10 Best Shampoos for Gray Hair so You Can Shine Like a Diamond
Learning how to care for gray hair is a lot like caring for platinum blonde—you need the right toner shampoo to keep your color looking bright instead of dull, yellowed, or discolored in any way. “I like a bluing agent for gray hair,” says Clariss Rubenstein, a celebrity hair stylist. “Gray can tend to have a yellowish cast and if you use a blue shampoo it really brightens it up.”
Whether you’re transitioning into gray, have been gray for a while, or have a salt and pepper vibe going on that seems to have lost its luster, here are our picks for the best shampoos for gray hair that you need to have on your radar now.
Meet the Expert
Clariss Anya Rubenstein is a celebrity hairstylist.
1. Best Shampoo for Dry Gray Hair:
MONAT Color Enhance Perfectly Platinum Shampoo
This shampoo “gives gray a great sparkle while nourishing the dry strands,” says Rubenstein. This sulfate-free formula reduces brassiness and revitalizes even the dullest gray/silver strands.
2. Best Fast-Acting Brightener:
UNITE Blonda Toning Shampoo
Rubenstein is a huge fan of the Blonda line, and this shampoo is the best one to reach for if you need a brightening refresh in a pinch. As soon as it hits your strands, it starts to brighten in just 60 seconds. It even lasts through several washes before you need to apply again.
3. Best Shampoo for Dyed Gray Hair:
OLAPLEX No.4 Blonde Enhancer Toning Shampoo
“You can definitely use blue shampoo for both color treated and naturally gray hair, however, if you have intentionally colored your hair gray chances are there was some bleaching involved,” says Rubenstein. “I would mix the blue shampoo with a hydrating and reparative shampoo and always use a good conditioner.” You can get the nutrients your dried-out hair needs in one step with OLAPLEX’s toning shampoo. Since the formula includes its patented bond-builder formula, it will repair even the most extreme hair damage after continued use.
4. Best Gentle Shampoo for Gray Hair:
DAVINES Heart of Glass Silkening Shampoo
Rubenstein loves the Heart of Glass line for “shiny, healthy hair” with “no brass in sight.” This shampoo works on both dyed and naturally platinum/silver hair to nourish and brighten. It’s a gentle shampoo, so it’s safe to use as many times per week as you need for a brightening effect.
5. Best Shampoo for Gray Hair With UV Protection:
SACHAJUAN Silver Shampoo
Stay sun-kissed, babes because this shampoo for silver hair has UV protection so the rays won’t alter your hair color or dry out your strands. If your gray hair has been feeling a bit flat lately, this shampoo will also help add volume by removing buildup at the follicles that could be weighing it down.
6. Best Hydrating Shampoo for Gray Hair:
REDKEN Graydiant Color Extend Shampoo
Thanks to the inclusion of citric acid, this shampoo will help balance your scalp’s pH, which will help hair grow stronger and be more manageable when it comes to styling. When paired with the Graydiant conditioner, this REDKEN formula will help lock in moisture for gray hair, which is typically more coarse than non-gray, according to Rubenstein.
7. Best Drugstore Shampoo for Gray Hair:
L’ORÉAL Silver Shampoo
This shampoo deposits purple tones directly into the hair to help brighten and reduce brassiness, so it should only be used when you notice brassy colors disrupting your gray. Keep it on deck so you can reach for it as needed. Thanks to amino acids, your hair cuticles will also strengthen over time.
8. Best for Extremely Dry Gray Hair:
LIVING PROOF Restore Shampoo
Gray hair tends to be dryer and more coarse than other strands, which will inevitably lead to breakage. This shampoo tackles all of your damaged-hair concerns—like breakage, hydrating over-dryness, and reducing frizz—so you can achieve any style you’re after. Plus you can use it on natural gray or dyed hair. It’s also phthalate, paraben, and formaldehyde-free.
9. Best Shampoo for Preventing Future Discoloration:
ORIBE Silverati Shampoo
Move over blondes, this shampoo is strictly for gray and silver hair. It’s made with hydrolyzed vegetable proteins that bind to your hair’s surface to help repair damage by restoring structure to the strand itself. A blend of watermelon, lychee, and edelweiss flower work together as powerful antioxidants to help defend hair from the drying and harsh environmental elements it comes in contact with every day. All the while, it’s depositing a blend of blue and silver pigments to help brighten gray and silver hair specifically by eliminating yellow tones discoloration.
10. Best at Achieving High-Shine Hair:
VERB Purple Shampoo
If you need a shine boost, use this in place of your regular shampoo. It will neutralize brassy tones in the process and, since it has frankincense oil and coconut fatty acids, will work overtime to help moisturize and hydrate each strand. Acai extract adds to the purple hue of this formula, and it’s antioxidant-packed to act as a shield over even the most fragile strands as you step outside in the harsh elements.
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