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Beauty

Quick, Wallet-Friendly Ways to Hide Your Roots Between Salon Appointments

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Let’s be real: beauty maintenance is a luxury that few women can afford, and figuring out how to hide roots between dye jobs can be quite a challenge. Visible roots certainly can be a point of frustration when it’s not easy to find the time for touch ups. You’re a busy woman, and you don’t have time to hide away until you can cover up that telltale shade. But if you need a quick fix for an event or you simply don’t want to look as old as you feel, you can touch up your roots. 

Of course, you could always try to go gray gracefully, there’s certainly no shame in that. Some people feel truly beautiful when they’re showing their true colors. But if you’re not ready to part with your dye job just yet then you’re in luck! With a little help with celebrity colorist and hair color authority Rita Hazan, we broke down all the ways you can try to blur your roots between now and when your next salon appointment is.

cover roots pin poster

Products to Conceal Outgrown Roots

roots

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The good news: probably one of the wisest compromises when it comes to directly covering your roots is super easy to use and — get this — comes in a can! “My root concealer, which covers gray hair or grow outs in-between salon visits, sprays easily, stays put, and there are five shades to match any hair color,”  Hazan says. Just spray at the part line and go! The spray is water-resistant enough so you won’t experience color run if you’re sweating, and it’ll last until your next watch.  

If you’re still growing in dark (lucky!) then a dry shampoo like Batiste Dry Shampoo Original Clean & Classic is a great on-the-go fix. The powder will ever-so-slightly lighten your hair, and it’ll absorb the oils that are making your roots darker. It’s definitely not the cure-all option, but it’ll lessen the contrast in a pinch.

And if you’re looking to have something last you more than a few washes, you can go the way of Clairol Nice ‘n Easy Root Touch-Up. The directions are similar to most DIY box dyes, and the application is fairly straightforward: apply the dye along the line of your roots, and blend it down using the brush until all areas are covered. 

If you have a daughter, enlist her help to reach those back parts. If she complains, remind her just how many hours you were in labor with her. 

Rita Hazan Root Concealer Touch-Up Spray

Root touch up rita hazan

This root concealer spray is both waterproof and transfer-proof, so you don’t have to worry about color streaking in the shower or getting on your clothes. It works on all hair types from the tightest coils to the straightest locks, and delivers immediate cover up to gray hairs and any emerging roots.

Where to buy: $25, Amazon

Batiste Dry Shampoo

batiste dry shampoo

Batiste is a magic multitasker. As mentioned above, it’s not a long term fix, but it lightens, volumizes, and diminishes grease. If you have blonde or platinum white hair, their original formula will help disguise roots. If you have brunette locks or darker, Batiste’s colored formulas will have the same affect but with a color that matches your hue. 

Where to buy: $15.28, Amazon

Clairol Root Touch Up

clairol root touch up

Clairol’s handy brush allows you to have a great amount of control over where you put color and how much you paint on. They’ve created a formula that matches the leading shades in salons so you won’t have to worry about color matching. Once you rinse your hair of the dye you’ll have beautifully blended roots and not a gray hair in sight!

Where to buy: $13.98, Amazon

Hairstyles to Hide Roots

gray

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Again, if your roots tend to skew on the darker side, you may be able to get away with simply tricking people into not noticing them so much. Essentially, you’ll want to pick out styles where your hairline isn’t the focal point. 

The quickest way to do this is simply by changing up your part. If you’ve always been a straight-and-center lady, this is the right occasion to do a deep side part. That way, the roots will melt into your hair a bit better than having them as a stark line. If you’re usually big on tilting to the left, then instead take your comb and do it to the right.

Another viable look is combing your hair backwards, and pulling your hair into a ponytail. While you may be skeptical at first, this look helps achieve dimension and a charming contrast instead of something that looks left unattended.

But the smartest move across the board is to pump up the volume for whatever your situation is, be it with a volumizing mousse like Big Sexy Hair’s Root Pump Mousse or a lot of strategic teasing. It’s much easier to hide your roots in a cloud of hair than it is when the hair is lying straight down. 

Big Sexy Hair Mousse

big sexy hair mousse

This mousse will easily become your go-to hair product when you’re in need of some volume and some extra “oomph.” With healthy, luscious hair, roots and grays are much harder to notice, and a product with staying power will make your hairstyle last all day.

Where to buy: $14.36, Amazon

Long lasting hair color products

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Washing your hair may seem counter-productive when it comes to color maintenance, but Hazan insists that taking those extra few minutes with your conditioner or spending those few extra dollars on color-friendly products could prevent fadeaway in the future. 

“Healthy hair keeps the color longer and extra conditioning will bring moisture back into the hair making it stronger and healthier,” Hazan says. “The best way to preserve color is by using products meant for color treated hair.” So if you’ve been using your regular Head and Shoulders or a garden variety Pantene Pro-V, you may want to switch it up for something that should extend your current dye job, such as this color extending shampoo from Redken.

Redken Extend Shampoo

redken color stay

Some shampoos can strip your hair of natural oils and its color. Redken’s color extending recipe makes sure your dye job lasts long after it should. Swap out your everyday shampoo for this one, as it’s an easy preventative measure you can take to ensure your color stays vibrant. 

Where to buy: $19.55, Amazon

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