So we are about a month into our quarantine and  our roots are getting a bit insane.  So what do we do? Because of social distancing its just not possible for hairdressers to help us do anything unless they want to break the rules tsk tsk tsk. I know many of you are about to attempt to do home touch up kits and as a professional hairdresser I have to strongly advise against.  There are a multitude of reasons why it is not advisable, but let me be fair.  There are some exceptions to this rule considering the circumstances of what is happening right now.  Let me start with why not.

1.  Products for home use are usually more concentrated in pigment and ammonia.  The box colour does not discriminate against what condition, or texture hair it is going on and this may cause some funky results.  Think banding, brassiness, green hair, and damage to name a few.
2. When its time to get back into a salon the fix may take longer then the quarantine.  Box dye pigment tends to stain the hair so bad that its hard to get out.  One usually has to grow out the box dye to get back to colours that wont go brassy. This can take years.

Ok so I wrote above that there are a few exceptions for home dye being acceptable.  Please know that this is very hard for me to write, but I want to be fair.

1. If your hair is on the darker side and you don’t plan on changing (like ever) then go for it.
2. If you are not afraid of the warmer tones and your hair is still on the darker side then this can work too.  As mentioned above, box dye is a bit strong.  This can lead to over processing the hair exposing the underlying pigmentation in the hair which is usually warmer or brassy. So coppers and reds are ok.
3. If you have over 50% grey and are a medium brown this has the potential to work and not result in anything too brassy

Disclaimer- Proceed at your own risk.

I strongly recommend clients that have highlighted icy blonde hair to stay far far away from taking matters into their own hands. This is also not the time for any big changes to your hair colour.  Please leave this to the professionals.

So what can we do to hide our roots that don’t involve chemically altering our hair?  These are my top recommendations There are many root spray touch ups on the market.  While I know many can feel chalky, there are many that if used correctly will not feel that way and are a good temporary solution.  I like the brand Water Colors,  If spraying format doesn’t work for you then Goldwell has a root touch up that comes in powder form. It applies with a powder puff.

If the issue is with brassiness then there are fabulous toning conditioners by Goldwell that will do the trick.  They have so many colours.  From Icy blonde to cool brown.  Tone while conditioning?  LOVE LOVE LOVE

Dry shampoos can also help to soften the darkness at the roots for blonde clients. I like KMS Makeover Spray. Spray on the night before and it’ll “melt” into the hair better, giving volume and reducing that dark root shine

Try styling the hair with more volume to hide those roots.  I like curling or braiding , or try an updo.  The darker roots will add beautiful texture to your style creation.

Headbands and cute head wraps are a great ideaSometimes slicking the roots down into a tight ponytail can hide the roots too depending on how different your root color is to the color on the ends.

Acceptance is the ultimate in resolution.  Now is time for that balayage you always wanted.  Its a grown out blonde pretty much right?

At the end of the day we are all in this together.  Empower yourself by being creative with your hair, or embracing your natural look.  Use this time to cultivate the idea of change and accepting certain things that are not in your control.  This is just a season, and when this season ends you never know what will govern your choices after.  Just know that you are not alone in this. If you have any other ideas that may help others,  feel free to drop it into comments.