after Photo courtesy of Kaine Vakai (@kainevakaihair)
Gray Coverage

Soft Natural Gray Blend

July 10, 2026

A seamless gray blend starts with preserving the depth you’ll need later. For this eight-hour gray blending correction, Redken Artist, global educator and gray transformation specialist Kaine Vakai (@kainevakaihair) removed years of artificial color and banding while intentionally maintaining the natural depth needed to recreate the client’s gray pattern. Once the lightening was complete, Kaine rebuilt dimension with lowlights, brightened the face frame and finished with targeted glosses to refine the tone and recreate the client’s natural gray distribution. Move the slider to see the transformation, then follow the application steps below. Formulas Formula A (foils)Redken Flash Lift Bonder Inside (more…)

Steps

1. Apply Formula A using back-to-back platinum cards to remove years of artificial color and banding while preserving natural depth throughout the hair. Process until the hair reaches a pale yellow, then rinse. "I'm not trying to completely remove every single bit of yellow here," Kaine says. "I know that I'm going to be doing this a little later."

2. Apply Formula B as a global toner. Process for 20 minutes, then rinse and dry the hair completely to create a clean canvas.

3. Apply Formula C as lowlights, matching the client's existing gray distribution to rebuild natural dimension and contrast throughout the hair. "If I see 30 percent through an area, I'm putting 30 percent back in there," Kaine says.

lowlights Photo Credit Instagram via @kainevakaihair
Photo Credit: Instagram via @kainevakaihair

4. Brighten the face frame by applying Formula D through the root area only. Then, gloss the back with Formula E and the face frame with Formula F. Finish with Formula G as a global gloss. Process for 20 minutes, then rinse and style as desired.

gloss 2 Photo Credit Instagram via @kainevakaihair
Photo Credit: Instagram via @kainevakaihair

Press play to watch his full process:

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