Home Remedies for Yellowing Gray Hair

Pure gray hair is beautiful but if it has taken on a tinge of yellow, it loses it's natural brilliance and beauty, and you might be tempted to color it just to get rid of the yellow tones. There are some natural things that you can try, which just might do the trick and get the yellow out, bringing back that beautiful silvery gray.

What causes yellowing?

• There are many possible reasons why your hair might be getting a yellow tinge. The two most common causes are smoking (or being in a smoking environment) and medications or vitamin usage. Vitamins that are rich in beta carotene can cause yellowing of gray or white hair. You should talk with your care provider to see if any of the medications you might be taking could be causing the yellowing effect.

  Other causes could be a buildup of hair products, hard water and chlorine.

Simple solutions

• The simplest solutions to try first are to avoid cigarette smoke and other pollutants in the air around you. Limit use of your hair products, such as gels and sprays. Use a clarifying shampoo once a week, even if you don't use hair products. Clarifying shampoo removes all types of build up in your hair and balances the pH.

  After shampooing your hair, rinse with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and let sit for a few seconds before rinsing with cool water. The acid may be just enough to make the yellow decide to leave.

Also try these solutions

• If the solutions given don't seem to have had much effect, try soaking your hair in buttermilk, which contains lactic acid. Many people have had success with this method. You can also purchase shampoo with a blue/ash or silver tone in it; the bluish tone neutralizes the yellow. As long as you don't use it too frequently, the blue won't build up and give you a blue tone to replace the yellow ones.