While some people don’t mind a little root regrowth, there are others who dread the sight of their natural locks starting to peep through their coloured hair. So if you want to know how to cover root regrowth in between salon appointments, keep reading and we’ll give you some ideas.

The good news is, there are a number of ways to keep your root area looking flawless. Some are slightly more high maintenance than others, while some only require a root touch up every 2 months or so.

There are also a variety of techniques that can be used, including those that are surprisingly natural-looking. And, even better news, most hairdressers offer different root cover ups for different budgets.

So what can you do about hair root regrowth? Let’s look at some ways you can hide the colour difference – and if you want to know the answer to the question “how often should roots be touched up?” we’ll cover that at the end of this post too.

How to Cover Root Regrowth – Stylishly

1. Hair Highlights

If you want to switch up your style by going lighter than your natural hair colour, highlights are a great option as they make it easier to deal with hair root regrowth.

The great thing about hair highlights is that they provide full coverage, whilst leaning towards a more natural, dimensional finish. Once your roots start to show, they don’t look so blindingly obvious because the highlights blend nicely with your natural colour. 

You should also talk to your colourist about how much coverage you want your highlights to give with options being for a full head, half head or a T section. Highlighted hair does require looking after and regular maintenance to keep it in great condition and we recommend booking a hair salon root touch up around every 8 weeks or so.

2. Balayage

Another stylish way of disguising root regrowth is balayage. Because the technique involves hand painting or ‘sweeping’ the colour onto the hair, the end result is a natural combination of the lightener and your real hair colour.

In balayage, the application of the colour starts at the roots and gets increasingly lighter the further down the hair it goes, effectively blending your roots with the mid lengths and ends. 

This transition from dark to light is the very essence of the look and the reason why balayage is so effective in hair root regrowth cover ups. Since the lightener is seamlessly blended with your root colour, it’s also lower maintenance, however, the longer you leave it between salon root touch ups, the longer the root area will be, which will make your hair appear darker.

3. Shadow Root or Root Smudge

Another low maintenance option if you’re looking at how to cover root regrowth is a shadow root or root smudge. These are similar to balayage, however both of these techniques involve blending your roots into your new colour (as opposed to blending the lightener into your root colour).

This is achieved by your colourist applying a dye over your original or fresh colour at the roots with a shade that is closer to your natural hair.

The upshot? You don’t get that really obvious ‘blocky root’ effect as the finished result looks a lot more blended and natural.

4. Root Tint

Hair root regrowth doesn’t have to become a full time obsession and a root tint will give you full coverage on the roots to match the rest of your hair. 

This isn’t the most low maintenance of options as you will most likely need a hair salon root touch up around every 4 to 6 weeks, depending on how fast your hair grows.

Having said that, your hair will be a similar colour from root to end, although you can absolutely ask your stylist to add dimension to the dye for a more dynamic effect. 

5. Temporary Sprays or Sticks

Okay, so we’ll finish off our list of how to cover root regrowth remedies by talking about hair root regrowth sprays and sticks. A lot of the big (and not so big) household names produce them and in a pinch we think they work just fine.

However, they only last until the next time you wash your hair – unlike the hair salon root touch up solutions that we’ve talked about above.

Having said that, if you find yourself between appointments and you need a quick fix for visible roots, this is not the worst temporary hair root regrowth cover up idea – especially if it’s for a big night out.

How Often Should Roots be Touched Up?

It’s a good question and the honest answer is that hair root regrowth really depends on the individual – i.e. you! 

It depends on your colour, your hair, and the treatments or service you have. Your colourist will be able to advise you on both the frequency of the necessary hair salon root touch ups as well as how to cover root regrowth. 

Generally speaking though, you would probably want to book an appointment with your salon every 4 to 8 weeks if you want to keep your locks looking as lucious as ever.

How to Cover Root Regrowth at Strand & Lock

At Strand and Lock London, you can trust our expert stylists to look after your root regrowth with utmost care and precision. 

If you’ve spent the last few weeks looking in the mirror and saying “I really need to get my roots done!” we’re the people to call.

We’re proud to be an Aveda Lifestyle Salon, which means that whether you have highlights, balayage, root tints or smudging we use Aveda products that are specially formulated to nourish and protect coloured hair. That way, we can ensure that your root touch up experience is the ultimate in pampering.

Ready to book an appointment at our Bermondsey salon? Get in touch with us today.