Dyeing Your Hair Gray And Silver Is Firmly Outdated In 2023

Embracing natural beauty is definitely having a moment, with droves of women swearing off harsh hair dyes in favor of growing out their natural silver, gray, white, or blended hair. Some of that confidence to ditch the dark dyes may have been inspired by the younger crowd's enthusiasm toward artificial gray and silver hair, which has definitely been on trend for several years now.

Indeed, women who are far too young to have one gray hair, much less a whole headful, have been opting to engage in the laborious process of stripping and toning their strands into whatever gray-inspired shade they've landed on. There have traditionally been plenty of options for them to choose from, including from a rich smoky gray all the way to a more platinum-inspired hue. Every trend has an expiration date, however, and it seems that artificial grays are on the way out the door.

Even though natural silvers are peaking in popularity right now, the artificial version is trending downward with a vengeance. Some of this isn't too surprising, as most novelty trends always find their way into the trash heap. For example, there's a reason you don't see low-rise jeans and ombre hair color on every other person anymore. Still, society in general had gotten pretty used to seeing Gen Z'ers walking around with gray or even white hair in recent years. So why the seemingly sudden shift?

The change is probably due to stylists and customers alike realizing that just because the hair color itself is beautiful doesn't mean that it automatically flatters anyone and everyone. Benjamin Salon colorist Kaytee Joyce told New Beauty that the color is "harsh and unflattering on most skin tones," adding that color, "needs to complement their skin." This doesn't rule absolutely everyone out from artificial grays, but it nixes some people from the ideally suited list.

If you still long for the gray look, all hope is not lost. You just have to know how what tone and style to go after. Everyone knows that makeup, clothes, and hair color should be tailored to complement the skin tone, and gray hair is no exception. For example, fair-skinned people tend to look better with a gray shade that contrasts with their lighter complexion. Think ...  medium/steel gray shades. Along the same lines, lighter grays contrast exceptionally well with darker skin tones, creating a dramatic effect. Olive-skinned beauties are the really lucky ones, though, as just about all silver shades coordinate well with their skin tone.

If you're ready to move on from the trend, however, there are plenty of other options to choose from. Caramel highlights and/or those that lend a "sun-kissed" look are very hot right now, as are all shades of balayage.