Is there a natural way to whiten gray hair?

If your gray hair is looking dull, it could be from a number of reasons. Cigarette smoke, chemicals in your water, or a product build up on the hair.

Some solutions:

• A shower head filter that twists on between the pipe and shower head. Typically they're about $30, and have replaceable carbon cartridges that need to be replaced monthly.

• A weekly clarifying and chelating product, such as ENJOY's Clarifying Spray. This type of product removes mineral deposits, chlorine and other impurities in the hair, as well as product build up that can dull the hair.

If you're considering one of those purple shampoos to whiten your hair, such as Shimmer Lights, be very careful that you don't over do it. The theory is this: purple is opposite yellow on the color wheel, and will neutralize the yellow tone. However, I've seen so many people get carried away with this and end up with purplish colored hair. A gentler solution might be to try a salon grade shampoo for platinum hair, such as Goldwell's platinum shampoo and conditioner. It's a milder version of Shimmer Lights and less likely to make your gray hair look purple.

If your hair is heavy salt and pepper with lots of dark tones, and you want it to look more silver, you might also try having highlights put onto the dark hair. This typically has to be done with bleach, and the hair must be lightened to almost the white stage. Keep in mind, with a process like this, you might run the risk of breakage if the hair is over bleached. Maintain it at home with the platinum products mentioned above.