If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know I’m planning to be a little more active again, after a short pause on things due to personal issues - and the pandemic. So, to get the ball rolling, I wanted to share with you a review of three root touch up products I have tried and tested to get you through the current lack of professional hairdressing available. Have a read below, or check out my YouTube or IGTV for the full results.
Before we went into lockdown, I was at the point already whereby I already needed my roots redoing. Having had to cancel my appointment for obvious reasons, I inevitably had begun to go quite grey! Now, it's not something that I'm consciously ashamed or anything, but, like a lot of people, I am usually pretty on top of it. I’m if really honest, I’ve toyed with the idea of using this isolation period to be done with the dye and just grow my grey out completely, but that’s still to be decided. So for now, I’ll use my situation to hopefully help you all instead.
To give some context; as my father was ill, I left my home to stay with my parents just before lockdown. Thankfully, before I went, I grabbed everything I might need in case I did end up stuck here for three months or so - including all of the root touch up products in my bathroom cabinet. So, if you’re someone struggling with greys during the pandemic, you’ll be glad to know I’ve got three products to test out for you. All of which you can buy online, and I’ve linked for you below…
Josh Wood Colour
Blending Brush - £15
Second up is the Color Wow, which comes in powder form rather than liquid. This is applied by just brushing onto the roots using the applicator provided. Once again - I have a lot of root for what is supposed to be a touch-up product, but despite how small it was, it was great for taking the edge off. I found the best way to apply was to load the powder onto the brush, tap off the excess and then push it into the root. Although my hands got a little grubby - the result was amazing. I was very impressed; finding the coverage to be thorough, but natural. Due to it being a powder; I also preferred the way it felt on my hair, as it was much lighter, but don’t let that deceive you as it’s equally as messy! With any of these products, be sure to check yourself out in the mirror more often, as I often found dark smudges on my face. And definitely sleep with a towel on your pillows if you have precious bedsheets.
L’oreal Magic Retouch
Precision Instant Concealer Brush - £8.99
So the first product I used was the Josh Wood Colour, which comes with a brush head. This is applied by pressing the bottom of the tube to release the colour, and then painting into the root. For the most natural-looking result, you should try to avoid getting it on the scalp - especially around the hairline, although I found this quite tricky, as it’s messy to apply. However, as most of us are only doing Zoom calls at the most at the moment, I think anything that’s not blindingly obvious is ok. Once applied, I gave my hair a quick blow-dry, and was pleasantly surprised with the results. Especially when considering how deep my root was! The product was quite claggy on first application but, once dried, it feels a bit like having dry shampoo in. You can still see the greys, but it takes the edge off, making them appear more salt and pepper, and definitely softening any harsh lines.
Color Wow
Root Cover Up - £28.50
Number three is the L’oreal Magic Retouch. This is one I was yet to try before this retouch review - so I’m equally as keen to know how it performs. Unlike the others with their brushes, this comes something similar to a mascara wand. Which, to my surprise was actually very easy to use - and particularly helpful for catching all of the stray hairs around the hairline. Although, inevitably a little slower for the amount of root growth I had. Like the Josh Wood product, it was wet and quite sticky to apply, so needed a quick blow dry to set. However, the upside to the liquid products is that I did find them to temporarily dye the hair - even after washing. Although as messy as the other two products; the L'oreal Magic Touch brush was as equally as thorough once massaged in.
Although I can’t say that these products are my ‘three of the best,’ as I haven’t tried others on the market, I am confident that they all do a good job. To conclude, I would list them in the following order: Firstly: Color Wow, Secondly: L’oreal Magic Touch, Lastly: Josh Wood. They were all great, but Josh Wood was a little more difficult to apply, despite being the most long lasting. L’oreal was easy to apply, but would definitely take longer to disguise a more harsh line as the wand is so small. Of course, that makes Color Wow my favourite - which I was actually using before anyway (typical!) It’s the easiest to apply, requires the least amount of styling, and sits on your hair almost unnoticeably. In fact - if you’re someone with an oily root, it even offsets this a little; acting almost as a dry shampoo would. All three, however, had good longevity - even coming into their own on the second and third day when the colour was absorbed properly. So I was pleasantly surprised and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend if you come across them on your government-approved weekly shop, or doing an online order.
I hope this has been useful to you. Stay safe, and let me know your thoughts!