Gray hair looks noble when treated right, like a sign of wisdom and style. Alas, if mistreated, they can turn yellow, and all the style fades away. But there are methods how to get yellow out of gray hair, and now we will see which of them can really help with it.
The greatest thing about most these methods is that most of them don’t require unicorn blood or four-leaf clover: the substances you need can be found in most households. So, let’s see what has been invented to de-yellow gray hair and how well it works.
Contents
Why Gray Hair Turns Yellow
You probably know the word “pigment”: a natural coloring that defines colors of body tissues. Hair also gets its colors by pigments, and coloring changes with years.
The natural way of things is to be born fair, then the hair blackens, and then turns gray – it’s acceptable and considered beautiful. Yellowing of hair, and removing yellow from gray hair as well, is also about pigments, despite it.
The hair gets yellow from the inside, but the reasons why it does may differ. They include:
- Chemical residues in water (chlorine and others);
- Yellowish shampoo or conditioner, or scalp oils;
- Too much direct sunlight and heat;
- Certain medications;
- Air pollution.
While there are some factors you cannot directly influence, some others are well under your control. So, if between grey and yellow hair you choose the former, check how to get yellow out of white hair and choose your own method!
How to Get Yellow Out Of Gray Hair (Step by Step Guide)
Here are some methods of de-yellowing gray hair, using both special products and those that are present in most households. Let’s look at each of them.
Vinegar Rinse
Vinegar is well known to be good for hair when dissolved right. For our purposes too.
- Take one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Other vinegars will not work as well.
- Mix it in one gallon of water.
- Wash your hair with your regular shampoo.
- Then rinse your hair with the vinegar mixture.
- Apply white conditioner.
Repeat once a week.
Hydrogen Peroxide Mix
Your regular conditioner will obtain a superpower when mixed with hydrogen peroxide.
- Mix your conditioner and 3% hydrogen peroxide 1:1.
- Evenly apply the mix to your hair with a comb.
- Cover your hair with a plastic cap for 20-25 minutes.
- Rinse and then wash your hair with your regular shampoo and conditioner.
Repeat this procedure about once a month, and not more often.
Hollyhock
The coloring qualities of hollyhock have been known for long. Now these flowers are jusr as usable.
- Take hollyhock petals and steep the tea of them. The color of this decoction will be purple; the thickness of the color is up to you.
- Wash your hair with your regular shampoo and conditioner and then rinse with this decoction and use the comb to spread it evenly.
- Rinse the hair with clean water.
Repeat it once a week; if the effect is less than you desire, add more petals next time.
Special Shampoos
There are special shampoos that, along with their cleansing qualities, remove yellow from gray hair. All I’d recommend here is to follow the instruction. What they don’t tell in the instruction, though, is to mix it 1:1 with your regular shampoo.
Tips for Preventing Gray Hair from Yellowing
Knowing how to keep gray hair from yellowing requires some knowledge about how colors come and go. As we have shed some light on this problem, you can do the following:
- Wear a hat. Not only does it help to keep your head from looking like dry straw: it’s stylish as well, regardless of age.
- Use an SPF spray if a hat is not an option.
- Install a shower attachment filter to clear your water from minerals and chemicals.
- Use clarifying shampoos if you think yellow is the result of mineral deposits or air pollution.
- If you’re into swimming, the swimmer’s shampoos may come to the rescue.
- Eat fewer products containing beta-carotene (carrot, cantaloupes, spinach, broccoli, etc.)
- Quit smoking if you still smoke. It’s not easy, we know. But the benefits of it will soon show.
- If your favorite shampoo has silicones, sulfates, or dyes, consider switching to another without these additions.
It’s harder with medication, because if you treat or prevent some serious illness, yellowing hair may seem quite an acceptable side effect compared to what you treat. In this situation, you better put up with yellowish hair until you finish the course of medication, and then, if that yellow color remains, you can take measures. Start with cleaning hair masks, and then choose additional measures if direct decoloring doesn’t work.
This means that you can strip yellow out of grey hair naturally by excluding these factors. This will take time, though, for the pigment to naturally leave the hair. So if you wish to accelerate the process, you better apply some of the recipes above.
FAQ on Getting Yellow Out of Gray Hair
There are still some uncovered questions about various popular methods and mechanisms. So, let’s break it down and address them directly.
Will baking soda take yellow out of gray hair?
Yes, some recommend it. The common recipe is a paste made of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. As for its efficiency, opinions differ, but there are enough examples of success. So it’s worth a shot.
Does purple shampoo take yellow out of grey hair?
Its effect is based on the well-known color wheel where yellow and purple are the opposites. Yes, applying violet or purple shampoo for gray hair turning yellow is quite a method.
It is also reputed to have a cooling effect on the tone of gray hair, so there are reasons to make purple shampoo your default. But as you wash your hair without that shampoo, the yellow may return.
What medications can turn white hair yellow?
If you think the culprit may be among your medications, search among chemotherapy and malaria drugs. The agents may be dihydroxyacetone, dithranol, or selenium sulfide. Don’t hurry to give them up, though: you better finish the course and then take care of your hair.
If you don’t like that yellowish in your gray hair and want to carry your years with as much style as possible, there are rather easy methods to remove that yellow shade.
In Rust We Don’t Trust!
There are more ways to prevent your beautiful gray hair from getting yellowish, or if it has happened, to decolor it back.
You can apply masks, change your medications or nutrition, or start finally wearing hats; the right solution may come as a result of trials and errors. But if you are determined and confident, you can get your noble color back.
Have you tried one or more of the proposed methods? Did they work out well? How long did it take to see the effect? Share your stories in the comments, and you will help the other readers too!
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