Innovation Spotlight: Beat Gray Strays
Focus on the hairline zone and work diagonally to keep gray regrowth from becoming obvious too soon.

Sometimes gray-coverage clients end up using drugstore color wands because stray grays, particularly at the hairline, can show up weeks before it's retouch time. Time to boost your application art, says John Simpson, 2008 North American Haircolorist of the Year and a partner at Lewis' Hair Salon in Pittsburgh. He created this technique specifically for the woman who sees hairline grays first:

  1. Instead of placing sliced foils along the hairline, use a "broken-slice-meets-weave" within the same section. Take, then break each slice and softly weave through it.
  2. Alternate the pattern across the hairline for a softening effect.

"If gray is an issue, it's a great way to break up the new regrowth-there's no strong line of demarcation," says Simpson. "It's also a good way to introduce a new tone into the hair without it being too dramatic." 

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