De-yellow gray hair?

[got2pals]

My husband has salt and pepper hair. More salt in some places. It's kind of short and has those wonderful waves we all occasionally secretly resent men for having. We swim in a pool and he gets sun working outside, wears a hat etc. His white hairs pick up a yellow cast. I got him some Pantene "silver to snow" shampoo a few years ago (purple) which sort of worked, but it made his scalp itch (chronic problem) and it did seem to leave a weird, almost sticky coating. He usually uses dandruff shampoo.
I know there are a few other silver hair shampoos -- can anybody recommend one that is gentle? What about homemade potions?
I've thought about the aspirin in water like for green "pool hair" but I don't know from whence the yellow comes, so I'm not sure how to get rid of it.

Any hints? Homemade, store-bought or otherwise?

[linda g]

I've used Clairol Shimmer Lights, but it does have a strong smell that your husband might not appreciate.

Another method is to use Mrs Stewarts bluing (you can find this at a grocery store or Wal-Mart):
http://www.mrsstewart.com/pages/otheruses.htm#anchorhair

There is no smell, and it counteracts yellow nicely.

[kwaniesiam]

Mix a little Manic Panic Virgin Snow toner in to a gentle shampoo that doesn't bother his scalp. That'll basically make you a toner shampoo. It's a very light violet, I used it as a toner when I had white hair to get rid of the yellow tones after bleaching.

[got2pals]

Mix a little Manic Panic Virgin Snow toner in to a gentle shampoo that doesn't bother his scalp. That'll basically make you a toner shampoo. It's a very light violet, I used it as a toner when I had white hair to get rid of the yellow tones after bleaching.
Wow, that sounds like a great idea -- so long as it doesn't mess with the dark brown hairs. Thanks for that input.

[kwaniesiam]

You're welcome. It won't do anything at all to the dark hairs.

[Elenna]

Somewhere I read that the sunshine causes a chemical reaction in the hair which can result in the yellow cast. Or it may be the water. Or it may be the shampoo, etc.

Since your dh's hair is short, he might want to consider a citric acid rinse (found online at Mt. Rose Herbs) for keeping white and silver hair pristine, but it is drying.

Maybe white vinegar (after a normal shampoo) and/or an anti-residue shampoo (every couple of weeks) would help keep his silvers yellow free. These are what I use on my silvers.

Some people do the Malibu Treatment for discolored hair, but I am not sure how this works.

A bluing shampoo like Clairol Shimmer Lights (found online on Amazon) could help. But if he has an allergy to commercial shampoo then some detective work is required to find which ingredient(s) causes the reaction. I like the Aubrey Organics line of shampoos and conditioners.

[luckyduck]

If he is using T-Gel, that could be the culprit.

[Delila]

Isn't the yellowing a sign that there's something in/on the hair changing the color? (mineral buildup? )

If that's so, wouldn't it be better to remove the yellow, not just cover it up with a toner?

[got2pals]

I'm thinking it's the sweat (eww) and the sun and wearing hats, but probably also in the water. Even though I put a filter on our shower. I'm a bit of a chemistry fan, so I know that some sort of complexing agent that grabs on to minerals and locks them up might do the trick. The citric acid might do the trick. Vinegar too. But I don't rule out the dandruff shampoos -- Selsun and generic Selsun with all the chemicals. I'd use EDTA to get rid of stuff in other solutions, but maybe not my DH's scalp!
We'll try to rinse them away, or maybe see about covering them up.

You've all got me thinking -- a little more research is in order. Thanks!

[got2pals]

Hello anyone who followed this thread! Citric acid seems to work. I had him use some "Fruit Fresh" I had from canning tomatoes last summer. Maybe it needs to stay on a little longer, but his white hairs looked cleaner and fresher already. I think it works better than vinegar. Thanks for all the advice.
PS, I used about 1/2 teaspoon in 2 cups of water.

[linda g]

Glad you found a simple solution!