How To Make Gray Hair Smooth And Shiny Naturally?

Why Our Hair Looks Worse When We Get Older?

One of the most visible signs of the passing years is the appearance of gray hair. Moreover, when we get older, our hair tends to lose its natural color and softness. According to the experts, the primary reasons for those changes are the depletion of melanin ( a pigment determining hair color)  and reduction of natural oil (sebum).

As per the experts, gray hair can absorb more dirt and pollution than normal hair. So is there a way to make our gray hair shine? Let’s share the useful methods to keep the gray hair fresh and vivid.

How To Make Gray Hair Soft And Smooth?

As we have mentioned previously, when people grow older, the hair becomes prone to getting dry and coarse. Gray-haired people commonly look for ways to soften coarse hair.

Here are easy-to-do tips on how to make gray hair smooth and shiny:

1 - Use The Right Hair Care Products

Gray hair will always look lackluster and dry if you don’t take care of them carefully. It cannot recover its beauty itself, so you have to use the right product to heal the strands. There is a list of ingredients in hair care products you have to avoid: 

- Sulfates

- Parabens

- Formaldehyde

- Retinyl Palmitate

- Triclosan

These ingredients not only make your hair become drier, they may cause your scalp to weaken over time because of the buildup. You should buy hair care products that contain moisturizing ingredients such as natural oils, aloe vera, and honey. By absorbing these ingredients, your hair will be soft and silky.

2 - Comb Your Hair

Spending money on glossing treatments will be a waste if one doesn’t take proper care of their hair. You should use a brush with a boar bristle to comb the gray hair every night before going to bed.

Organic bristles gently massage the scalp by spreading the sebum from the skin on the head to the hair strands. After a month of regular hair brushing, you notice the hair has turned shinier and softer. Moreover, massaging the scalp will also help increase the blood circulation on the head that helps strengthen your hair scalp.

3 - Shampoo Gray Hair

The primary purpose of shampoo is to help you clean the dust and sweat out of your strands, so you have to find shampoos that can clean your hair gently without causing damage. Moreover, many manufactures tried to add a lot of nutrition in their products to make clarified shampoo for gray hair. So, you will have many choices for your hair. 

Although natural shampoos are usually recommended and mostly health-friendly, I don’t highly recommend them because they may not contain enough nutrition which your gray hair needs. Alternatively, you can mix vinegar with the shampoo and use it once a week to get the best results.

4 - Protect The Hair

Gray hair usually turns yellow due to various external factors. This effect can result from the UV rays, chlorine, and mineral deposits from the water. One should wear a cap or scarf to protect their hair from the sun since it can make their hair yellow.

When gray-haired people go swimming, they should apply oil to moisturize their hair. After swimming, they should immediately rinse the hair with fresh water.

Why Gray Hair Need Special Maintenance?

Before our hair turns completely white, it becomes gray. Since the hair strands are neither completely pigmented nor entirely white, it appears to be gray. This is the stage where you need to know how to make gray hair smooth and shiny.

While more people are flaunting their gray hair, it is important to ensure that it looks shiny gray hair instead of coarse yellowish hair. Generally, gray-haired people feel coarseness due to the reduced oil production on the scalp. They should occasionally apply oil on the hair to make it softer and smoother.

Tried And Tested Gray Hair Tips

In today’s world, we have solutions for every problem, and gray hair is no exception. If you follow the mentioned tips, there will be a noticeable difference within a month.

1 - Double Cleanse With Shampoo

Since the most important problem of gray-haired people is dryness, they should use shampoo, which is created for dry hair types. You should shampoo the hair two times in a row.

On the first cleanse, concentrate on the roots of the hair instead of the ends since you need to clean the dirt hidden in the scalp. In the second cleanse, remove any build-up left from the hair strands.

2 - Use A Hair Conditioner For Gray Hair

People, who have naturally coarse hair, should use deep conditioning products to moisturize gray hair. Since the gray hair loses the ability to reflect light, the conditioners can give a long-lasting shine. However, if your hair is fine and thick, there is less need for conditioning.

Gray-haired people should use a conditioner created for their hair type instead of using the one made for protecting the hair color. If you have thick and coarse hair, use a heavier conditioner. However, people who have fine hair should choose a lighter conditioner.

Since you want to know how to make gray hair smooth and shiny, leave the conditioner on the hair for at least 5 minutes before rinsing to get the results. Use a wide-tooth comb after rinsing the hair to remove any knots. 

3 - Apply Leave-In Conditioner To The Ends

When we apply a leave-in conditioner to the ends of our gray hair strands, it will moisturize and add more shine. Moreover, it doesn’t feel like a product build-up. If one applies leave-in conditioner, it will turn their gray hair silkier and shinier.

4 - Never Forget To Heat Protect

Since most people heat style their hair, they end up complaining about coarse and dull-looking hair. You should use a heat protector, which can work as a shield against heat styling products. The heat protectors are popularly used to minimize damage.

5 - Approach Heat Styling With Caution

Heat styling can not only make hair dry but also result in split ends. If you want to avoid burning the shiny hair, use heat in a medium setting. Additionally, ensure you don’t use styling products more than once a week. Most people give their hair a natural wave to avoid using styling products.

6 - Prevent Yellow Staining On Gray Hair

The people, who have white hair than dark, can notice discoloration and yellow hue in their strands. It is inevitable for those who live in a polluted environment. However, certain things can protect the hair from turning yellowish.

You should use a toning shampoo to get the desired color for the hair. However, stay away from toning shampoo, which can turn the hair strands green. For best results, choose the shampoo particularly created for gray hair.

7 - Use Satin or Silk Pillowcases

I’m sure that you heard about satin pillowcases many times, but do you know their benefits? First, Satin or pillowcases are really soft, so it won’t cause tangles and shedding. Another benefit of satin or silk pillowcases is they can keep your hair moisturized overnight because they don’t absorb oil and moisture from your hair even though you use them for a long time.

8 - Stay Hydrated

Water plays such an important role in human health, including respiratory, digest, circulatory, etc. When you are hydrated, it boosts the overall hair condition and prevents your hair from dryness.

7 - Have A Health Nourishment

A healthy nourishment with rich minerals and vitamins not only increases your strength, it also helps increase your hair wellness, especially with gray hair. Some very important minerals for hair wellness are: Biotin ( or Vitamin B7/ Vitamin H), Iron, Vitamin C, etc

Conclusion

We hope you now understand how to make gray hair smooth and shiny. You must follow the tips to ensure the hair doesn’t turn yellowish. Additionally, apply a leave-in conditioner to make the gray hair softer and shinier.