Should you color the roots first or last?
That is a great question!
The answer is...it all depends!
On what? You may ask. We will explain in this blog.
Keep reading!
COLOR ROOTS FIRST OR LAST?
When you have a dark regrowth
This is the most common situation that you as a stylist are likely to encounter.
When you have a dark regrowth, you need to deal with the root area first. Whether you use a bleach, high lift color or regular color is up to you and depends on the exact situation that you face and the degree of lift required.
But you must deal with the root first.
When you have a lighter regrowth than ends
This is less common.
But when it happens, you need to color the ends first, returning to the root part at the last.
When the whole head is one color and you are going lighter
When the whole head is one color, and you are going lighter, it is a good idea to leave the root part until the end.
The reason for this is that the root part always processes faster because it gets the heat from the scalp.
So for long hair, where a lot of time gets taken up in the actual color application, color the root area last.
Watch carefully.
Then rinse when the root area has lifted to where you want it to be.
When the whole head is one color and you are going darker
When going darker, color roots and ends all together.
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Case no 1: A Dark Regrowth, Light Ends
This is perhaps the most common situation. It could come in different ways.
Your client's hair could look like this:
Dark regrowth level 6. Brassy mid-ends levels level 7-8. The ends are blonde level 10
In the above situation, you would need to color (and in this case lift) the roots first.
So use a quality bleach, or a high lift color, and lift the roots up first.
Then rinse.
Then color the whole head.
That would be the way to get a nice consistent result.
Where it is necessary to use bleach on the root area, we would suggest you use Brilliant Blondexx.
Brilliant Blondexx contains Bond Protect and has been formulated to be used on the root area.
The Bond Protect offers some protection to the hair which is lacking in most other bleaches on the market.
In addition, it is fairly powerful. So you can use only 20 Vol developer and get the lift that you need.
WATCH VIDEO OF HOW TO LIFT ROOTS WHEN USING BLEACH:
Hair by Ashley Betancourt
WATCH VIDEO OF HOW TO LIFT ROOTS USING HIGH LIFT COLOR:
Hair by Elona Taki
Dark Root, Light Ends
Case no 2: A Dark Regrowth, Light Ends
This case is a little less usual. But it can happen.
It sometimes happen in cases of "hot root" - which is when the color processed faster and more than planned at the root area.
This can happen when the hair is fine and when the color has been left a little too long on the root area.
Light Root, Dark Ends
Sometimes you get this result after bleaching, when the bleach has been left too long at the root area:
Root area is actually lighter than the rest
In such cases it is a good idea to color the ends first, leaving the root part to the end.
Return to the root area last.
Process and watch the root area carefully.
Rinse the whole head once done.
Sally Madison, National Color Trainer.
Sally has been a hair colorist and trainer for many years in both the US & Europe. She currently does hair color training for Ugly Duckling. She also helps develop new & awesome products for the brand.