8 Black & Silver Hair Ideas for Monochrome Lovers
High on contrast – and even higher on shine – black and silver hair is the ultimate in statement color combos, while meeting the needs of a whole range of salon clients. From those hoping to blend their first grays, to the bold and brave who crave a head-turning transformation, you can tweak and transition this look to be as fun or functional as your client wants.
Need inspiration? Then look no further. We’ve got eight black and silver hair ideas and formulas to get you started, plus tips on how to maintain metallic tones in between salon visits…
8 Black and Silver Hair Formulas to Try
Black Hair with Silver Blonde Highlights
Image Credit: @byjohnsanchez
This irresistibly icy look features a black base and silver blonde highlights, painted in wider slices through the front and finer pieces at the back. Try it yourself on your dark-haired clients, first using Koleston Perfect 4/82 + 5/18 to achieve the dark base, while BlondorPlex creates the highlights with up to nine levels of lift. Then, once both formulas have been rinsed and neutralized, glaze the ‘lights with Shinefinity. Here, you’re seeing a mix of 010/6 + 09/61; two frosted tones with the glossiest finish.
Black and Silver Gemini Hair
Image Credit: @bethanyschair
Who says the Gemini hair trend has to be bright to be beautiful? You can also work this two-toned look in black and silver for a monochrome statement. Go almost white on the lighter sections, as seen here, or inject extra gray if your client prefers a steely vibe. If you’re ready to recreate the look, try it with Koleston Perfect. 2/0 has the black covered, while BlondorPlex to lighten and 10/16 to tone will create the perfect platinum silver face frame.
Black Hair with Silver Blonde Balayage
Image Credit: @beautykeg
Black and silver hair can look natural if you tweak the tones and placement. Just look at this balayage, which features an almost-black, dark brown root shadow and ash blonde lengths with just a hint of silver. It’s a softer take on the trend that sees only a hint of depth peeking through, while BlondorPlex-ed highlights have been glazed with Shinefinity 06/02 in zone one, and 09/36 + 08/38 in zones two and three. Flawless.
Silver Blonde with Black Facial Hair
Image Credit: @erik.wella
Silver blonde hair and black facial hair are an unbeatable combo, ideal for your naturally dark-haired clients who want to make a major statement. Try it by lightening the full head of hair with BlondorPlex first, then toning with the purest of silver platinums. Some of our favorites include Koleston Perfect 10/86, Illumina Color 10/1 and Color Touch 9/96. You can even add a touch of gold, a la Wella Color Expert Erik Thrane, who said: “Porous hair absorbs color rapidly and it also will have a tendency to grab cool tones quickly. Apply to the least porous areas first to give it a head start and then apply to the porous ends. Also, I add natural or gold to my platinum toners to keep them from going too flat.”
Color Block Black and Silver Hair
Formula Credit: @coloredbyhaleema_valonz
The Wella Color Blocking trend goes monochrome with this silver and black look, featuring chunky slices of metallic tones, placed in eye-catching ribbons through the front of the hair. You’re seeing Koleston Perfect 4/82 + 0/88 + 1.9% on the dark sections and BlondorPlex for the highlights; two formulas that were rinsed and neutralized before Shinefinity 08/98 + 00/00 + 07/81 was applied with the Bottle Activator to create that steely silver. We’re obsessed.
Black and Silver Hair with a Root Shadow
Image Credit: @jadahairandbalayage
An ashy masterpiece; this silver and black mane teams a smokey root smudge with a high volume of ultra-bright babylights through the mid-lengths and ends of hair. If you love it as much as we do, bring the look to life for your clients with Color Touch 4/0 + 5/1 on the root area, and 9/97 + 7/86 + 7/89 + 10/0 to tone the balayage. Then, get a glow on by treating hair to a drop or two of Oil Reflections Luminous Smoothing Oil; the ultimate care-meets-radiance styler.
Silver Lavender and Black Hair
Image Credit: @xcellent_kevin
Give silver hues a lavender edge with a touch of purple in your color formula, as seen in this masterpiece by Wella Passionista Kevin. Over a pre-lightened balayage, he’s mixed Koleston Perfect 0/88, a true blue, with light ash 10/1. The result: multi-tonal, multi-dimensional highlights with a vampy vibe that we can’t get enough of.
Silver Gray Blending on Black Hair
Image Credit: @jackmartincolorist
One of the chicest ways to embrace first grays is with a half head of silvery highlights. Case in point: this shimmering creation, which swapped brassy ends and patchy regrowth for silver ribbons on a jet black base. Perfect for clients who want to give gray blending a go, it’s a look you can recreate using BlondorPlex + 6% to lighten, followed by BlondorPlex Cream Toner in Pale Silver + 1.9% for a metallic finish. It’s quicker to master than you might think, too. BlondorPlex Cream Toner takes just five minutes to develop and offers up to 90% less breakage****, so you can sweep on and glow with the most stunning silver tones.
How to Maintain Black and Silver Hair
As with any cool tone, silver hair requires extra care to stay fresh and flawless. That’s why, after achieving your client’s dream look, you should share these tips for at-home maintenance…
1. Wash with a Purple Shampoo
Purple shampoo isn’t just for true blondes. The violet pigment in INVIGO Blonde Recharge Color Refreshing Shampoo can also help to correct warm tinges in silver locks, so recommend your client adds it to their kit. Whenever they see brassiness start to appear, they should work the shampoo into wet hair, leave it on for around five minutes, then rinse thoroughly. Their highlights will be back to their shimmery best.
2. Keep Hair Glossy and Nourished
When they’re not using a purple shampoo to neutralize yellow tones, your client needs a deeply reparative regimen to keep lightened hair luminous. ULTIMATE REPAIR Shampoo is rich enough to hydrate and care for colored lengths, yet lightweight enough to suit all hair types, from thin and fine to coarse and thick. Follow it with ULTIMATE REPAIR Conditioner for ‘everyday’ care, then introduce the ULTIMATE REPAIR Mask weekly for a mega dose of moisture. The finishing touch? ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue, misted from root to tip. It repairs damage in just 90 seconds*, leaving your client with 12x smoother hair** and 99% less breakage***.
3. Protect Silver Tones from Heat Damage
Exposure to too much heat – whether from straightening locks or basking in the sun – can cause silver tones to shift, resulting in a brassy, frazzled look. So, tell your client to upgrade from their usual heat protectant to a barrier serum that protects against everything. ULTIMATE REPAIR Protective Leave-In shields locks against the five biggest hair concerns: breakage, frizz, mechanical damage, UV rays and heat. Plus, the delicate cream provides instant nourishment. They can use it on damp hair for a flawless blow-dry, or on dry hair to care and protect in one.
4. Soak Hair with Clean Water Before Swimming
Stop silver highlights from turning chlorine green. All your client has to do is soak (and we mean soak) their hair with clean shower water before they hit the pool or go swimming in the sea. Because the hair is like a sponge, once it’s drenched it can’t soak up any other liquid. That means all that chlorine or salty sea water is blocked out by the clean water, leaving locks less vulnerable to damage. Simple.
5. Enhance Shine with a Finishing Spray
Silver hair needs shine – and plenty of it. So, remind your client to add a shine spray to their color care routine, and mist it over strands after drying and styling. EIMI Glam Mist is our go-to for dialing up gloss in seconds, while delivering protection against UV rays. It even defies humidity, so frizz and dullness disappear in a single spritz.
Now you have all the inspiration you need to give your client a black and silver hair look, don’t forget to share your own creations with us. Simply tag us @WellaHairUSA on Instagram. We can’t wait to see your work!
* When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue.
** Vs. non-conditioning shampoo.
*** When using ULTIMATE REPAIR Miracle Hair Rescue. Instrumental test versus non-conditioning shampoo.
**** Instrumental testing measuring combing resistance of BlondorPlex Bleach + BlondorPlex Permanent Cream Toner vs. BlondorPlex Bleach alone.
