The world of beauty has recently become notorious for promoting the aesthetic of sameness, the same body type, gleaming length of hair and skin that looks too taut and too smooth to have been touched by the ravages of time. But there are some who break this mould, creating pop culture moments that go down as history in the process. Remember Julia Roberts nonchalantly sporting underarm fuzz on the Notting Hill premiere? Or Pamela Anderson going gloriously makeup free on every major red carpet? And of course, back in 2021, Andie MacDowell stepping out on the Cannes carpet not with her iconic brunette curls, but a radiant salt-and-pepper version. In 2026, that bold move is not an isolated instance. More women than ever are bidding adieu to harsh dyes, religiously used every two weeks. Instead, they're blending their greys to work with their previous natural hair colour, opting for acceptance in a way that ensures grey hair is equated more with personal style than ageism. “Grey blending shifts the conversation from hiding to working with what you have. In my experience, clients today are not asking, ‘How do I cover this?’ but rather, ‘How do I make this look natural and beautiful?’", finds Vipul Chudasama, founder and creative director at VC Salon & Academy.
A 2025 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that “faces digitally altered to appear grey-haired were consistently rated as older and less attractive, even when every other facial feature remained identical”. In other words, grey, for the most part, still reads as age. Does the option of grey blending, then, offer women a way to control the age narrative? Sonia Presswala, creative lead of hair and makeup at Looks Salon says, “Grey hair has always been a ‘problem’ women were expected to correct, usually with full-coverage dye that erased every silver strand. Instead of completely hiding greys, the grey blending technique integrates silver strands with highlights, lowlights or tonal glosses, allowing them to coexist with the dyed sections,” she says. Presswala finds that in most salons, the majority of clients actively embracing their natural grey are still in their 40s and 50s, mostly women tired of the constant root-touch-up cycle. At the same time, Florian Hurel, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Florian Hurel Hair Couture & Spa and fHair, finds a shift in salons where women in their 20s and 30s who have greys are increasingly choosing not to cover them immediately. “For many of them, it comes from a place of confidence and a slightly rebellious mindset. A feeling that they don’t want to be tied to the cycle of constant colouring, recolouring or using chemicals on their hair so early on,” he observes.
For someone transitioning into their natural greys, the focus is on blending and softening the line between previously coloured hair and new growth. When greys look unnatural, it is often because there is a strong line between old colour and new growth or because the tone appears dull rather than reflective. “Grey blending requires thoughtful colour placement. Stylists often add white-toned highlights, soft lowlights or translucent grey tones to give the colour depth instead of making it look flat. The idea is to create a blend where the greys sit naturally within the rest of the hair,” says Swati Gupta, director and head of creative development, Bodycraft Salon.
What is often underestimated is the complexity of the process. “It’s rarely an overnight transformation; sometimes the hair would need to be lightened several levels to match the grey tone, which is not always easy or advisable. Because of that, the process often involves gradual blending techniques that allow the hair to grow out naturally while reducing the contrast,” adds Gupta.
But does it work well with Indian hair and skin tones? Gupta believes that it does, when approached thoughtfully. Indian hair tends to have deeper natural pigments and many Indian skin tones carry warm undertones. If the grey tone is not balanced correctly, it can look harsh or flat. Because of that, stylists usually customise the shade to soft ash, pearl or smoky tones that better complement the skin.
Interestingly, finds Chudasama, it doesn’t reduce salon visits, it just changes them. Clients who blend their greys may come less frequently for root coverage, but they invest more in toning, glossing treatments, haircuts and hair health. Maintaining beautiful grey requires shine, hydration and the right cut. “So, the relationship with the client becomes less about constant correction and more about long-term hair care and design,” he says.
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Given that most chemical hair colours contain ammonia, paraphenylenediamine (PPD) and peroxide, Saloni Anand, the co-founder of Traya, a hair health-oriented wellness brand, believes mild blending is definitely healthier than intense colouring in the long run. “We've seen this pattern repeatedly in our hair test data. Women come to us complaining about thinning, dryness or excessive hair fall and when we dig into their history, there's often a decade-plus of regular chemical colouring sitting in the background. They don't connect the two. They think it's stress, ageing or genetics. Those can be contributing factors, but the chemical damage has been compounding alongside those triggers, making the overall picture worse,” she reveals.
Dr Renita Rajan, cosmetic dermatologist and founder of CHOSEN by Dermatology says, "The problem lies in treating the scalp differently from the rest of the skin, simply because it is covered by hair. For decades, people have been applying hair dyes to the scalp every few weeks without thinking of it as repeated skin exposure. So from a dermatological perspective, using dye as far away from the scalp as possible is usually the wiser approach,” she says.
In many ways, grey blending frames the colour more as a personal style choice rather than pure maintenance. “As we’ve seen, grey can actually look incredibly striking when it’s done thoughtfully and gets treated like any other colour choice. Some women will cover it, some will enhance it and some will celebrate it completely; and all three can exist without judgment,” says Presswala.
This article was originally published on Vogue India.
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