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I used to dye my hair to give my natural color a bit of a boost, or to play around with auburn tones (or burgundy ones back in the ’90s when I loved Claire Danes so much!). But now that I’m working my way toward year 37, gray hairs are becoming more and more frequent and are the key reason for me to put some color in my hair. And as you know, gray hairs are stubborn! In my experience they have the hardest time taking the color and keeping the color. So a root cover up is actually a really helpful product for me because I can isolate those stubborn hairs, and also deal with roots just like anyone else who colors their hair. Using a root cover up can also help stretch out the time between coloring sessions, which saves you BIG bucks if you get your hair professionally colored, and still saves you money even if you color at home.
I want to offer some root cover up reviews since I’ve tried so many over the years to help you save time and money and point you to the best products for your needs.
Madison Reed Root Touch-Up Powder
This is my personal top pick because Madison Reed is my favorite line of at-home hair coloring. You can read more about my experience with the brand here if you are curious. I really like their root touch-up powder because it works quickly and effectively, the color blends in great (I have dark brown hair, BTW) and the product is pillow, sweat and even rain resistant! It will wash out with your next shampoo, and one compact should last you roughly 60 applications, which is a nice long time, especially if you don’t wash your hair every single day. This product is availabe in 8 shades, and the cost is $29.95 (it’s totally worth it!).
This might just be the top selling root cover up product, and for good reason. This is a mineral powder that is also sweat and pillow resistant. It has won over 30 beauty awards and gets high marks because it can provide coverage for those wanting to get rid of gray, but also for those with light colored hair wanting to get rid of darker roots. I also really like this product because it isn’t messy to use, unlike some other products I’ve tried! Color WOW is $34.50 and available in 7 shades.
So this is not my preferred application method (spray) but some people really like it and I will say that it doesn’t go everywhere, but is rather precise, so that’s good. The price point is nice at under $20, though I suspect that the powder applications do actually last longer in terms of the number of applications you get for the money. This product comes in 8 colors.
Mineral Fusion Gray Root Concealer
So I don’t recommend getting a wand-type product as your only root cover up (I much prefer the powders for the root line). But with that said, this is my favorite product for dealing with the longer gray hairs that you might have and that lose the hair dye applied to them the quickest. Since I have very dark hair, those hairs really stand out, and they are starting to be too numerous to simply pluck. A wand can help me cover up the entire strand with ease and precision. I use the wand in conjunction with a root powder.
Save Your Money
These are products I tried and did not personally care to buy again. Obviously you can make your own judgments, but I don’t recommend these 2 products:
Cover Your Gray Touch-Up Stick
I don’t like the texture when applying, I don’t like the texture once it is “dry” and I don’t think the coverage is all that great for the effort of application. Sorry, just didn’t work for me! The low price tempted me, but in the end, it was a waste of $5.
I do think this product is worth your time to check out, because it does have quite a lot of 5 star reviews. For me, it didn’t pass the test because I don’t like the lack of control with dispensing the powder. It just comes out of the brush when you turn it upside down, and I much prefer being able to control the amount of product I’m using.
Are you using and enjoying a differet root cover up product? Let us know about it in the comments so we can check it out, too!