You can expect your root smudge to last up to two to three months without a touch-up.
Go for it! A root smudge is deliberately done with semi- or demi-permanent color so that it washes out as your hair grows out. Since these are gentle, deposit-only formulas, it is totally fine to do it yourself/get it down right away if you want.
Root Smudge Colour Application:
It can be helpful to spritz the roots with 2-3 sprays of water from a spray bottle before applying colour to your roots. Applying colour to damp hair makes it easier to glide the product through the hair, creating a natural transition with the lighter lengths.
A root smudge applies toner or gloss the same shade as your natural color or a shade slightly lighter than your natural color to your roots, “smudging” it down until it reaches your highlights.
Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes and rinse your hair thoroughly. Finally, flaunt your new root smudge!
Root smudging is typically done in salons to buffer or blend the darkness of your natural root color with the lighter, highlighted hair. This involves using a shade similar to your natural root color or one to two shades lighter to just slightly bump up your dark roots to blend with the lighter highlights.
Root smudging is a hair coloring technique in which the hair is lightened, but the roots are left slightly darker—typically, within a shade or two of your natural hair color.
A root smudge or root shadow is one of the most effective ways of covering gray strands on hair with highlights. Not only does it guarantee full, even coverage, but it also gives the whole highlighted look with a more natural-looking feel.
In case you do leave hair dye on your hair for too long rather than rinsing it at the recommended time, you could end up with a hair color that is much darker than the color you were hoping for. Even worse, your hair might end up brittle, over-processed and unnatural looking.
Most people do retouch roots every 4 to 6 weeks, and it's a good rule of thumb to make sure you don't go more than 8 weeks between sessions. This is because you want to make sure that your roots don't get any longer than an inch, and according to All Things Hair, hair grows about half an inch every month.
"If you leave your color on for too long, there is potential for extra deposit of pigment to occur. You can't make your hair too light by leaving a tint color on too long (unless you're bleaching), but it can make your hair darker than intended," says Tardo.
"It's formulated to match all the leading hair-color shades and works in five minutes,” says Allure.
Unlike a traditional root touch-up, which typically involves a flat application of your base color, root smudging utilizes a softer approach. This softer approach involves blending a slightly lighter shade than your natural color near your roots, creating a subtle gradient that diffuses the line of demarcation.
Normally, heading to the salon with oily strands wouldn't make too much of a difference for a simple root touch-up. However, Collette warns that unwashed hair can alter the results of a full-head dye job, especially if you have lighter hair.
Pick a lighter hair colour
A lighter colour will then look better. Your hair follicles produce less pigment as you're turning older. If there's no more pigment being produced in the hair follicles, your hair turns pigmentless.
It could be that your hair is resistant to tint, especially when the hair texture has changed as a result of going white. But also it could be that by going lighter, either all over, or by introducing (subtle) highlights you would not see the regrowth strip quite as quickly as if it were lighter.
ROOT SMUDGE/shadow
It's a great way to refresh your look and give your hair color depth and dimension. Root Shadows is great for clients who want to see brightness but also love a lived-in rooty blonde. It's also ideal for those who wish for low maintenance and prefers to go 10 to 12 weeks between appointments.
Wait 20 minutes for the roots to process, then it's time to refresh your ends. “Take sections of your hair, from the top, and apply the colour through the lengths of your hair. When you feel that you've saturated all the ends, leave it for ten minutes, and then shampoo,” Josh advises.
The level system is made up of 10 numbers which help determine the depth level of your natural hair. 1 is black, 5 is light brown, 6 is dark blonde, 7 is blonde and 10 is the lightest blonde.
I prefer wet, making the application process much more efficient and easier. Do you apply your root shadow/tap/smudge at the same time as your global gloss for mids-ends? 90% of the time I will apply the roots and the mid to end color at the same time.
In essence, color melt is a method that uses two or three shades to create a seamless transition from dark to light. It's all about the 'melt', my friends. This technique allows the colors to blend together without any harsh lines, resulting in a softer, more natural look.
The price of root smudge depends on the location and size of the salon, the expertise of the hair colorist, etc., and is usually $150-$250.