How to Dye Your Roots at Home Professionally

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Trying to dye your roots at home for the first time? The thought of doing your hair at home can be a bit scary, especially if you do not know what to do. But, provided you understand the basics of root touch, the entire process becomes less complicated.

And the more you dye your hair at home, the easier it becomes. In this beauty guide, we will educate you on the entire process of how to dye your roots at home professionally.

How to Dye Your Roots at Home

5 DIY Root Coloring Hacks – Dye Your Roots at Home Professionally

Those who prefer to dye their hair frequently recommend that you visit the salon after every 4 to 6 weeks. But if you have a tight schedule, making it to these salon appointments can be challenging. So, here are some quick and simple DIY root coloring hacks that you can use to beautify your hair when in a hurry.

1. Root Concealer – Though it is a temporary color product, root concealers are great at touching to uproot hairs fast. Spray it on your roots, let it dry, and style up your hair as you wish.

2. Hair Pens – These fascinating tools are great at covering hair roots and trouble spots. The gel found in hair pens does a commendable job of giving you a natural-looking shade.

3. Dry Shampoo – Other than cleaning your hair, dry shampoo is great at covering up your roots. This is a must-have product if you crave healthy hair.

4. Eyeshadow – This quick fix works well mostly for women with light hair. It covers roots and gives you a natural dark shade.

5. Hair Makeup – Career women with no time to go to salons for a dye job can benefit significantly from hair makeup. Getting your hands on a superior formula can help dye your roots, blend regrowth, and fill in gaps in your hair.

Of course, these hacks weren’t created for everyone. Some would mostly prefer to use a root touch up kit. If you fall under this category, we have your interests in mind, and here are the basics of touching up your roots in the comfort of your home. 

Most Common Mistake When Dying Your Roots at Home

The number one rule when it comes to hair coloring touch-ups is that NEVER recolor all your hair.

Only dye the roots and leave the rest of the hair alone. As mentioned earlier, you may need to recolor your hair after every 1 or 2 months. After this period, you will realize the roots in your hair have a different shade than the rest. If you want it to match, color only the roots.

The process of applying dye to the roots by yourself may seem a bit hectic, but it’s worth it. For one, you get to save up on expensive salon fees, and secondly, you have the opportunity to choose a quality professional hair dye. But the problem comes in when it’s time to apply the color on your roots correctly.

How to Dye Your Roots at Home? 

1. The first thing you need to do is prepare your hair and the skin surrounding it. You can use a barrier cream.

2. Mix the dye as per the instructions provided.

3. Divide your hair into sections.

4. Apply the dye evenly on both sides of the hair covering at least half a centimeter. Flip your hair into as many thin parts as possible for even application.

5. Applying the dye on hair that’s behind your ears and the neck can be tricky. So, ensure that you hold your hair up and paint both the outside and inside.

6. Ensure that the dye is evenly applied all over your hair. Repeat on sections that appear to have little amounts of dye.

7. Let it settle for half an hour, rinse and dry your hair.

Equipment Needed for At-Home Root Dye Application

  • A comb
  • Hairbrush
  • A mixer
  • Bowl
  • Gloves
  • Towels
  • Barrier cream to protect your face

1st Step: Preparation

Before anything else, you should prepare yourself. Start with protecting your skin with a barrier cream, lube, or Vaseline. Evenly apply your cream of choice on the skin bordering your hairline. This will help prevent staining your skin with root dye.

2nd Step: Mix the Ingredients of the Dye

Depending on the root dye you have bought, you will follow the instructions provided to mix the ingredients. Use gloves and a bowl to mix up the ingredients.

3rd Step: Start Coloring Your Roots

There are different approaches you can follow when you dye your hair roots at home. The most common one involves dipping the paintbrush into the dye and applying the ingredients to your roots. Depending on the outcome you wish to achieve, paint only where necessary. 

For example, if you want a root shadow, only paint the regrowth line. Doing it yourself can be a bit chaotic, this is why asking for help from someone else is a better option. If you follow the DIY method, color your roots in front of a mirror. It will be easier to gauge progress.

4th Step: Flip and Paint both Sides of Your Hair

To achieve a natural look:

  1. Paint both sides of your hair.
  2. Divide your hair into sections, flip and paint at least half a centimeter of your hairline.
  3. Don’t forget to cover hairs that are behind your ears. As mentioned earlier, it is essential for you also to paint the regrowth behind your neck.

5th Step: Blend the Root Color with the Rest of Your Hair

After coloring your roots, you should brush out the color through the rest of your hair. This will ensure you get a natural and blended hair color. Repeat this process till all your hair from the roots is fully covered.

6th Step: Give the Dye Time to Settle then Wash It Off

As you wait for the dye to do its magic, you can apply treatment to the ends of your hair. Most at-home hair dyes require 30 minutes to work. After that, please give it a thorough wash, dry it with a towel, and condition your hair. If you wish, you can blow dry it and get on with your activities.

Yes, applying dye to your roots at home is that easy and fast. Having understood the process of dying your roots at home, let us look at how you can touch up roots on blonde hair, gray hair, dark hair, and yes even wild-colored hair.

A Guide on Touching Up Roots for Dark, Blonde, and Gray Hair

woman applying hair dye on her roots with a brush

Let’s Start with Dark Roots

You will need a bowl, hair dye, alligator clips, barrier cream, gloves, and a dye brush.

A few tips to prepare yourself include shampooing your hair a day before. This will help condition your hair and allow essential oils to settle on your scalp. Get a long towel that will cover your clothes and avoid staining. Purchase a barrier cream that will ensure the dye doesn’t come into contact with skin near your hairline. Gloves are a must because certain dyes may contain chemicals.

How to Dye Dark Roots at Home

1st Step: Partition Your Hair

With the help of an alligator clip, partition your hair into at least two parts. This will help keep the application process more organized. Start with one side of the head.

2nd Step: Start Applying the Root Dye

Now that all the ingredients are mixed up, pick a hairbrush, dip it into the solution and start painting your roots. Apply evenly and don’t extend towards the rest of the hair. Ensure your color is on both sides of your root hair. Once done on one side of the head, proceed to the other.

3rd Step: Massage Your Scalp

After confirming that you have dyed all your hair, massage your scalp to ensure the dye is spread all over your head.

4th Step: Give the Dye Time to Set

When you are done with the application, you should let the color set on your hair. You can remove excess dye or clean up dye that may have spread to your skin as you wait.

5th Step: Give It a Thorough Rinse and Dry It Off

Head to the shower and rinse it off with cold water. You will see the color running down the drain. You can then shampoo and condition it before drying it up with a towel.

As you can see, dying dark roots may seem hard at first. But once you get the hang of it, the process becomes more accessible.

What about Covering Gray Hair at Home?

Having gray hair is a blessing in disguise. You may be annoyed at how hard it is to cover gray hair. But do you know how trendy this hair color is? Anyway, if you are interested in coloring gray hair, here are some tips on how you can dye your roots at home correctly.

  • Opt for permanent hair colors
  • Protect your skin and scalp
  • Deal with the stubborn areas first
  • Divide and conquer
  • Use enough color (gray hair can be stubborn to dye)
  • Stick to the recommended time
  • Perform touch-ups as frequently as possible

Tips on How to Touch Up Roots for Blonde Hair

Unlike other hair types, blonde hair can be hard to maintain. When dark roots sprout, they can be hard to conceal, so coloring them is the best option. Below we are going to show you how you can dye dark roots on blonde hair.

1. Shop for the best at-home blonde hair dye.

2. Perform a patch test 2 days before application.

3. Gather all the necessary equipment.

4. Protect your skin with moisturizer (barrier cream).

5. Follow the instructions provided to mix up ingredients.

6. Start applying it on hair roots, one part after another.

7. Let it settle for half an hour.

8. Wash it off with cold or warm water.

9. Dry it up and apply a conditioner.

Factors to Consider When Blending Dark Roots with Blonde Hair

It’s imperative to note that the process of dying dark roots entails lightening the dark color or toning the lightened roots. When you lighten the roots, you have the freedom to tone your hair to match the rest of it. You can also lighten it in one step by bleaching. If you opt to follow this approach, make sure you pick the right hair bleach.

Toning- when it comes to touching up dark roots for blonde hair, toning neutralizes the golden color, and it also blends the color of the rest of your hair. Ensure you use a shade lighter than your hair color.

Factors such as sectioning and the application technique also matter. Above, we have already highlighted the best application techniques to section your hair and apply the dye on the roots of both sides of the hair.

How to Keep up Wild Colored Hair

Good color starts with healthy hair. 

Know that maintaining wild-colored hair is hard – despite what you see on social media, maintaining this type of hair color is difficult. And in most cases, celebrities with wild-colored hair spend a lot of time in salons for touch-ups.

Understand that your hair will dry up after coloring – most people think their hair is damaged when they see this.

However, it is part of the bleaching results, and bleaching, unfortunately, is necessary to attain wild, bold, and bright color hair. If you have dark hair, practice patience since it will be tedious to get bold color hair. Nurture your hair if your hair is in rough shape, and remember, hair masks and conditioning repair products are your BFFs. 

Next comes your selection of high-quality hair dye. For your bold, vivid desired look, we recommend using Special Effects or Punky Color. These two dyes will NOT damage your hair, and it is recommended to leave the shade on your roots if just for a touch-up or full hair color for more than the suggested time.

If you don’t leave it on longer, your color will fade fast; in this case, longer is better. 

Wash off Color with Coldwater.

This may seem strange, but it is the best advice. Always rinse with cold water – did you know that warm water opens the hair cuticles and contributes to hair colors’ fading? Coldwater will help you retain your hair color.

Skip the Shampoos, Conditioners, and Styling Products Infused with Sulfates and Styling Products with Alcohol. 

Avoid alcohol and sulfate-based products. They will make your color fade faster than usual. Alcohol or sulfate-infused hair styling products are two colossal things that make your vivid color fade as.

Add Some Color to Your Conditioner

Add color to your conditioner so that you are also dying your hair every time you condition. 

This tip is only applicable to a single solid color or a mixture of contrasting shades. This is also an excellent tip since you can leave the conditioner in your hair a bit longer without taking the risk of the color fading. Remember, Healthier hair + brighter color = happy hair, and it is a win/win!

Preferably, you should consider using a color depositing conditioner! Numerous products like this exist in the beauty market; however, we recommend Keracolor. It comes in thirteen different colors and has terrific reviews.  

Avoid Prolonged Exposure to the Sun 

As we discussed in previous beauty guides, just like your skin, the sun is undoubtedly not good for your hair too. Wear a hat when out in the direct sun or if you know you will be outdoors for a prolonged period.  

You can also use a UV protection spray for your hair.

Combining all the above should help you maintain your wild hair color a bit longer than expected.

Final Thoughts

After reading this comprehensive guide, you should be familiar with how to dye your roots at home professionally. If you still have some questions, your stylist can always help clarify and offer more tips. Give it a try today because it’s only through practice that you can become an expert at DIY root coloring.

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