Would You Prefer a Lighter or Darker Root Touch-Up

Sometimes, you want to try different things with your hair. Aside from short hairstyles, hair extensions and braiding styles, root cover-up is vital. So as a 25-year-old lady, would you prefer a lighter or darker root touchup?

You should know that the hair at the roots differs from the length. Yeah, that's right; different hair on one head! However, it's advisable to go for natural looking root touch and highlights. This helps with dimension and when you want to change the hair color altogether.

Your hair stylist or colorist will help you choose the best color effortlessly. The results are fantastic with a professional touch and quality products like root touchup powder and spray.

Nonetheless, you can still DIY root cover at home. Here's a guide to help you decide the perfect lighter or darker touchup for your hair. Read to the end!

Should You Choose Lighter Or Darker Root Touch-Up?

Hair experts recommend going darker with your touchup. This is because a darker shade looks more natural on the scalp than a noticeable lighter shade. This way, people wouldn't even notice you've done touch up.

However, it also depends on your hair color. It's essential to match your hair color to your roots. The way to do this is to check right at the base of the sections, on top of your head and along the hairline of the root regrowth. Try to look for the natural hair shade and match the roots but just slightly darker.

The formula of the touchup products also matters. Most people get it wrong when mixing the correct ratios of the root cover-up dye. Utilizing ready-to-use products would be ideal to avoid messing up and getting unpleasant results.

The best root cover up extends the life of your current hairstyle by getting rid of unruly grays. It helps keep your hair looking healthy and strong. Not only will a root touch-up give you lasting color, it will also add volume, boost shine, and provide the perfect finishing touch for any style. 

Most people prefer root touchup powder as a better alternative to the mixing formulas. This is because they are not messy when preparing and applying.

What Should You Do To Achieve The Right Root Color?

Root touchup has become a popular service for most hairdressers. Using the proper roots touchup color helps to create a beautiful blend, excellent dimension, and a seamless grow-out.

But, there are several vital things to remember when trying to achieve a perfect touch up every time. This is what you need to do:

• Don't Use Too Dark Formulas

Formulating the roots too dark is a mega fail. Ideally, it would be best to use a shade on the same level as the client's natural base to achieve a more natural cover-up.

Never apply a powder to cover gray hair three shades or darker than the natural base. This is because you'll need to lighten it when you go for a touchup, which causes severe hair breakage.

• Avoid Extremely Light Formulas 

As observed, a very dark shade causes future root correction that leads to breakage. Using an extremely light formula is not an exception as well.

Preferably, it would be best to go slightly darker than the client's natural root color. Usually, when using a root coverage spray, the colors can be too opaque to cover the lines of separation completely.

Therefore, dropping the touchup color by a shade works well to blur out the lines and create a uniform look. It'll be like a natural and even hair glow!

• Never Touch Up On Natural Hair

If you've never pre-lightened your hair, avoid using a permanent, darker hair color root touchup. This is likely to cause future significant hair problems.

The most common problem in such a scenario is the difficulty of later producing an evenly lightened root hair. If you want to lighten the natural roots, it'll feel like you're fighting through a thick and rigid layer. Even worse, depending on your lighter shade, it can seep easily further into the cuticle.

The best thing to do is to be open with your hair colorist. As a young woman, you'll always want to switch up looks. However, it's essential to understand the impact of switching back and forth between lighter and darker shades. If you fail to consult your stylist before any process, you'll likely face banding when you want to go lighter.

• Be Cautious About Over-Processing 

If you want to achieve uniform blonde roots after a previous application, you're likely tempted to add the root lightener on top of the previous one. But not so fast! You should know that the root color may appear darker, but it's lying over already lightened hair.

Just apply on the regrowth when you want to lighten a darker regrowth for a more robust volume to lift. Then use a low-volume developer to feather down the old root touch up.

Using a higher volume lightener to apply on your previous root color leads to breakage and over-processing. You don't want that!

• Balance Tone from the Ends

The rule of thumb states that you must match your root cover to your ends. For instance, if you want ashy ends, you should refrain from using a warm touch up because it'll be conflicting.

It may look like a 2-in-1 head. Ideally, however, you should pair an ash root cover-up spray with an ash toner for the ends for perfect balance.

• Avoid Messy Partitioning

Messy partitioning can lead to color transfer on unwanted parts when turning over sections. Also, it causes splotches in the already applied roots. This can mess with the desired final look.

It would be best to work systematically with protection. Preferably, segment the hair into right and left parts you can handle. Then wrap with foil or any hair wrap to protect the ends from getting the root touchup color.

But if you get the root touchup black color on lighter ends, don't panic. Everyone has done this at some point. Immediately you mess, spray the affected part with water and scrub with a towel thoroughly.

• Don't Start From the Front

Knowing where to achieve dimension and brightness is crucial when applying the best root touchup powder. Usually, clients who want a blonde hair root touchup desire to see a bright hairline.

To avoid a dark ring forming around the hairline, apply the root color from the back. Better still, leave out the front until you've completed the whole back.

It would be best to use a gloss before the root powder. Then tap the powder on top of the gloss. This will ensure the powder stays in place and gives a lustrous and popping effect. Use a shade or 2 levels lighter than what you have on the rest of the hair.

How Can I Avoid Different Colored Roots?

Sometimes, hair roots can have different colors. That's not a good thing! Fortunately, there are several ways you can prevent mixed-colored hair roots. Here's what hair experts recommend.

• When you use a darker or lighter root touchup spray, let it stay a little longer on the roots. The good thing is that many have a home guide stating how long the dye should stay on. If you want to touch up the rest of the hair, consider starting with your roots first. This will give it enough time to cure the roots before applying the rest.
• Touch up your roots twice. It would be best to save some root touchup hair color for use later. Once you finish coloring, look to see if that's what you wanted. If not, repeat the process with the remaining dye and expect better results.
• Use a diluted dye. Start with brushing the roots with the undiluted root color. Then, add hair serum to the other dye to dilute it and apply. This will help you achieve optimal coverage reducing the chances of 'hot roots’.
• When there's damage, a quick fix is crucial. Use the best root color touchup products that don't contain peroxide. They will help to cover the damaged roots until the next hair washes instantly.

Do You Need A Professional To Touch Up Roots?

You can't stop your hair from growing- it's just life. But, you can only maintain a perfect hair color by doing roots touch up.

A root touchup disguises grown-out hair. A significant benefit of touch up is to ensure it looks fresh and beautiful throughout. Covering your roots also makes your hair last longer without frequent hair appointments.

Nonetheless, professional service would be ideal if you use root spray for hair, perfection powder or a root touch up pen. It would help if you had that touch of perfection from experienced and skilled hands.

A lot goes into hair coloring; hence it's challenging. Knowledge of specific chemistry and hair types is mandatory. Coloring your roots professionally is essential because:

• You'll have a skilled approach according to your hair requirements
• It'll be easy to choose the perfect touchup color that'll blend well with the rest of the hair even when roots grow out
• You can easily adjust from darker to lighter or vice-versa without damaging your hair and depending on your requirements
• During a professional root color touch up, you'll get a relaxing scalp massage, soothing shampoo and treatment to maintain healthy hair.

Final Words

Ultimately, the decision of whether to opt for a lighter or darker root touchup boils down to personal preference. Everyone’s hair is different; what works best for one person may not work well for another. 

If you’re unsure which shade to choose, ask your stylist to check out a few options in natural light so you can get an accurate impression of color. With the right touchup, you can feel confident that your locks are looking their best.