxing shampoo when washing your hair: this will help remove other products accumulated in your strands.
  • If your end goal is a shade that seems a little complicated, it’s best that you seek the services of a professional stylist.
  • Take measures to protect your skin, clothes and furniture from staining when dying gray hair at home.
  • Above all, ensure you follow all instructions provided. A patch test can assess whether you are allergic to a specific pigment or not, so make sure you carry this out.

Gray hair can be stubborn to dye. But with the help of a high-quality professional color, you can eliminate them and enjoy the color you desire and deserve!

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