# Black hair fading



## cynsnow1 (Apr 25, 2018)

Hi all -

I have a little white havanese with a black head "Mona" and her little head is starting to fade and look dull! any ideas on how to keep her black hair black?

Thanks!


----------



## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

cynsnow1 said:


> Hi all -
> 
> I have a little white havanese with a black head "Mona" and her little head is starting to fade and look dull! any ideas on how to keep her black hair black?
> 
> Thanks!


I have no advice but just wanted to say I think Havanese are gorgeous no matter what their color is! And sometimes when the hair becomes a little grayish it can give a softer look.


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

She is gorgeous! 

I don’t know about shampoos or anything since my dog is very light, but I have heard that since Ice on Ice has sunscreen in it, it can prevent fading.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

There are two kinds of black in AHvanese (at least). There is black that stays very black, like my 3, and there is "fading black" that turns more of a charcoal color as the dog matures. There are also dogs that start out black and the "silver", but that starts with white hairs around the eyes, and is usually pretty obvious before the dog is the age yours looks to be. In that color pattern, white hairs mix in with the black.

Unfortunately, if Mona is a fading black, there is nothing you can do to change it... it's genetic. OTOH, there is NOTHING wrong with it, and they are very pretty even when they are charcoal too! It's one of the charms of Havanese that it can be a mystery what color your dog will be when it grows up! 

BTW, My Panda's litter name was Mona too!


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

That is a good point, that fading from color change is different from fading from the sun. My Hav is so much lighter because of color change compared to when he first came home, and there aren’t any products that would make a difference with natural color change. I was surprised to notice my Hav’s roots are darker red again after his last bath! 

Mona looks like she has a very soft coat.


----------



## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*faded black versus silver*



krandall said:


> There are two kinds of black in AHvanese (at least). There is black that stays very black, like my 3, and there is "fading black" that turns more of a charcoal color as the dog matures. There are also dogs that start out black and the "silver", but that starts with white hairs around the eyes, and is usually pretty obvious before the dog is the age yours looks to be. In that color pattern, white hairs mix in with the black.
> 
> Unfortunately, if Mona is a fading black, there is nothing you can do to change it... it's genetic. OTOH, there is NOTHING wrong with it, and they are very pretty even when they are charcoal too! It's one of the charms of Havanese that it can be a mystery what color your dog will be when it grows up!
> 
> BTW, My Panda's litter name was Mona too!


Karen - can a Hav be both faded black and silver? Perry is definitely silver (though not heavily silver yet) - you can definitely see distinct white hairs now mixing through the black, but there are also black areas that when you look closely there are NO white hairs but I would describe as faded black


----------



## cynsnow1 (Apr 25, 2018)

thank you for your replies and comments! i do love her no matter what color she turns out to be!


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Melissa Brill said:


> Karen - can a Hav be both faded black and silver? Perry is definitely silver (though not heavily silver yet) - you can definitely see distinct white hairs now mixing through the black, but there are also black areas that when you look closely there are NO white hairs but I would describe as faded black


There are so many "modifier genes" involved with Havanese coat color that we don't even KNOW what goes into it all!!! LOL!


----------

