Can shampoo stop grey hair?
Het Nieuwsblad, 31 October 2025
Dr Griet Voet in Het Nieuwsblad on anti-grey shampoos: why you can't wash away greying and what colouring shampoos actually do.
In Het Nieuwsblad's 'Werkt dat wel?' column, Dr Griet Voet and dermatologist Thomas Maselis look at so-called anti-grey shampoos. According to Dr Voet, how quickly you go grey depends mainly on heredity, but also on ethnicity, lifestyle and smoking; deficiencies in vitamin B12 and iron, among others, can play a part.
In the products examined, she mainly sees ingredients that have not been proven to slow down greying. Some shampoos gradually colour the hair from the outside; this gives an overall tint, not a return of your natural colour, and fades again when you stop. She calls promises that your original colour will return within a few weeks impossible. Colouring shampoos can also trigger an allergic reaction in people who are hypersensitive.
Key advice
No shampoo has been proven to stop greying.
Colouring shampoos give a tint, not your natural colour back.
Watch out for allergic reactions to colouring shampoos.
“So the anti-grey claim seems to me to be pure marketing, although I do believe it is a good shampoo for keeping hair healthy.” — Dr Griet Voet