Use a Balayage Hair Technique to Amp Up Your Color

1. You'll Save So Much Time And Money

Coloring your grays can turn into a lifetime commitment of keeping up with the color. You’ll save time and so much money by not going to the salon every other month — and eventually every month — by letting your hair go gray. It’s freeing!

2. You'll Feel More Natural

In an interview, Macdowell said she felt "more real and honest" going gray. Gray hair is just a natural part of aging and can look stunning when cared for with regular cuts and gentle styling, giving you a unique look that actually makes a positive statement.

3. You'll Look More Confident

Embracing your gray hair can boost your confidence, showing the world that you're comfortable in your own skin.

4. You'll Reduce Your Exposure To Chemicals

According to the American Cancer Society and a study by Harvard Medical School, there is a possible link between hair dye use and cancer, especially skin and breast cancer. Avoiding hair dyes means less exposure to potentially harmful chemicals, which can be better for your overall health.

5. You'll Enjoy Healthier Hair

Frequent dyeing can cause damage to your hair. Embracing gray hair allows your tresses to stay healthy and strong.

6. You'll Be A Positive Role Model

By embracing your gray hair, you can be a positive role model for other women and girls, encouraging them to normalize the aging process and be grateful for it.

7. You'll Embrace Change

New chapter in your life? Going gray can signify a new milestone and embracing change. Here's B+C editor Haley Sprankle (right) with her mom, whom she convinced to go fully silver. "She looks so cool with silver hair," says Haley. I couldn't agree more!

Root Dye Kits

Want to skip the salon for up to three weeks? Try these root touch-up kits for a hair refresh.

dP hue Root Touch-Up Kit

To permanently cover grays, this Leaping Bunny-certified at-home root touch-up kit will cover up to 1 inch of root growth and comes in six shades. It's paraben- and sulfate-free too. Get two-applications in one box for those in-between times.

Madison Reed Root Perfection Permanent Root Touch Up

Another Leaping Bunny-certified dye kit that gets results is Madison Reed's ammonia-free permanent root touch up. It takes just 10 minutes to cover gray with no harsh ingredients like pthalates or parabens, and should hold for three weeks until your next appt.

Clairol Root Touch-Up by Natural Instincts Permanent Hair Dye

This drugstore option is affordable and ammonia-free, with a large palette of hair colors. Permanently cover grey roots in just 20 minutes!

Root Concealers

For when you have a salon visit coming up, these one-day concealers are perfect for a quick touch-up.

Color Wow Root Cover Up

This root cover up works great at covering grey and dark roots, adding highlights in between salon visits, and filling in thinning hairlines. Perfect for those last-minute touch ups, Color Wow is water-resistant and sweat-resistant and will last until your next wash.

Tarte Big Ego Dab & Go Hair Concealer

Look totally natural with this waterproof cream-to-powder hair concealer in a mess-free container. This vegan product is perfect for touching up roots and filling in thin spots on the go. Just toss in your bag!

Bumble & Bumble Color Stick Root Coverup

Refresh your roots with these hair color sticks from a cruelty-free brand. Apply like lipstick, and blend! It will wash out with your next shampoo.

R+Co BRIGHT SHADOWS Root Touch-Up Spray

This touch-up spray covers your roots until your next shampoo sesh and between salon visits. Paraben, sulfate-free, and vegan, the product also moisturizes and helps thicken hair with pearl extract and biotin.

Rita Hazan Root Concealer Spray

This award-winning concealer spray is water-proof, ammonia-free, and covers grays exactly where you need it.

Clairol Root Touch-Up Temporary Concealing Powder

Great for touching up roots and brows, this affordable concealer powder is perfect for keeping in your tote or car.

L'Oreal Paris Magic Root Hair Color Concealer Brush

Twist and brush on your root color with this brush applicator that dries quickly. It's great for hair that is less than 25 percent gray, and it's also ammonia-free, peroxide free with no harsh or synthetic dyes.

Preventive Serums

Want to prevent more gray hair growth? Try these daily serums.

Vegamour Gro Ageless Anti-Grey Hair Serum

For those with 30 percent or fewer grays, this serum helps reduce the appearance of grays on new hair growth. Made with clean, vegan ingredients, Vegamour Gro was a 2023 NewBeauty Award Winner.

Arey To The Root Serum

Made with clean ingredients and cruelty-free, To The Root also helps slow and re-pigment grey hair while making your hair look thicker and more voluminous.

When's the best time to do holiday shopping?

The best time to do holiday shopping really all depends on your personal shopping goals. Do you want to get a jump on items you know will sell out soon? Do you want to save the most money possible? Do you want to focus on handmade, personalized gifts? These factors will undoubtedly influence your holiday shopping schedule.

Shopping early can be advantageous for all of the aforementioned goals. A lot of retailers start promoting their holiday products early on, giving you ample time to snatch up that limited-time lip kit or fancy water bottle you’ve been eyeing way before the holidays.

Plus, some of the best deals for holiday shopping happen ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday – in 2023, Experian observed a surge in early spending in October, thanks to early discounts, a trend likely to continue in 2024.

Finally, shopping early can be especially helpful if your plan is to focus on handmade or personalized gifts, giving the artisan you buy from (or yourself, if you’re DIY-ing your gifts) plenty of time to craft the item with love and care.

Gallup reported in 2023 that one in four shoppers start shopping as early as September, a trend likely to continue in 2024 – so you might already be embarking on your shopping spree!

If right now is just still too darn early for you to start holiday shopping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are some of the best times to shop since so many retailers offer their largest discounts of the entire year. Plus, the late November-early December timeline can feel a bit more appropriate for the gifting season opposed to late October-early November, when everyone’s still recovering from Halloween.

The only thing to consider during this time is the shipping timelines for the items you purchase – but most retailers will typically advise their specific shipping schedules, so you don’t risk your goodies arriving late.

Where should I shop for gifts?

You have three main options when it comes to where to shop for holiday gifts: online, in-store, and via our amazing gift guides. Of course, each method has its advantages and disadvantages.

Shopping in-store offers a tangible experience: the opportunity to hold specific items in your hands and gauge exactly what they’ll be like when you give them as a gift. The pitfall with shopping in-person is that it typically requires a commute and journeys through potentially very busy malls and shopping strips, which can add to the already-stressful holiday experience.

In-store shopping can be more physically exhausting, but it’s all about preference! Sometimes strolling through the stores that get all dolled up for Christmas is the best part of the season.

Per Google, 65% of those planning to shop for the holidays say they will shop online more. Shopping for gifts online can be super helpful since you can centralize your findings in your browser’s bookmark tab or via virtual cart(s). Plus, shopping online can pose more opportunities for saving some money: lots of retailers typically offer discount codes for online users, especially if you sign up for their digital marketing channels (like email and text) and make a purchase.

Shopping online isn’t just shopping, either. The internet can be a stellar research tool to help you vet whether certain products are worth it, where they can be bought, and when they’ll be available. In fact, Google reported that more than half of U.S. holiday shoppers who went into a store last year say they looked up product reviews online and/or located an item in-store by checking it online.

Last but not least, scrolling gift guides has to be our favorite place to shop for gifts – and not just because we write and publish them.

At their very core, gift guides help streamline the holiday shopping process, alleviating the stress that bubbles up when you’re wondering what the heck to shop for in the first place. Our gift guides are backed by real people, real experiences, and real opinions from our editorial team. We only promote products that we really love and believe in, oftentimes ones we’ve tested and reviewed ourselves.

We have gift guides for just about everyone on your list, with more on the way! Check ‘em out:

• Gifts for Him
• Gifts for Her
• Gifts for Foodies
• DIY + Handmade Gifts
• White Elephant Gifts
• Gift Sets

What are the best kinds of gifts to give?

The best kinds of gifts to give are thoughtful gifts that consider the giftee’s interests, wants, and needs. These gifts can be sentimental, practical, or both simultaneously. What matters most in a gift is that it’ll be meaningful to them past just the holiday season, whether it’s helping them get through daily tasks, reminding them of a memorable trip or event, or giving them small doses of joy.

“Shoppers are increasingly looking for personalized and unique gifts that reflect the recipient's personality and interests,” says Mia Anderson, Owner of ChicSew. “With the rise of online shopping, many consumers are opting for curated gift boxes or experiences that add a special touch.”

Gift boxes, personalized items, books of interest, self-care goodies, and even gift cards can all be thoughtful gifts depending on the recipient. If you have no clue what your giftee is into, it’s not a bad idea to ask them what they want the most!

“My idea of a great gift is something that is in tandem with the recipient's interest and offers something new to the person, be it learning a new skill, enjoying a calming activity, or simply spending quality time with the family,” says Alfred Christ, Sales Manager & Marketer at Robotime. “This season, we encourage shoppers to shift their focus on quality and the memories their gifts will create and not just merely material aspects.”

When is Black Friday?

Black Friday is always the Friday after Thanksgiving. This year, Black Friday lands on November 29.

When is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is typcally the Monday after Thanksgiving. This year, Cyber Monday will land on December 2. Oftentimes, retailers and brands extend their online offers through the week (coined Cyber Week) after the event. Salesforce reported that 67% of shoppers in 2024 plan on shopping during Cyber Week!