How To: Touching Up Dark Roots

When you have no time (or budget) to visit the salon after having your hair colour done, you might start to see the roots growing out a bit..(eek). 

Dark roots are indeed one of the biggest dilemmas faced by women who colour their hair because as soon as the new hair grows out, darker colors show up. However, there are a lot of tricks that you can apply at home to disguise the appearance of darker roots and keep your hair looking fabulous until your next salon appointment.

To touch up your dark roots, you will need the following products and tools:

• Your choice of hair colour product (make sure to opt for ones that come with its own set of gloves for application)
• Wide-tooth comb
• Hair clips
• Towels, shirts, or any fabric that you can afford to get dirty and stained on

The Touch Up Process: 

Step 1 – Gather up your hair and divide it into four small sections. Secure each section using a hair clip. For added measure, apply petroleum jelly along the hair line to prevent stains along the hair line.

Step 2 – Read the instructions on the hair colour product label carefully. Make sure that you follow the instructions thoroughly when mixing to ensure that you can get the right colour for touching up your roots.

Step 3 – Put on gloves for your hands. Applying the colour with your bare hands is far more effective in covering up dark parts of the roots.

Step 4 – Apply the colour to your roots one section at a time. Un-clip the hair and apply colour around the perimeter starting from your roots and ending at the point where the colour starts. Refrain from massaging the colour product into your scalp. When you are done, clip the hair back into place before moving onto the next section and repeating the same process.

Step 5 – When you are done applying the colour to every section, set a timer so you know how long you should leave it on your hair. The instruction for the product should indicate this. However, the timer should be set five minutes early so you can use the wide tooth comb to run the product from roots to ends. This will create a more natural effect with even colour from roots to the ends.

Step 6 – Rinse hair in the shower using lukewarm water. Stop until the water that runs off of your hair is clear. Finish it off with a conditioner.

Other Touch Up Tricks Worth Trying:

• In addition to the step-by-step guide above, you can also try a quick fix to dark roots. A volumising dry shampoo can help to disguise dark roots and give it instant boost in volume.
• If you have an eyeshadow that is of similar shade to your hair colour, you can also use it to camouflage dark roots. Apply the eyeshadow along the hairline and close to the part for optimum results.

Have you tried touching up dark roots or is that something you leave up to your hairstylist?

Author Bio:

Abby is a writer and social media manager for My Hair Care blog. You can get practical hair care and styling tips, hair tutorials, and other useful information with regards to caring for hair of all types, colour, and texture by visiting My Hair Care’s blog.