6 of the Best Hair Colors to Cover Gray Hair

The best hair colors for covering gray hair depend on your natural base, how much gray you have, and whether you want to cover, blend or embrace your grays. Cool blonde highlights and brown lowlights can blend gray into blonde or brunette hair, while silver and platinum blonde shades can make gray regrowth less noticeable. For brunettes, warm chocolate browns can soften the contrast between dark hair and gray roots, while strawberry blonde and copper can enhance the lighter tones that appear as red hair loses pigment.

Want some visual inspiration? Let's take a closer look at the products and shades you need to know for seamless gray coverage. Bonus: they're not just functional – these hues also hit some of the biggest hair color trends of the year.

1. Cool Blonde Highlights: Best for Blending Gray Roots

Image Credit: @calumtierney | @jadahairandbalayage

There are three reasons we recommend blonde highlights for covering gray and white hairs. First up, the difference between cool blonde and silver shades is minimal, so gray roots won't appear as visible (even six weeks after your last coloring session). The second reason is that highlights and babylights allow your colorist to tactically target gray patches, meaning they're able to home in on and treat the most stubborn areas of gray.

And, finally, highlights (and lowlights, too) will help to soften the root area, reducing the demarcation line you might get with an all-over wash of color. BlondorPlex is the perfect lightener for this look, as it gives you up to 97% less breakage¹, up to nine levels of lift, and flawless, even results from roots to ends.

Choose cool blonde highlights if: you have blonde or light brown hair and want gray roots to blend naturally.

2. Silver Hair: Best for Embracing Natural Gray

Image Credit: @peachstockholm | @jhair_stylist

Silver hair is trending, so instead of hiding your grays, why not wholeheartedly embrace them? If your roots are coming in entirely gray, working a silver hair look will leave you with the subtlest regrowth going. Koleston Perfect Special Blonde shades are ideal for this look, as they lift and tone hair in a single step, and they come in a range of cool, light hair tones.

But, before going down this route, ask your colorist to take a peek at your natural gray pattern first, so they can figure out a shade of silver and an application technique that gives you the most seamless regrowth. For example, if you have a scattering of charcoal strands through the temples, they can match this multi-tonal effect through the lengths, so your natural dimension appears perfectly balanced.

Choose silver if: most of your hair is already gray and you'd rather enhance your natural color than cover it.

3. Ice or Platinum Blonde: Best for White or Pale Gray Hair

Image Credit: @jhair_stylist

For grays that are on the lighter side (think white or pale silver), an icy blonde hair transformation guarantees stray roots are virtually undetectable. Best for those with a natural color that features existing cool undertones, this shade will create a seamless blend – though it may take a couple of lifting and coloring sessions to reach the perfect hue.

Always work with a pro and expect to book in for two or more appointments to reach a frosty sheen. It'll be worth it when your hair shimmers and your gray roots can only be spotted with a magnifying glass.

Choose platinum blonde if: your natural gray is mostly white or pale silver.

4. Warm Brown: Best for Dark Brunettes Who Want Softer Gray Contrast

Image Credit: @romeufelipe

Only around 2% of us are truly natural blondes, while black or dark brown hair makes up over 75% of the world's population. That means, for the majority, grays create a clear contrast against our natural color, with silvers sparkling brighter on a brunette base versus a blonde. However, that doesn't mean you should be ditching browns and reaching for the bleach; if you're a die-hard dark brunette, all you need to do is opt for a warmer undertone.

Dark browns or cool black hair colors can make us look a little more tired as we get older, while chocolate brown hues with golden highlights help your complexion glow. For a glass hair effect, achieve your warm brown with your ideal shade of Illumina Color, followed by a Clear SHINEFINITY gloss for a lustrous topcoat.

Choose warm brown colors if: you're a natural brunette wanting to restore richness through your hair and enhance your complexion.

5. Strawberry Blonde and Copper: Best for Redheads Going Gray

It's a myth that redheads don't go gray, but the process is slightly different. Instead of getting that salt 'n' pepper look you might see through brown or blonde hair, natural red shades fade lighter as they lose their pigment. Usually, the grays you see are actually a pale blonde or white color – a shade that can easily be enhanced by a boost of copper or a wash of strawberry blonde.

So, if your red base is losing its vibrancy, amplify your natural hair color with vibrant reds from the Color Touch range. You can keep things soft with strawberry tones or indulge in bolder hair colors with a veil of copper, mahogany or auburn.

Choose strawberry brown or copper if: your naturally red hair is losing vibrancy over time.

6. Brown Root Shadow: Best for Softening Gray Regrowth

Whether you're working a blonde, brunette or auburn shade through your lengths, a medium or dark brown root shadow will work in perfect harmony with your color. What makes this shade ideal for gray coverage is its ability to target silver hair strands right at the root, while lending an effortless undone finish to your overall look. To get up to 100% coverage, ask your colorist to use Koleston Perfect or Koleston Xpress for direct application on roots. Then, to refresh your lengths, they can use a balayage technique to add freehand strokes of your dream shade.

Choose a brown root shadow if: you want to soften the appearance of gray roots without changing your overall hair color.

Ready to embrace a new color to cover gray hair? Use our salon finder to find your nearest Wella Professionals salon and kick-start your transformation.

The Best Color Products for Gray Hair

Want to learn more about the Wella color products your professional colorist will be using in the salon? While, ultimately, the choice of product will be made during your consultation or appointment, it's always helpful to get in the chair with an idea of the results you hope to achieve. So, these are the salon hair colors to know...

Best Wella Product For Up To 100% Gray Coverage: Koleston Perfect, Illumina Color or Pure Perfection

Even stubborn grays don't stand a chance against our permanent hair colors – Koleston Perfect and Illumina Color – as they each give you up to 100% coverage. But what sets them apart?

• Koleston Perfect is your pick when you want pure, intense results with natural depth and shine. It gives you long-lasting, vibrant color in a wide (and we mean wide) array of hair color.
• Illumina Color is all about radiant, youthful, 100% natural-looking color that looks luminous in every light. When you want a color that glows, it's your perfect permanent choice.
• Pure Perfection is an ammonia-free, permanent hair color that's clinically proven to visibly reduce signs of damage, improving shine (+55%) and smoothness (+45%), while leaving hair looking more nourished (+42%).

”Pure Perfection is truly unique! Color results are pure, weightless and natural.”

– Briana Cisneros (@brianacisneros), Wella Professionals Global Ambassador

Best Wella Product For Targeting Gray Roots: Koleston Xpress

Root touch-ups just got quicker with Koleston Xpress, a 10-minute, targeted, permanent hair color that's focused on eradicating regrowth, with up to 100% gray coverage. It's the product your colorist will reach for erasing white strands through the root area is your goal. You can even maintain your natural shade on the lengths and get gray roots under wraps with this concentrated camouflage.

Best Wella Product For Up to 70% Gray Hair Coverage: Color Touch

For a softer approach to covering grays, try demi-permanent Color Touch. It can be used to add a dimensional root shadow, blend silver strands through your natural color, or transform your shade from root to tip. Not only does it give you up to 70% gray coverage² for a natural-looking solution, but it also guarantees uncompromised vibrancy and shine, no matter your hair's condition.

1. Protect Your Shade with a Color-Safe Shampoo

No matter what shade you've chosen to cover gray hair, it's important you maintain it at home with the correct care for colored hair. Step one is adding a color-saving shampoo to your regimen. Try ULTIMATE COLOR Sulfate-Free Shampoo, which combines mild, non-stripping cleansing with Metal Purifier technology, so hair is gently detoxed and ready for the next nourishing step in your regimen. Then, swap rinse-out conditioners for ULTIMATE COLOR Miracle Leave-In Mask. Less rinsing and less exposure to water helps your color last longer, giving you up to 10 weeks of color vibrancy⁵ in one beautifully moisturizing, UV-shielding formula.

2. Enrich Blonde Tones with a Purple Shampoo

Whether you've added ashy highlights, gone all-over silver or cooled down with a platinum blonde shade, it's important you keep yellow tones at bay with a purple shampoo. Prefer a color-depositing treatment? You can also nourish and tone in one with the Color Fresh Mask in Pearl Blonde. Apply it to clean, damp hair, let it develop for 10 minutes, and then rinse thoroughly to reveal a revived glow.

3. Keep Hair Healthy with a Leave-In Treatment

Colored hair looks fresher when it's healthy and hydrated, so don't forget this game-changing treatment: ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue. By misting it through clean, towel-dried lengths, you can repair hair damage in 90 seconds⁶. Yes, it's that quick. Plus, it's completely weightless, so it layers easily with your favourite styling products.

Covering Gray Hair: FAQs

What is the Best Hair Color to Cover Gray Hair?

The best color depends on your natural base and how much gray you have. Permanent shades such as Koleston Perfect, Illumina Color and Pure Perfection can provide up to 100% gray coverage, while demi-permanent formulas such as Color Touch can blend gray for softer regrowth.

What Hair Color Hides Gray Roots Best?

Cool blonde highlights can make gray roots less noticeable because silver and cool blonde shades have less visual contrast. A root shadow can also soften the appearance of gray regrowth.

Is Blonde or Brunette Better for Covering Gray Hair?

Neither is universally 'better'. Blonde highlights can blend gray with less visible regrowth, while warmer brunette shades can reduce the contrast between dark hair and silver roots.

Can You Cover 100% Gray Hair?

Yes. Certain permanent hair color formulas, such as Pure Perfection, can provide up to 100% gray coverage. Your colorist can recommend the appropriate formula and shade based on your natural hair color and desired result.

Is it Better to Cover or Embrace Gray Hair?

It depends on the look and maintenance level you want. Covering gray gives a more uniform color, blending creates softer regrowth, while embracing gray with silver or platinum tones can make natural regrowth less noticeable.

Ready to Book Your Gray Coverage?

Find your nearest Wella Professionals salon to get your ideal level of gray coverage, teamed with the glossy, healthy-looking shade you've been dreaming of. Head to the Salon Finder.

¹ When using Wellaplex N°2 with Blondorplex, versus Blondorplex alone.

² With Color Touch Plus.