"Silver Blending": the Technique That Gradually Blends Grey Hairs In Instead of Dyeing Them Every Few Weeks

Fabiola Martínez, model, presenter and activist, turned up at a party in Madrid with shoulder-length hair slicked back in a wet look. The roots and the top are her natural silver-grey, while the ends have kept the golden blonde from her previous colour. "That's silver blending, the technique we use to blend the grey hairs in little by little," explains hairstylist María Sedano of The Beauty Concept Hair salon.

Silver blending is one of the final stages of so-called grey blending, the gradual integration of grey hair. The goal is for the grey to melt into the rest of the hair with no visible line where one ends and the other begins. On Fabiola, according to Sedano, the grey around her face brightens her golden skin and softens her features, while the golden ends add warmth. With the hair slicked back, the greyest part is on display and the light falls directly on her face.

It's not your age that decides it, but the percentage of grey hair. At 50 to 60 percent grey, the result is usually the most even. Many women reach that point after forty, but some go grey very early and it looks great on them. Trichologist Santiago Kaskero of Hospital Capilar adds that genetics plays a big role: if your parents went grey early, it will probably happen to you too, although it's not an exact rule.

The advantages are concrete. No more touching up the roots every few weeks, fewer chemicals and therefore healthier hair, and a colour more in tune with your skin tone. For the hair dye industry, that means one fewer regular customer. For you - more free Saturday mornings.

But grey hair needs care. It has no melanin, so it's drier and less shiny, which makes hydration the foundation. Purple shampoo is used once a week to stop it turning yellow. You need heat and sun protection, and the ends get trimmed every six to eight weeks. In the salon, an ammonia-free gloss neutralises yellow tones, tints the grey and adds shine, combined with deep hydration and repair treatments. At home: sulphate-free shampoo, a nourishing mask and a light oil on the ends.

The technique takes conviction and patience, because the process is gradual. The hard part often isn't in the salon but in the people around you. How many women in the Balkans would let their grey grow out without having to answer "why don't you dye it?" every single week?