How To Dye Men’s Hair Grey Or Silver [Easy, At Home]

The look of a maturing man has never been so popular. More and more men are choosing to embrace the look of aging hair instead of fearing it or hiding it. You’re about to learn how to dye your hair grey or silver in the easiest way possible. 

It isn’t difficult – but there’s definitely an art to getting the best possible outcome. 

The beauty of it is that it can look as natural or unnatural as you choose to make it. Using the technique described here, you’ve got plenty of flexibility. 

One thing to note is that we’re doing it the easy way with no pre-lightening necessary, no matter what shade of hair you’ve got. 

It’s temporary coloring. If you were looking for something more permanent, this isn’t the one for you. But if you’re just looking to spice up your look from time to time without having to commit to anything permanent, read on. 

Can You Dye Hair Grey Quickly And With No Bleach? 

Yes, it’s possible to dye your hair grey or silver quickly if you use temporary coloring agents like hair color wax or spray-on color. 

Mofajang’s hair color wax (Amazon Link) is a great example and the one we’ll be using for this tutorial. 

However, there are other color waxes or similar temporary coloring agents available and you should try and find one that matches the color you’re aiming for. 

Just be sure to read the reviews first. 

Using temporary color wax has its benefits and its disadvantages. 

The main benefit is that you don’t need to commit to anything. You can spontaneously decide to switch up your hair color for the night and not need to worry about long term effects. 

This also means you can experiment with hair colors way more often. You might be feeling like grey or silver today, but if you were feeling like trying out a hint of blue a few days later it’s definitely possible. 

Choosing what color you should dye your hair can sometimes be a case of trial and error. 

Another great benefit is just how easily color wax washes out. It’s called temporary coloring for a reason. 

You should be able to rinse it out whenever you get bored of it. This is also important when it comes to staining of your skin and clothes. It won’t be a problem as it’ll rinse off just as it would rinse out of your hair. 

Color waxes are also easy to apply. They don’t need mixing or preparation; they’re ready to use right out of the container. This is convenient and saves a lot of time. 

Plus, you don’t need to pre-lighten your hair, no matter how dark it may be. Sure, blonde hair will definitely turn a more predictable grey or silver once dyed. 

You may get some color mixing when dyeing dark hair that isn’t pre-lightened, but the effect isn’t that strong thanks to the intensity of color wax. 

But the advantages of color wax tend to double-up as their disadvantages too. 

For men looking for a permanent option of dyeing grey hair, this clearly won’t be the way to get it. Plus, playing with the hair or rubbing it on surfaces will cause it to wipe off eventually. Think of it as a paint coating; you do need to be careful with it. 

If you think temporarily coloring your hair in this way is what you want to do, read on to find out how to do it. 

How To Dye Hair Grey Or Silver In 7 Steps

Here’s a simple routine you can use to temporarily dye your hair.

What You Will Need: 

• Grey or silver hair color wax like this one (Amazon Link).
• Hair comb – not essential but would be great for evenly distributing it.
• Wet wipes – for cleaning up any skin stains as you go. Wet, soapy cotton balls would also do the trick. 
• Old clothes – ideally ones you don’t mind getting stained temporarily. Remember, it will wash out with ease though. 

Step 1: Perform A Patch Test 

As with all of my tutorials, we’ll start with a patch test before applying any of it to your hair. 

Apply a small amount of the grey color wax to the back of your elbow (or somewhere else that’s not easy to see). 

Review the area in 48 hours – if there’s any soreness or inflammation, don’t apply it to your hair as you might have had a reaction to it. 

If it’s all fine, carry on with the tutorial. It’s time to color the hair. 

Step 2: Wash Your Hair

It’s always best to wash your hair before dyeing it. Greasy hair is difficult to dye and style, as it’ll feel heavier. Plus, it’s likely that the dye won’t coat the hair as well as it otherwise would. 

As hair color wax is quite similar to a pomade when it comes to consistency, applying it to greasy hair will make it look and feel even greasier and even heavier. 

So, wash your hair at this point. You can choose to use shampoo if you wish to – men have different opinions when it comes to shampooing hair before dyeing it. 

Some feel that shampooing beforehand may dry out the hair too much and prevent the color from absorbing as well as it would. Each to their own. To be honest, either option would be fine. 

Once you’ve washed it, towel dry it until it’s damp. 

Applying the color wax to hair that’s a little damp as opposed to completely dry will make it easier to distribute. 

Step 3. Apply The Grey Or Silver Color Wax

It’s time for that first coating. 

I generally prefer using my fingers for this as it’s pretty easy to work it into your hair this way. You can use gloves if you want to but as skin staining isn’t an issue this isn’t necessary. 

If you’d rather not use your hands, you could use a brush or even an old toothbrush. 

Start working the grey or silver color wax into your hair, trying to get a nice coating from root-to-tip. 

You can choose to either go for an even coating of color throughout your head of hair or go for a more natural greying look by applying it to certain parts and not others. 

Doing the back of your head can be tricky if you’re alone. You can get it done by using a handheld mirror; hold it in front of you and turn around so you can see the back of your head as it reflects off of the bathroom mirror. 

Step 4: Comb The Wax Through 

This is a great way to get a nice, natural distribution of color.  A comb is able to effectively distribute the color through the deeper parts of your hair. 

In addition, it distributes it in a way that looks even and natural. It prevents color from accumulating in certain parts more than others. 

Combing is also great for detangling the hair before you style it in the next step. Color wax can cause clumping and knotting, particularly if you’ve used a little too much. 

The long teeth of a comb are great for digging into those knots and clumps and undoing them. 

Again, all of this leads to a nice, natural-looking greying effect. 

Step 5: Style As Desired

Once you’ve applied this first coating, you can review your hair to see whether or not you’d like to add a little more. 

Check out your side profiles and use the handheld mirror to properly assess the back as well. 

If you’re happy with it, start styling it into its final shape. 

Color wax does have a certain degree of hold, so you should be able to use it to style your hair without the need for additional products. 

In fact, using additional products may feel a little too heavy. As I said, color wax is quite similar to pomades in consistency, so mixing more product in may be a little excessive. 

You can use the comb for styling if you wish to as well. This is the point where you shape your hair as desired before letting it set. 

Step 6: Wipe Up

Using skin-friendly wet wipes, clean up any stains on your forehead or the back of your neck. They should wipe off with ease. 

Don’t forget to check behind your ears as well, as this is a commonly forgotten area of staining you may need to sort out. 

If you don’t have wet wipes, cotton balls soaked in soapy water would do just fine as well. 

Step 7: Let It Set And Review

Assuming you’d applied the color wax to damp hair, you can expect the shape to change slightly once it’s dried. 

However, it shouldn’t be too obvious. 

Give the color wax a bit of time (around 30 mins) to dry and set before assessing it and reviewing your work. 

If you’re happy with it, that’s perfect. If you’ve spotted any area you’d like to restyle, this won’t be a problem. 

Color wax isn’t great for restyling as it does dry pretty stiff usually. However, using a wet comb you should be able to soften it up and fix up whatever you’re not a fan of. 

But at this point, you should be done. It’s time to admire your grey or silver-haired efforts. 

Which Men May Want To Dye Their Hair Grey Or Silver? 

Although this may have sounded odd a couple of decades ago, there is no shortage of men looking to dye their hair grey or silver. 

The men who do want to, however, tend to fall into separate camps. 

1. Greying Men Who Want To Embrace It

Dyeing grey hair a more youthful color is generally the option people choose. This is still the case and isn’t going to change anytime soon. 

Overall, grey hairs are still hidden as opposed to embraced by the majority of maturing men. 

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t men out there who choose a different path. They see their grey hairs and choose to embrace the look. 

The silver fox aesthetic is popular; this can’t be denied. Some men tend to wear it better than others, but you can’t blame a guy for wondering whether it’s the look for them. 

Temporary coloring options may not be the best solution for these men, as they may want something more permanent and low-maintenance. 

However, if they were simply looking to experiment or go full grey for certain nights and not others, color wax may be a great option for these men too. 

2. Men Who Want A Change

These are men who aren’t greying at all but just want a grey or silver look temporarily. 

This could be for festive and fun reasons, where they want the look for a day or two but no more than that. 

Or, it could be an active style choice or fashion statement where they want to change up their hair from time to time. 

These men are better suited to temporary coloring options where they don’t need to commit to any color in particular and have plenty of freedom to experiment. 

Can You Dye Your Hair From Black To Grey? 

Yes, you can dye black hair grey. Although pre-lightening (bleaching) the hair first would produce a more impressive effect, it isn’t completely necessary. Temporary coloring agents would allow you to dye black hair grey without having to pre-lighten it first. 

Color mixing should never be forgotten when it comes to dyeing hair. It’s no secret that dark hair doesn’t dye as well as blonde hair does. 

If you’re looking for a more permanent grey or silver look, you may want to pre-lighten that black hair first. 

However, doing this yourself can be a bit tricky and you want to make sure you’re doing it right. It’s best to ask a stylist to do it for you, especially the first couple of times you do it. 

If you aren’t looking for anything permanent and just want a nice, temporary, grey coloring effect, products like color wax would be ideal. You wouldn’t need to pre-lighten the hair first. 

Conclusion

Sure, it isn’t rocket science. But you want to make sure you’re using the right product for your specific goals and that you’re using it in the correct way. 

You’ve now learned exactly how to do just that. 

Enjoy.