I dyed my hair platinum blonde a year ago, and since then, I’ve been making trips to the salon every two months to get my very dark roots touched up. Those trips take a lot of time and cost a lot of money.
So when I heard about at-home root touch-up kits, I was intrigued. I decided to test them out on the six weeks of roots that I had.
In short, the results were disappointing. My natural hair is such a dark contrast to the platinum blonde that it’s nearly impossible to “fake” covering up my roots. Here’s what I found:
1. Bb. Color Stick
Similar to a concealer, this product is used to “color” your roots like a crayon. The product itself looked and felt like makeup, and the clay-like texture made my hair look greasy.
Grade: F
Bb. Color Stick, $26, Sephora
RELATED: 5 pro-quality hair dyes that let you skip the salon
2. WOW Root Cover Up
This product looks just like an eye shadow palette, and it works in a similar manner. Using a small brush, I dusted powder on my roots. It was easy to use, but the color was no match for my dark roots.
Grade: D
WOW Root Cover Up, $34.50, Amazon
3. L’Oreal Root Cover Up
This small spray can promised to cover my roots until my next shampoo. The spray felt cold and then it just started burning my scalp. The worst part: the color was similar in hue to Donald Trump’s. No thanks!
Grade: F
L'Oreal Root Touch Up, $11, Walgreens
RELATED: The 7 biggest hair mistakes to avoid (and expert advice on how to fix them)
4. Temptu Airbrush HairColor Revival Tool
This contraption looks like something you’d use to spray paint your house. The tool itself is sleek, but it didn’t perform the way I’d hoped. The product was sticky, messy and, overall, too much hassle for something that didn’t deliver results.
Grade: F
Temptu HairColor Revival, $35, Nordstrom
So, maybe if my roots weren’t quite so different in contrast from my bleached hair, the WOW Root Cover Up would’ve been effective. Alas, it’s back to the salon for me.