Gray to Blonde Extension Blending: The Shades Megan Anton Uses
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Video by Megan Anton, hair extension stylist.
Hair extension stylist Megan Anton has a client with a natural color that is hard to match in extensions. In this video she shows the Destination Hair Extensions shades she found for her and stacks them together at the end.
The Client: Natural Level 7 With Highlights and Gray
The client does not color her hair. She is a natural level 7 with natural highlights and natural gray coming through, almost tri-colored. Megan would not call it salt and pepper; at a glance you might think she is blonde, but there is gray in it.
Why Toning Ashy Wefts Kept Going Green
With the other extension brands Megan used before, she could not find anything ashy enough. That put her on a hamster wheel: toning the wefts ashier and ashier, almost gray, to keep them matching. The client sat for two hours at her move-up appointments while Megan chased the color.
Wefts that naturally fade toward yellow, toned over and over with an ashier color, end up with a strange green cast. Yellow and blue make green. Her client’s extensions would come back still cool, but slightly green.
The Gray Blending Shades: Aspen, Moscow and Vegas
- Aspen: Megan’s all-time favorite. A very cool blonde with a level 8 root and very cool level 8 lowlights.
- Moscow: a true-tone gray, not very dark.
- Vegas: a very light, cool blonde. It has a light seam, so Megan places it in the center of the stack, where the seam is hidden.
The Weft Stack, Bottom to Top
- Aspen
- Moscow
- Vegas, sandwiched in the center for the client’s natural highlights
- Moscow
- Aspen on top
These wefts are 22 inches. None of them were custom colored; they were shampooed and taken straight out of the package. The client has so many tones that one shade could never match her, which is why Megan layers three.
Ordering Only the Wefts You Need
She needed only one Vegas, so she ordered one. Destination Hair Extensions sells by the single weft, so you order exactly what the client’s blend calls for instead of a pack of extras.
How to Blend Gray and Blonde With Extensions
- Stop chasing ash with toner on wefts that want to turn yellow. Start with shades that are already cool or gray.
- Use a true gray shade to carry the gray, and a very cool rooted blonde to match the base.
- Sandwich a light blonde in the center to recreate natural highlights and hide its seam.
- Finish with the closest base match on top, where the client’s own hair falls.
For another shade breakdown, see Megan’s color ring match with London, Berlin and Manhattan, or how the color held up after 9 weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What extension shades blend gray and blonde hair?
Megan Anton uses Aspen, a very cool rooted blonde, Moscow, a true-tone gray, and Vegas, a very light cool blonde.
Why do toned ashy extensions turn green?
Wefts that fade toward yellow, toned again and again with an ashier color, pick up a green cast, because yellow and blue make green.
How did Megan stack the wefts?
Aspen, Moscow, Vegas in the center, Moscow, then Aspen on top.
Did she custom color the gray wefts?
No. They were only shampooed and taken out of the package.
