Let’s take a quick minute to talk about the Ardell Gray Magic color additive!
Tell me this… do you have super resistant gray hair that won’t take color, no matter how hard you try? Does it kill you to look in the mirror after dying your hair, just to find untouched silver specks? Well… you’ve come to the right place.
What if I told you that there was a magical product that you can mix in with hair dye to make the color adhere to gray hair better? Or that millions of women across the world wouldn’t even consider coloring their hair without it?
But what is it? And how does it work? Let’s investigate some of these questions a bit more…
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What Causes Gray Hair?
There are a few factors that contribute to gray hair. Age is one of the most significant factors, but genetics and stress both play a part as well.
Studies show that most people start going gray between 34 and 44 years old, but genetics may cause it to happen sooner. Stress does not entirely cause gray hair on its own but can definitely speed up the process.
Hair doesn’t just turn gray over time. It happens when an individual strand falls out and grows back without any melanin.
Each strand of hair sheds after a few years and then grows back. Each time it grows back, more melanin needs to be produced… and over time, less melanin is available. Since stress does contribute to hair loss, you’ll be more likely to go gray if your stress levels are high.
Why Is Gray Hair So Resistant?
There is a common misconception that gray hair has a different hair texture than non-gray hair. But this just isn’t true.
Gray hair doesn’t actually get more coarse as time goes on as people tend to believe. In fact, it may even get finer.
However, it is way dryer than non-gray hair and has much less natural oil, giving it a rough appearance and dry feel.
What Is Gray Magic by Ardell?
Over the years, I’ve heard countless clients talk about Ardell Gray Magic and how they use it religiously to cover their grays. It was also a hot-selling item at Sally Beauty Supply when I worked there, years ago.
So although I never used it in the salon (many professional color lines have built-in gray coverage), I’ve only ever heard good things about it. If you don’t believe me, check out the customer reviews on Amazon and see for yourself.
But what is Gray Magic? It’s a color additive that makes hair dye adhere better to gray hair. In other words, it’s a must, if you have super resistant gray hair!
How It Works:
As I previously mentioned, gray hair is mainly the result of lost yellow and red tones in the hair. Additionally, the tightening of the cuticle and lack of natural oils makes the hair much harder to penetrate.
However, Gray Magic helps open the cuticle wider to allow better penetration of the color. It also helps replenish the red and yellow tones back into the hair, to deliver a richer, more vibrant color.
It’s also equipped with “wetting agents” to replenish moisture in the hair. These wetting agents allow Gray Magic to be mixed into semi-permanent colors without a developer.
It can even be added to shampoo to keep warm colors looking fresh over time.
KEY BENEFITS:
- Increases gray coverage
- Compatible with any type of hair color
- Helps replenish moisture in the hair
- Adds in red and yellow pigments for a more vibrant color
- Extends the life of hair color and prevents fading
- Helps tone down ashy colors and chlorine discoloration
How To Use Gray Magic:
The best part of all is that Gray Magic is super easy to use at home. All you have to do is add 10 drops of Gray Magic to every ounce of hair dye. Since most tubes of hair color have 2 oz of product, you’d add 20 drops to the formulation (but make sure to read the box first).
Mix the color like you normally would and apply like normal – process, rinse and style as desired.
(Pssst.. if you need help formulating your hair dye, check out my Definitive Guide to DIY Hair Color!).
General FAQ
You just mix 10 drops into every ounce of hair color before applying the color like normal. This allows the color to penetrate deeper into the cortex and helps replace some of the lost moisture.
A hair color additive that helps dye adhere to gray hair, giving a rich, vibrant color.
A product that you add to hair color to enrich the results and provide extra benefits.
Final Thoughts
If you have super resistant gray hair, Ardell Gray Magic is something you definitely need to check into. It will help moisturize your hair and add in those lost pigments to deliver a rich, vibrant color that completely covers those stubborn grays.
I promise you can’t go wrong if you just give it a try!
Until next time,
YOUR TURN: Have you ever tried Gray Magic by Ardell? Did it make a huge difference? Drop your feedback and questions in the comments section below! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼
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Maureen Tierney
Thursday 27th of April 2023
My hair I not dyed and is all white. I would like to color it a light blonde. The last time I tried to color it L’Oreal nine natural. It did not take any of the color. We color magic work for my short white hair?
Victoria
Saturday 15th of April 2023
I now understand the tint my hair has now and why. I actually like it. BUT… just recently I used the travel pack of Gray Magic and added a bit more, and I think it made my hair greasy. It only last fresh for one day and next it starts to show greasy. I never have a grease problem. I can go 3 days. Do you think this will go away ??
Marci
Monday 2nd of January 2023
I just started using gray magic in my hair color. I color my hair medium brown and my hair is 100% gray and white at the crown. For several years now I’ve had to leave the color on for almost an hour and often times those stubborn ones in the temple still don’t want to accept the color. The gray magic has helped immensely and I switched to a medium ash brown and started mixing the color to developer 1:0.5. Half as much developer as color. This has totally eliminated the red tones and stays the true color till time to do roots. I wasn’t even getting these kind of results going to the salon and using high end coloring products. Hope this helps
HandyWomanCris
Wednesday 16th of March 2022
I had been using gray magic for years and loved it but then I noticed that my haircolor was being tinged red that made the color off. I am a natural blonde and used medium natural blonde shade of l'Oreal, Clairol & another I currently forget. Dependion what's on sale when I need it! After buying a new jar of Gray magiC i noticed that the haircolor had a darker almost red cast to it instead of the color I expected. When I colored my6 hair while visiting my mother to take care of her after surgery I didn't have the gray magic with me so I just used the dye alone and the color came out like I remember. 4-6 weeks later when I colored it again with the gray magic it again was too red and dark for me. So I have discontinued using it. I wonder if you could shed some light on that? - because i noticed that you said that it wouldn't affect the color of the shade and specifically mentioned blonde shades. Did I get a deffective batch, was it old, or what went wrong?? I am coloring my hair way more often now but don't like the darker/redder shade that resulted from using the jar i now have!
Aliza
Wednesday 19th of January 2022
I have used this several times but had it for about a year. Does it go bad? The last time i used it my hair turned out a dark brownish red, rather than the black it normally does with this product added. I used the same amount and same brand/color of dye i always do.