15 Hair Color Changing Apps Reviewed (Pros and Cons)

October 4, 2022 (updated May 8, 2023) — Written by

Home » Gray Hair » 15 Hair Color Changing Apps Reviewed (Pros and Cons)

Ever wondered what you will look like with a different hair color? Yeah me too. So I set out to try the most popular hair color changing apps and report back on which ones work the best. Here’s the full review of 15 I tried, including pros and cons for each.

The back of a woman with long wavy gray hair's head.

By: Lisa Fennessy 

IN THIS POST:

Hair color changing apps can help you peek into your future, whether you have blonde hair and want to see what you would look like as a brunette OR if you have brown hair and want to catch a glimpse at what you would look like with platinum blonde hair OR maybe you want to stick with your original color and add in some festive pink or purple or blue. Your wish is a hair color changing apps’ command. 

Except not all hair color changing apps are created equal (obvs). Some are way better at predicting than others and I’m breaking it down with all the pros and cons of each app below. You’ll be FLOORED at the transformations (and my reactions).

Can hair color changing apps predict gray hair color?

More specifically, I wanted to investigate which hair color changing apps did the best at predicting my gray hair color. 

I thought this would be a great question to answer because so many of us who are going gray or thinking of going gray just want to know, “What will I look like with gray hair?” and “Will gray hair look good on me?” 

So I started by digging up a photo of myself when I had brown hair. (This pic is from the 2016 Indie Beauty Expo in Dallas.) My goal was to use this same image on all 15 apps, so I could take a look at the results and compare it to what my hair looks like today and be able to tell you without a doubt which app was the most effective. 👇

Side by side photos of Lisa Fennessy in 2016 (left) and 2022 (right).
Me, 2016 (left) and me, 2022 (right).

General takeaways after conducting this experiment

Here are the overall pros and cons of using hair color changing apps to predict a different hair color…and specifically, gray hair color. 

💈Some apps transformed photos only and some apps transformed video only. But generally speaking, the apps with video capability seem to render a more accurate hair color preview.

💈Several of the apps I tried didn’t work on my dark hair. Meaning the color of my hair was actually stronger than the applied color filter. This is not ideal since this weakness essentially excludes all women who have dark hair from being able to access a preview (including women who have brown hair and who are trying to see what gray hair would look like on them). 

💈Several apps didn’t even have gray hair as a color option, which is grossly ageist. 

💈It’s possible to get a general idea of what you would look like with gray hair, but these apps can not predict the nuance and uniqueness of gray hair including streaks, patterns and your exact gray hair color (like all-white v a salt and pepper look).

💈I rated each app with a score somewhere between 1-10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best. This rating takes into consideration how easy / intuitive the app is to use, how accurate the results are, the cost and its inclusivity. 

15 hair color changing apps compared

Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Best Hair Color Change app.
My baseline dark hair photo (left) and my attempt to change to full gray (right).

Best Hair Color Change 

Overall rating: 0

Open this app and you have to draw where the color filter will go. There are no words to describe how bad this looks. Not to mention the gray translates as CLEAR…not even gray. And the ads are a huge buzz kill. I gave it a 0 rating just for that alone. 

PROS: 

  • Free

CONS: 

  • Ad popups and intrusive video ads 
  • Still photos only 
  • Not realistic 
  • Cartoony 
  • The filter wasn’t strong enough to change brown hair to gray (looks clear)
A photo of a woman with a red halo around her head and a green background.
Trying to dye my hair red on my baseline photo.
Side by side photos of a woman before and after using ChouChou Virutal Hair Try-On app.
Baseline gray hair photo (left) and trying the pink dye option (right).

ChouChou Virtual Hair Try-On

Overall rating: 0

Very clunky and not easy to use. I’m rating this app poorly for predicting gray hair color, but to be fair, it is a hairstyle app, not a hair color app. That being said, it doesn’t excuse the fact that they clearly think gray hair is not worth a preview. 

PROS: 

  • Free

CONS:

  • Still photos only
  • Clunky and hard to navigate 
  • No gray hair options 
  • More of a hair try on, digital wig app 
  • Not realistic looking
Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Fabby Look app.
Baseline dark brown hair photo (left) and trying gray hair option (right).

Fabby Look

Overall rating: 2.2

This app was the easiest, most intuitive app to use. Just open and go. I found the video option to be more effective than the still photo option, which didn’t work on my dark hair.  

PROS:

  • Free
  • Can use both video or still photos 
  • Easy to use / intuitive

CONS: 

  • The color coverage was spotty—I could see my roots and strands of my hair where the filter did not apply (see pink hair vid as an example)
  • The filter on still photos didn’t work for my dark hair
  • There was only one color option that I would call “gray”
  • Cannot adjust color saturation 
A woman with pink and dark brown hair smiles.

Trying a pink “dye” job on my dark hair baseline photo.

Trying a pink “dye” job via Fabby Look App Video.

Trying a silver “dye” job via Fabby Look App Video.
Side by side photos of a woman before and after using FaceTune Editor app.
My baseline photo (left) and me with full gray saturation in the app (right).

Facetune Editor by Lightricks

Overall rating: 1.8 

This filter was strong enough to work on my dark hair, but the results looked flat and there was only one color option for gray hair. Also, I just personally hate supporting this app for what it stands for. 

PROS:

  • Strong enough to work on my dark hair 
  • Can adjust saturation

CONS: 

  • Not free ($59.99 / year, $4.99 / mo or 7 day free trial)
  • Photo only 
  • One gray hair color option only 
  • There is a video component too: you can “reshape” or “retouch,” among others in video mode, but there is no “hair color” option for video
  • Not on board with the app’s ethos
A woman's baseline photo at half gray saturation using a hair color changing app.

My baseline photo at half gray saturation.

Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Best Hair Color Change app.
My baseline gray photo (left) and my gray “dye” job (right).

Hair Color Booth

Overall rating: 5.8 

Take a video of yourself inside this app and you can see what you would look like with all the different hair colors. This app was strong enough to change dark hair to gray. Overall the colors trend more toward “flair” colors like hot pink and purple…for example, I couldn’t predict what I would look like with blonde hair because it just looked gold or neon. 

PROS: 

  • Video or still photos 
  • Can adjust color saturation
  • 6 gray hair color options 
  • The filter was strong enough to change brown hair to gray

CONS:

  • Not free ($4.99/mo, 3 day free trial)
  • Cannot use camera roll video or still photos, must create new in the moment
  • Some free colors with an option to unlock pro colors (all gray shades are “pro”) 
  • Color filter has a halo effect, which is a little distracting / unrealistic 
  • Hair colors trend toward unrealistic natural colors 
A woman's baseline gray hair photo dyed pink using a hair changing app.

My baseline gray hair photo “dyed” pink.

Trying a pink “dye” job via Hair Color Booth Video.

Trying a silver “dye” job via Hair Color Booth Video.
Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Hair Color Changer app.
My baseline gray photo (left) and my full saturation silver “dye” job in the app (right).

Hair Color Changer

Overall rating: 1.2

I can’t get over the fact that the camera in this app has an unintentional mico “fun house” effect to it. Like, I got to take a picture of myself and my face and body look stretched a bit wide. That coupled with the fact that you have to pay for this app? #ewdavid 

PROS:

  • None

CONS:

  • Not free ($9.99 for the year, $3.99 / mo or 3 day free trial) 
  • Still photos only 
  • Can choose from a color grid to essentially create your own color filter—I love this idea, but I couldn’t really locate a gray hair color in it and whatever was close to gray just looked muddy
  • 4 preset gray hair color options—none of which worked on my dark hair still photo 
  • Option to adjust saturation (still not strong enough—this image has the saturation turned to 100%) 
  • Color has a halo effect 
A woman with dark hair changes her hair to gray using a hair color changing app.
Full gray saturation on dark hair photo.
A woman with a green dye job on a gray hair photo using a hair color changing app.
Green “dye” job on gray hair photo.
A woman with a purple dye job on a gray hair photo using a hair color changing app.
Purple “dye” job on gray hair photo.
Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Best Hair Color Changer: Dye Style app.
Hair Color Changer baseline (left) and full gray saturation on my baseline photo (right).

Hair Color Changer: Dye Style 

Overall rating: 3.5 

Easy and intuitive to use. It didn’t work on my brown hair pic, but it did work on my current gray hair 👆. You can see how it predicted me dyeing my hair back to brown, or blonde below. 

PROS:

  • Free
  • A ton of hair colors… 
  • Including several shades of gray
  • Can adjust saturation 
  • I like that it made room for color inconsistencies in hair and wasn’t just a blanket filter

CONS:

  • A little unrealistic looking, but not the worst of the group
  • I am doubtful this will be able to predict gray hair on people with dark hair
A woman with blonde hair layered over her natural dark hair using a hair color changing app.
Half saturation for blonde prediction on gray hair photo.
A woman with full dark saturation on gray hair using a hair color changing app.
Full dark saturation on gray hair photo.
A woman with full gray saturation on dark hair using a hair color changing app.
Full gray saturation on dark hair photo.
Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Hair Color Changer Styles app.
My dark hair baseline (left) and the ZERO gray options in app (right).

Hair Color Changer Styles – Styles Salon

Overall rating: 0

No gray hair options. 👎

Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Hair Color Dye app.
My baseline dark hair photo (left) and the only gray option (right).

Hair Color Dye 

Overall rating: 0

Just. No. I hated this app so much. It started out by asking me to “trace my hair” so it would know where to apply the color. The brush was too fat, the range didn’t include all of my hair, the tracing didn’t translate…and during all of this, ads continued to pop up. I finally got through and saw the results and I immediately x-ed out of the app. Awful. 

PROS: 

  • Free

CONS:

  • Still photos only
  • Ran ads during my experience, which was wicked annoying 
  • Has you trace your hair outline so the app knows where to fill in color
  • The filter wasn’t strong enough to change brown hair to gray
  • Didn’t work
Side by side photos of a woman before and after using Hairstyle Makeover app.
My baseline photo (left) and me with a digital wig tinted gray in the app (right).

Hairstyle Makeover

Overall rating: 0 

This is another “digital wig” sort of app. You can choose or take a still image, apply a preset hairstyle and then you can change the color of that hair style. 

There are two options to change hair color: “tint” and “hue.” Tint HAS a gray setting, but it didn’t work for me. (See above.) And “hue” did not have any gray settings. 

I’m rating this app pooly for predicting gray hair color, but to be fair it is a hairstyle app. Not a hair color app. That being said, it doesn’t excuse the fact that they clearly think gray hair is not worth including. 

PROS: 

  • Free

CONS: 

  • Still photos only 
  • Comes with limited hairstyles, with the option to unlock premium hairstyles (shown here is a free style)
  • Minimal if any options to predict gray hair
  • The filter wasn’t strong enough to change brown hair to gray 
Side by side before and after pics of a woman using HairStyle Try On app.
My baseline photo (left) and me with gray digital wig in the app (right).

Hairstyle Try On

Overall rating: 3.6

This is technically a hairstyle try-on app, so from my experience you won’t be able to see your current hair style with gray hair. BUT you can choose a new hair style or select one that is similar to yours and then adjust the color from there. It’s an okay rendering of what you might look like with gray hair, but not really. The hairstyles are forced and the color is flat. 

PROS: 

  • Free, with the option to gain access to more hairstyle packages starting at $1.99
  • Several shades of gray (I counted at least 10)
  • Surprise benefit: Made me feel grateful that I never got that buzz cut I always wanted to try, lol 👇

CONS:

  • Not realistic looking, because it’s a digital wig essentially 
  • Basic features with a basic outcome 
  • Photo only (no video)
A grid of photos showing various hairstyles using a hair changing app.

All the hairstyles I tried for gray hair… sooo glad I never got that buzz cut I thought about. 🤣

Side by side before and after pics of a woman using I Hairstyle-hair color changer app.
My baseline photo (left) and me with a brown hair color in the app (right).

I Hairstyle-hair color changer

Overall rating: 1.2 

I didn’t even opt to upgrade to the paid colors here, because I couldn’t even get past the look of these cartoon-looking hair styles. Lol. Not helping me. 

PROS: 

  • Free

CONS: 

  • Basic hairstyles available, with an option to unlock premium paid hairstyles 
  • Basic colors available with an option to unlock premium paid color (gray is premium)
  • Still photos only 
  • Pick a hairstyle and then change its color like a digital wig 
  • Unrealistic looking hairstyles 
A screenshot from the app I Hairstyle-hair color changer used to change a woman's hair color to blonde.

My baseline gray photo with a yellow “dye” job.

Side by side before and after pics of a woman using Makeup Plus app.
My baseline photo (left) and me with “ash” in the app (right).

MakeupPlus

Overall rating: 1.5

I found the hair color options here pretty limited. They had a lot of color options, but they all looked the same on my dark hair. I mean the color “silver” didn’t even do anything and that’s with the color turned up to the highest possible saturation. 👎

PROS: 

  • Free with an option to unlock premium settings 
  • Can also try on different lipstick and blush colors 

CONS: 

  • Photo only (no video option) 
  • Hair color options are muted and unrealistic looking
  • Limited shades of gray
  • Seemed a little glitchy, citing “network error problems” often 
  • Also invasive, asking to assess all the apps I’ve downloaded for a “better experience” 
A woman with "silver" dye job in the MakeupPlus app.

My baseline photo with the “silver” option in MakeupPlus.

Side by side before and after pics of a woman using Style My Hair app.
My baseline photo (left) and me with the closest color I could get to gray in the app (right).

Style My Hair 

Overall rating: 0

My first impression of this app is WOW because when I opened up the color options, there was NOT even an option for gray hair at all. When I searched through the “blonde” section I found some shades that looked close to gray, so I tried one of them and I was wrong. It was still blonde. This app is brought to you by L’oréal Paris. 

PROS:

  • None

CONS:

  • No gray hair options 👎
A woman sits outside on a white sofa in front of greenery.

My baseline photo with no gray hair options.

Side by side before and after pics of a woman using YouCam app.
My baseline photo (left) and me with full gray saturation in the app (right).

YouCam 

Overall rating: 7.2 

After going through our sample set of apps, YouCam rendered the most advanced and realistic looking preview. One thing I do want to mention is I didn’t get to try this on my brown hair self because the app is video only and I don’t have any videos that would work for this from when I was brown-haired. However after playing with the app and the gray hair saturation option, it’s pretty clear that this filter is powerful, accurate and realistic. 

To double check, Kristy (who has brown hair) put this app to the test too and confirmed. It’s legit. 👇

Side by side before and after pics of a woman using YouCam app.
Kristy baseline photo (left) and Kristy with a gray hair option in the app (right).

PROS: 

  • At least 4 gray hair shade options that you can also… 
  • Adjust the saturation and shine on
  • You can also use this to try on lipstick or blush colors 
  • Very realistic 

CONS: 

  • Not free ($31.99 / year or $2.67 / mo or 7-day free trial) 
  • Video only (no photo option) 
Gray hair “Before” for YouCam video.

Gray hair “After” for YouCam video.

Have you tried any of these hair color changing apps? Is there one that you like best? 

xo, lisa in cursive

TNK Team Note: This article contains affiliate links. TNK uses affiliate links as a source for revenue to fund operations of the business and to be less dependent on branded content. TNK stands behind all product recommendations. Still have questions about these links or our process? Feel free to email us.

By Lisa Fennessy

Lisa is the founder of The New Knew. Passionate about clean beauty, organic eats and nontoxic lifestyle, Lisa writes to create awareness. Conscious consumerism and informed decisions will impact the marketplace, our health and THE WORLD!

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