My Grey Hair Reversal Story by Arey Trichologist Jay Small

December 16, 2024 BY JAY SMALL, TRICHOLOGIST, HAIRSTYLIST AND CO-FOUNDER OF AREY

When you co-create a haircare brand focused on grey hair reversal, people often think you’re anti-grey hair. But nothing could be further from the truth. Honestly, I felt some silver made people take me more seriously. Like many of my male clients I was happy with a little salt. I just didn’t want to be too salty too soon.

Shop: Arey collection for fewer greys and thicker, fuller hair.

The Story Behind My Grey Hair Reversal

The real story behind my grey hair journey, and Arey as a brand, is how I learned the real meaning of going grey. Grey hair isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s a message from your body. When I started paying attention to my grey hair, I realized I wanted to work with my body holistically to help slow, delay, and reverse my grey hair.

My Arey co-founder Allison Conrad and I had a shared goal – to create a haircare line that we wanted to use ourselves. We wanted a clinically proven treatment to slow, delay and reverse our greys. The result – The System. We’re really proud of what we’ve created together.

I’m Jay Small, a Trichologist (hair and scalp health expert) and product creator, and this is my grey hair reversal story.

No, Grey Hair Isn't Something You Just Inherit

Like a lot of people, I saw my first grey hair around age 27. That was when clients were starting to notice and comment. It really didn’t bother me as I’ve always looked young for my age and I felt like the greys gave me some gravitas. I was comfortable with up to 15% grey in my hair and beard, but I wanted it to slow down at that point. I felt too young to embrace full silver fox status, and I wanted to have more control over going grey.

Allison and I were shocked to discover that only 30% of the reason you go grey is heredity. The other 70% is down to the aging process, your lifestyle and environmental impact.¹ That means that you have a lot more control over the greying process than scientists once believed.

These four major lifestyle factors are scientifically proven to turn your hair grey:

✅ Smoking: a proven way to weaken your hair and reduce the ability of your cells to produce pigment (color).²

✅ Sun damage: UV rays from the sun cause oxidative stress which damages your pigment-producing cells.

✅ Diet: a diet lacking in vitamins B12, D3, copper, calcium, and iron³ can turn your hair grey faster.^4,5

So much haircare is reactive – that’s to say responding to a problem you already have. At Arey, we create proactive haircare designed to address problems that may occur in the future. Because healthy hair is not just about what you see now, it's about what you're going to see in a month from now.

Step 1 – How My Grey Hair Reversal Started From the Inside-Out

I have to admit to partaking in certain vices, and my diet left a lot to be desired –yes, I’m talking cold pizza for breakfast. And my lifestyle was showing up in my hair color and health. As a Trichologist I know that healthy hair starts from the inside-out, so we launched Arey haircare with a nutritional supplement Not Today, Grey. Taking Not Today, Grey was my first proactive step towards reversing my grey hair naturally.

Many research studies show dietary deficiencies and grey hair go hand in hand. Turns out most of us are not getting all the vitamins and minerals we need for healthy hair. For example, vitamin D is a vital hair health vitamin that also affects grey hair growth,⁶ but a shocking 1 billion people worldwide have vitamin D deficiency. In the United States approximately 35% of adults suffer from low levels of vitamin D.⁷

I am on the road a lot for Arey and it isn’t always easy to eat right. I have finally managed to give up smoking. But, even if I was being my best self, there’s no way I could eat the food equivalent to the nutrients in Not Today, Grey every day!

Before Not Today, Grey, I'm embarrassed to admit I was no good at taking supplements or being proactive about my health. I never took a multivitamin. I wasn't into any of that. But my first grey hairs got my attention. I could literally see my body telling me, hey, you are aging. So Not Today, Grey is the very first supplement I've ever taken consistently. It feels good to be in the driver’s seat of my greying journey.

Step 2 – How I Reversed My Grey Hair and Beard From the Outside-In

After developing Not Today, Grey to nourish your hair from the inside-out, we developed To The Root™ – a topical serum to deliver nutrients from the outside-in. I wanted something clean and oil-free that I could use every day on my hair and beard without breaking out.

To The Root™ is our lightweight companion to our nutritional supplement Not Today, Grey. I use To The Root™ serum twice daily on my head and facial hair. To The Root™ delivers multiple hair health-boosting ingredients (Arey’s patented Mela-9® Complex) to my hair roots to boost growth and pigmentation.

Step 3 – Slowing and Delaying Future Grey Hair

With Arey I achieved my goal of creating a haircare system that is easy, clean and gives me control over my greying process. It feels good to be proactive about preventing and slowing my grey hair growth. Plus, I like knowing that my haircare routine is actively improving my hair and scalp health.

The core of the Arey haircare system is our Mela-9® Complex. Mela-9® is a science-backed powerhouse of ingredients designed to soothe, nourish, and improve your hair and scalp health. We include Mela-9® in all Arey products that have direct contact with your scalp. That's so the ingredients can be absorbed right where you need them – your hair roots and scalp skin.

Here’s how I use Arey products that contain the Mela-9® Complex:

✅ Scrub – I use Scrub once a week to gently cleanse away buildup (dead skin and oils) from my scalp. I massage it gently into my scalp to help the Mela-9® absorb into my skin.

✅ Wash – I use Wash gentle cleansing shampoo every other day to freshen my locks and nourish my scalp with Mela-9®.

✅ Wait A Sec® – I use our clean, powder-based dry shampoo to add texture and refresh my hair between washes. Wait A Sec® contains dehydrated Mela-9® Complex to slow and repigment grey hair while absorbing excess oils.

When I started in haircare over 20 years ago, it was the fashion to layer on multiple products. The result – a lot of product buildup on your scalp and hair that can leave you with limp locks and an itchy scalp. My goal for Arey is a clean and simple haircare system that I am proud of and that delivers results for me and others.

Thinking About Coloring Your Hair or Beard?

I choose not to cover my grey hair with color, but a lot of my clients use hair dye on their hair and beard. It can be an effective temporary solution if it is done well – ideally with a professional stylist for the safest application. But, even if you’re coloring your hair you’ll still benefit from Not Today, Grey’s nutritional boost. In fact, as you see less new grey hair growth, you may need to get your color done less often.

If you are regularly using chemical hair dye, you could be irritating your sensitive scalp skin. Since healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp, any redness or itching is a definite red flag. You might want to try Calm It Down™, a scalp-soothing, non-greasy serum that calms scalp irritation from chemical treatments and hair dye.

Even though I don’t color my hair, sometimes my scalp gets irritated from sun exposure, hard water or chlorine. I like to massage a few pipettes of Calm It Down™ into my scalp to rebalance and soothe the skin. Bonus – Calm It Down™ also delivers Mela-9® to my hair roots to boost pigment production and reverse grey hair.

Arey, Science-Backed Grey Hair Solutions

Everyone's grey hair journey is different. So whether you are embracing your silver or you want to slow, delay or reverse grey hair, it's important to use products designed for grey hair.

We want you to have you best hair at all life stages so we know that it pays off to be proactive about aging and greying hair. That's why we offer 15% off all auto replenish orders so it's easier for you to achieve your hair health goals.

We are Arey.

Have questions? Check out our FAQ page or say hey@areygrey.com.

Jay Small with customer

AuthorJay SmallJay Small is a sought-after hair stylist and Trichologist in Los Angeles with over 22 years of experience. His clients consist of high-profile business and creative leaders. He trained as an apprentice to the owner of Paul Mitchell and worked in education and product development for Paul Mitchell Systems. Jay is incredibly passionate about the creative process both in terms of styling hair and developing effective products.

REFERENCES:

Can Proactive Haircare Slow Grey Hair? Here’s the Science

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