This is How You Touch Up Roots on Blonde Hair

Every client who gets their blonde from a bottle will experience some level of regrowth, and there are times when the mid-lengths and ends will need a professional retouch, too. However, where possible, you should focus your hair lightener on the root area only, so you’re not lifting fragile ends every time your client visits the salon.

1. Choose a Color to Cover Roots

Start the process by selecting a root color. Ask your client if they want a perfect match, a soft, subtle smudge or gray coverage. Then, mix up their formula accordingly. If it’s an identical match they crave, use Wella’s depth chart to figure out what level their natural hair is, as well as the already-lightened ends. This will help you figure whether you need to lighten roots – and by how many levels – so you know which product to reach for.

Is it a root shadow they want? Again, use the depth chart to determine which shade will create a gentle contrast that offers your client a born-with-it quality. Lightening is required if the shadow is lighter than the natural base. Otherwise, use demi-permanent color like Color Touch or permanent Koleston Perfect to smudge and shade the crown area. to smudge and shade the crown area.

Disguising grays as you go? For up to 100% gray coverage, use Koleston Perfect’s portfolio of Pure Naturals colors when touching up the root area. Add ⅓ Pure Naturals to the target color on hair that’s 30-50% gray, and ½ of a Pure Naturals shade for hair that's 50-100% gray.

2. Start Where You Want the Highest Lift

Use a tint brush to apply color to the root area, starting where the highest level of lift is desired, where there’s a larger percentage of gray or where hair tends to be more resistant. Typically, this is the back of the head, but placement of grays or stubborn patches is unique to every client.

3. Saturate the Roots

Finally, don’t be afraid to layer up the color. Saturate the root area by sweeping the tint brush through the back and front of each section, so strands are covered the whole way around. This creates a uniform finish, with not a hint of regrowth in sight.

1. Root Touch Up on Gray Blonde Hair

To take this grown-out, brassy ‘do back to its crisp, clean, gray blonde best, Cheryl started by applying lowlights using Koleston Perfect 7/7 and 6/0 with a touch of 6/34. Once the lights had been rinsed, the roots were shaded with Color Touch 6/0 plus 7/89, while mid-lengths and ends were set aglow in 9/96, 9/01 and 10/0.

2. Root Touch Up with Blonde Highlights

This is a flawless demonstration of how blonde highlights can be used to disguise dark roots, perfected using Blondor Freelights, painted freehand. Next, Koleston Perfect was applied over the top, first to shade the root, and then to give the mid-lengths and ends a rich, glossy glow.

3. Root Touch Up for Beachy Blonde Hair

Now, this is a transformation. Not only did Wella Master Color Expert Kirstine Rechnagel have roots to contend with, but she also took locks from strawberry blonde to beach blonde in one session. The look started with Blondorplex babylights in foils, mixed with 4% developer in the back and 9% over the parting. Then, Illumina Color was applied. She used 9/19 and 10/81 with 1.9% Pastel for 15 minutes on towel dried mid-lengths and ends, adding color to the roots for the final five minutes only.

4. Root Touch Up on Platinum Blonde Hair

Goodbye deep, dark regrowth. Hello icy-fresh, platinum blonde. We’re mesmerized by this root makeover, toned to perfection by Wella Educator Marek Syřiště. Using Illumina Color to get salon-fresh locks, he applied 6/16 to the roots, 8/69 through the mid-lengths and 10/69 for those bright, light ends.

5. Root Touch Up on Deep Regrowth

This is a bold before and after. Lucian Busuioc had plenty of regrowth to work with, so he started by lifting the natural level five roots with Blondor Multi-Blonde Powder and 6%. Illumina Color 10/69 + 10/1+ Silver Mauve was then applied from root to tip, resulting in this liquid metal finish with megawatt shine.

6. Root Touch Up with Koleston Perfect

Here’s proof that you don’t need to pre-lighten locks to lift the root area. For this beige blonde hue, Koleston Perfect’s portfolio of Special Blonde shades was used to sweep away regrowth. Special Blondes enables up to five levels of lift, so you can lighten and color in one fell swoop. This glossy result speaks for itself.