White hair appears and multiplies with age. While some people resort to colouring to hide them, others choose to embrace them. To manage the transition and have a beautiful, uniform white mane, follow our advice.
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White hair: how to manage the transition?
Summary
- The transition to white hair: a significant change
- Advice No.1: Transitory Colouration
- Advice No. 2: A suitable haircut
- Advice No. 3: Accessories to conceal the transition
- Advice No. 4: Accelerating the transition through discolouration
- The maintenance of white hair
Published June 1, 2023,
updated on May 28, 2024,
by
Pauline, Chemical Engineer
—
5 min read
The transition to white hair: a significant change.
The first white hairs typically appear a little before one's forties and are a result of the natural ageing process of the body. More specifically, they are due to a gradual decrease in the synthesis of melanin by the melanocytes in the hair bulb. Melanin is the pigment that colours hair, so in its absence, hair turns white. Furthermore, the number of melanocytes gradually decreases over time.
Although this phenomenon is entirely natural and affects everyone at some point in their life, the transition from coloured hair to white hair can sometimes be challenging to manage. While one common reflex is to conceal it with hair dye, others instead choose toembrace their white hairHowever, the whitening process is not always uniform and occurs gradually, starting from the roots. Here are all our tips for a smooth transition.
Advice No.1: Transitory Colouration.
The bleaching of roots forms a more or less noticeable demarcation with the rest of your hair depending on your original colour. If you have rather dark, red, brown or black hair, you may find this unattractive. For a smoother transition, you can opt for a lightening of the rest of your hair through bleaching or highlights. By choosing a shade lighter than your natural colour, the transition to white hair will be less noticeable.
Advice No. 2: A suitable haircut.
The transition from coloured hair to white hair occurs more swiftly with short hair. Indeed, the ends of your lengths will be the last to turn white. Therefore, one option to better manage this transition is to gradually trim your hair, thus gently accompanying the change. Moreover, cutting will help to eliminate any potentially damaged ends and lighten the rest of your hair. If you are unsure about the style of cut to adopt, you can seek advice from a hairdresser-stylist, who, by studying the features and shape of your face, will be able to advise and suggest haircuts that will enhance your appearance.
Advice No. 3: Accessories to conceal the transition.
When the whitening of hair intensifies and extends over several centimetres without, however, affecting the entire head of hair, it is possible to conceal these areas using accessories. Headbands, scarves, hair clips, hairpins, caps, hats... The choice is vast. You can select the accessory that best suits your style and needs, and change at will according to your desires.
Do not hesitate to also utilise hairstyles to conceal the white areas while waiting for your hair to become uniform. You can also use extensions, which allow you to add length and volume to your hair, while covering the white strands. Choose them close to your original colour for a natural result or lighter to bring highlights to your hair.
Advice No. 4: Accelerating the transition through discolouration.
A final, more radical option that allows for a clear and swift transition, is to bleach all of your hair. This will immediately result in a uniformly white head of hair without having to go through the various stages of hair growth. However, we recommend that you do this in a hair salon and not attempt to bleach your hair yourself. This is indeed a delicate and somewhat aggressive process for your hair. It is therefore preferable for it to be carried out by a professional.
The maintenance of white hair.
Once the transition from your coloured hair to your white hair has been made, it is important to take care of the latter. The absence of melanin within the hair fibres makes them more vulnerable to external aggressions, particularly those generating oxidative stress (UV rays, pollution...). This indeed tends to yellow the hair, which would somewhat spoil your efforts to have a beautiful silver mane.
To avoid this, we recommend using protective and nourishing treatments, such as masks for instance, but also applying a hair sun protection on the days when you expose yourself. This type of treatment has a similar action to skin sunscreens, but are specifically formulated for hair. Finally, white hair does not tolerate heat well, to avoid further weakening them, avoid heat styling tools such as straighteners or heated brushes.
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