Why more people are going gray (on purpose)

• Even some younger women are seeking out the look.

By the numbers: Yelp searches for salons offering gray blending — a coloring technique that uses highlights to incorporate gray strands — jumped 905% in 2025 from a year earlier.

• Inquiries for gray hair specialists rose 276%.

The big picture: Blending is typically lower maintenance than fully covering gray hair, which can require salon appointments every three to four weeks.

• Blending can stretch that time between visits by a month or two, according to Cynthia Valdez, owner and hairstylist at an Austin, Texas, salon.
• The technique has grown so popular that Valdez recently had to start limiting appointments to make room for haircuts and other services.

What they're saying: Many people now want to "showcase" their grays, Valdez tells Axios, "rather than always being obsessed about covering it, or being insecure about showing it."

• That's a big change. "It used to be like, 'Oh, you got one gray. Let's cover it right away so nobody can see it.'"

Zoom in: Many of her clients are millennials and Gen Z with "just a little bit" of gray. For them, Valdez says she adds highlights to enhance or brighten the grays that frame their face.

Zoom out: Gray blending fits into a broader "high maintenance to be low maintenance" movement (think: laser facial treatments), where consumers spend more upfront for "long-term simplicity," Yelp trend expert Tara Lewis says.

• People "are not only looking to simplify their beauty routines over time, but also embracing natural looks."

Reality check: While blending may be on the rise, it's not for everyone.

• Some clients still prefer regular root touch-ups, Valdez says.