This $8 Hair Makeup Lets You Test Out Going Gray Before You Fully Commit

If your mind jumps to a dreary, dishwater color when you think of gray hair, it's time to reconsider going gray. Attaining an enviable shade of chic shimmery platinum, smoky gunmetal or stylish silvery blue might be just a bottle of hair dye away!

Whether you're a Gen Z-er who wants to mix up your look by going prematurely silver or you're someone who simply wants to make a seamless transition to gray hair for the first time, there are plenty of options for going silver at home. Just keep in mind that for the ultimate color payoff, many silver dyes require starting with bleached or blonde hair — which means you will likely want to proceed with caution by consulting a professional hair stylist first to ensure you'll be getting the results you're looking for. While it's fairly easy to tint hair gray at home if your hair is already a lighter color, achieving the perfect shade will be more difficult for those with darker tresses (though there are products out there that will work if you have brunette or black hair).

How we test at-home hair color

The Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab regularly tests at-home hair color, both in our Labs and by sending out blinded products to our consumer testing panel. When we test hair dye in the Lab, we dye uniform hair swatches with different dyes and see how well each covers stray grays. Of course, we also want to see how long each dye lasts, so we put them through 20 wash and dry cycles and 10 hours of UVA light exposure. We also have real consumers test out at-home hair color and report back on different factors like ease of use, gray coverage, color richness and uniformity to make sure the color holds up (and that it doesn't damage hair!).

Below, we've compiled the best permanent, semi-permanent and temporary at-home gray and silver hair dyes based on GH Lab testing and online favorites with rave reviews. Before you shop, make sure you know the basics of dyeing hair at home and consider keeping a bottle of purple shampoo on hand to take care of your newly gray hair.

Our top picks

• Best Overall Gray Hair Dye: L'Oréal Paris Superior Preference
• Best Value Gray Hair Dye: Adore Semi-Permanent Haircolor
• Best Permanent Gray Hair Dye: L'Oréal Paris Feria Multi-Faceted Shimmering Permanent Hair Color
• Best Permanent Silver Hair Dye: Ion 7SP-HM Silver Pearl Permanent Creme Hair Color
• Best Natural Gray Hair Dye: Arctic Fox Vegan and Cruelty-Free Semi-Permanent Hair Color Dye
• Best Gray Hair Dye for Dark Hair: Overtone Vibrant Silver Coloring Conditioner
• Best Gray Hair Dye for Light Hair: Got2B Metallic Permanent Hair Color
• Best Semi-Permanent Gray Hair Dye: Manic Panic Dark Star Grey Hair Dye
• Best Temporary Gray Hair Dye: Clairol Color Crave Temporary Hair Color Makeup
• Best Gray Hair Tint: Lime Crime Unicorn Hair Tint
• Best Gradual Gray Hair Dye: Keracolor Clenditioner Color Depositing Conditioner Colorwash