How to ask for it so you get what you pictured
Bring images, but bring them honestly: pictures of hair with a similar base depth to yours and a similar amount of grey, not a platinum transformation on someone who was naturally light. Say the words "I want to blend my grey, not cover it" early, and say how often you are realistically willing to come in. A good colourist will plan backwards from that number.
Ask two specific questions in the consultation. First, what will this look like at week ten, not week one — if the answer is vague, the plan may be too dependent on frequent maintenance. Second, how reversible is it, because some people try blending, miss the solidity of full colour, and want to know the route back. Expect it to take more than one appointment if you are starting from years of permanent colour; the old pigment on the ends has to be worked with rather than wished away.
Keeping it looking deliberate between appointments
Grey and silver strands have a different texture to pigmented hair — often coarser, often drier, and more prone to picking up dullness from hard water, heat and styling product. A weekly conditioning treatment and a lower heat setting on the dryer do more for the finished look than any clever colour trick. Brassiness and yellowing are the other common complaint; a toning shampoo used sparingly, perhaps once a week rather than every wash, keeps the silver clean without tipping it lilac.
