Gray coverage formula

Gray coverage formula: level 6 at 30 percent gray

A natural dark blonde whose first white came in at the front: the half-natural bowl that covers it at her own level, the push-back at the hairline that decides the rinse, and the blending route if she would rather skip the line.

Published 2026-09-23. Written by the Easy Hair Edit team and checked against the rules the rest of the site follows.

Before and after: about 30 percent white regrowth in dark blonde hair, then the white covered, one even level 6 — Left: about 30 percent white regrowth in dark blonde hair, before. Right: her own dark blonde at level 6, the white at the front covered, a shade warmer than the hair it grew from, after permanent cream on 20 vol, 35 minutes on one timer from the last section. Illustration, not a photograph.

The formula

In the chair: 55 to 65 min Easy Lasts Permanent; the white shows at the front by week 3, retouch monthly

Product: Permanent cream, 6N (natural) and 6.13 (beige, a 6NB on letter lines) in equal parts; all 6N, or a 6NN where the line has one, if the front proves stubborn
Developer: 20 vol (6%)
Ratio: 1:1
Amount: 30 g 6N + 30 g 6.13 + 60 g developer for shoulder-length hair, about an ounce of each shade and two of developer
Processing: 35 minutes on one timer from the last section, the front pushed back and read at 30 and 35, up to 45 for stubborn white
Result: Her own dark blonde at level 6, the white at the front covered, a shade warmer than the hair it grew from

Steps

Look at the front, the part and the hairline on clean dry hair and estimate by eye. About a third white at the front and far less behind it is this page. Ask whether the hair has ever been colored, and whether she wants the white gone or only quieter, because quieter is a demi and a different visit.
Patch test 48 hours ahead, a dab behind the ear or in the crease of the elbow, every time the product changes. If barrier cream goes on, it stays well back from the baby hairs at the hairline.
Weigh 30 g of 6N and 30 g of 6.13 into 60 g of 20 vol, equal parts, in a plastic bowl, whisked until it is one color. Lid straight back on the developer. Mix only what goes on in the next 15 minutes.
Dry hair in four sections. Begin at the hairline and the part where the white is, half-inch sections, cream on top of each strand and underneath it, the whole length of the white strands on this first visit, then work back and finish at the nape.
Start the timer when the last section is on. Whatever is left in the bowl goes back onto the hairline. Cap on, no dryer, no heat.
At 30 push the cream off a piece of the hairline with the tail of a comb. Covered, and it rinses. Translucent or warmer than the hair beside it, and it goes to 35, then 40, then 45 at the most.
Water first until it runs clear, then shampoo, condition, and dry a piece before either of you judges the tone, since wet hair reads a level darker than it is.

From the chair

The push-back at the front is for one thing only, whether the white still shows through. Tone is judged after the rinse on dry hair, because anything under wet cream reads darker than it will.
A little 6.1 beside the 6N is fine if she wants it less warm. Ash with no natural under it is what goes dingy and greenish on white, and ash reads darker, so say that before it goes on.
Fine hair at the front is usually covered by 35. Coarse white at the hairline earns the extra ten minutes, and the leftover from the bowl goes back on it while it waits.

What goes on this head

Permanent 6N and 6.13 (a 6NB beige on letter lines) in equal parts, mixed 1:1 with 20 vol (6%), on dry hair from the hairline back, 35 minutes, and up to 45 if the white at the front still reads translucent when the cream is pushed off it. Half the bowl as natural is the safe start at 30 percent white, and one brand chart would run the beige alone at that share. She rinses her own dark blonde, level 6, with the white gone into it.

A natural dark blonde, never colored, the white in at the hairline and along the part, about a third of what shows there and far less behind. She wants her own color with the white gone, and to know whether that means a salon chair every three weeks.

Two routes fit this head, and she asked for the covering one.

Half 6N in the bowl, half beige

A white hair has no pigment to lift and none to lean on, so covering it means building a dark blonde from nothing. The dark blonde she is staying at has 6N as its most used coverage shade, and the other half of the bowl is 6.13, the beige, a 6NB on letter lines. At 30 percent white the share table in grams puts half the bowl as natural, and one big professional line would use the beige alone at that share. Start at half because a see-through front at the second shampoo is the complaint that brings people back, and ash alone on white goes dingy and greenish. Twenty vol, six percent, the strength that gets into a white hair, equal parts, about an ounce of each shade and two of developer. Some colorists read 20 vol as a level of lift and drop to a 5N; most read it as deposit at her own level.

Start at the hairline, where the white lives

Dry hair, four sections, the brush to the front first, the hairline and the part, because the mirror shows her that hair first and it is the slowest on the head to take color. Half-inch sections, cream on top of each strand and underneath it, since a thin swipe leaves a white hair white. This first time the white strands are white their whole length, so the bowl goes root to end on them, then back, nape last.

Barrier cream at the hairline Too close to the hairline it leaves a line of white at the front after the rinse, so it stays well back from the baby hairs, and on a stubborn front it can be skipped, wiping the skin instead.

Why does the white at the hairline still show after coloring?

Usually because it got the least time or the least product. The hairline holds the thickest white and the most stubborn hair, so it needs the bowl first, half-inch sections, and cream on both sides of the strand. Barrier cream too close blocks the baby hairs, big sections miss strands, and the box time is written for pigmented hair, so the front needs 35 to 45 minutes and a look before the rinse.

How long do you leave permanent color on gray roots?

Thirty-five minutes, and up to 45 if the front still shows white when the cream is pushed back. Boxes often print 20, the lines that cover well say 30 to 40 and add ten for stubborn white, and the tube sets the ceiling. The timer starts once the whole head is on and is only a reminder to look, with the same minutes adjusted for her texture on the tool.

Minute	The front, pushed back	What to do
0	Whole head on, leftover on the hairline	Timer, cap, no heat
20	Box number, white not taken yet	Leave it
30	Covered, or translucent and warmer than its neighbors	Covered rinses, translucent waits five
35	Fine and medium hair usually covered	Rinse, judge the tone dry
40	Coarse white can still read sheer	Five more, leftover on it
45	The ceiling on most lines	Rinse, 6NN next time

Does 10 volume developer cover gray hair?

No, it blends it. The color sits nearer the surface of a white hair and softens it into the rest, so she still has white hair, quieter. At 30 percent that is a real route, taken for the lower upkeep. A demi 6N or 6NB type on 10 vol, dry hair, 20 minutes, no heat, grows out with no line over 8 to 10 weeks, as do fine foils and babylights at the hairline that copy the white coming in. The demi blend written out at a level 7 and fine foils on a dark blonde are those pages.

Three weeks to the line, then roots only

The white is back at the front two to three weeks after a solid permanent, and that line is the price of this route. Book monthly. The retouch goes on the regrowth alone, hairline first again, nothing overlapped onto the lengths, which build up under permanent over permanent. The lengths take a demi at the same level on 10 vol for the last few minutes, or the leftover thinned with water two to one and combed through for five.

Asked before the first coverage

Why did my roots come out warm and reddish after covering gray?

Because coverage on white hair is built from warmth. A white strand has no pigment of its own, so the color has to build a dark blonde from nothing, and the natural series carries the red and gold for it, which is why a covered root reads warmer than the hair it grew from. Less warm is a little ash beside the natural, or a demi ash over the top next visit. Alternating natural and ash visit by visit is another route, accepting a little white for the cooler root.

Should I use 30 volume so the white takes better?

No. Thirty vol spends itself lifting the pigmented hair a level or two while the white, which has nothing to lift, comes out sheerer, and nothing over 20 vol belongs on a scalp. The white takes better with time and product: thin sections, cream on both sides of the strand, the hairline first, and ten more minutes at the front before the rinse. For stubborn white, a 6NN or a bowl of all 6N does more than a stronger bottle.

How soon do I have to do the roots again?

On a solid permanent shade the white shows at the front in two to three weeks, and most people book monthly. The retouch is the same mix on the new growth alone, hairline first, 20 vol, with nothing overlapped onto the lengths. The lengths get a demi at the same level on 10 vol for the last few minutes, or the leftover thinned with water and combed through for five, so they stay even without going darker every visit.