Get the Look: Gunmetal Grey by Keri Owsiak

One of the most prominent trends of 2015 so far is intentionally grey hair. From silver to steel, grey hair color is the perfect color for clients wishing for a little more edge. Colorist Keri Owsiak recently helped transform her guest from faded, grown-out lavender to a gorgeous, gunmetal grey. Below, she shares tips on recreating the look.

Get the Look:
1. "When I started, [the client] had almost 2 inches of her natural regrowth, a light level 7, and faded out lavender PRAVANA," says Owsiak. "I started our three-step process by lifting out the lavender that was remaining with Olaplex and Wella Blondor at 20vol. I painted the lightener on, taking diagonal sections. I used my hand as my board - actual balayage boards are too messy and time consuming.
Before

2. "The lavender lifted out quickly, and I left the lightener on about 10 minutes after that until I reached a very pale yellow. I shampooed and conditioned using Wella Enrich, and blow-dried in Aquage Silkening Oil Treatment.

3. "My next step was painting down our base. I used Wella Illumina 5/81 with 10vol. I took diagonal sections, about 1/2-inch thick, and painted down randomly, working from nape to crown and temple to part-line. I over directed my sections off of their natural fall to aid in blending. I let process for 30 minutes, then washed and dried. During the shampoo, I let the color 'suds down,' or, in other words, cool the tone of the ends. The pearl base of /81 is pretty intense.

4. "Our final step was our PRAVANA. I mixed 6oz of Silver to 1/4 oz of Blissful Blue. I worked the color up, overlapping the base. After 30 minutes, I washed and dried, and finished with PRAVANA Color Protect spray. Fin!"

  [Images courtesy of Keri Owsiak via Facebook]