If you just colored your hair and discovered that your roots were lighter, there’s a solution for everything. In this case, there’s more than one!
I’ll quickly tell you how you’ll have to fix it according to the mistake you made.
Let’s see:
- You chose the wrong shade. Solution: wait for a few days for it to wash out and color again.
- You used a light shade, and it failed to cover the previous dark shade. Solution: wait for a few days and color again or dye many light strands.
- Your gray hair shows. Solution: Add a darker hair dye or pre-soften before dyeing.
- You confused the bleach with the lightener. Solution: bleach with a bleach powder and a low-volume peroxide and apply it carefully not to touch what is already bleached.
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I will describe each topic in depth below.
Join me to see what could make your roots lighter than the rest of your hair after coloring.
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Wrong shade choice
Did you use to get your hair colored at a salon and then, suddenly, chose to apply the color yourself?
Then, I guess you went to the supermarket and chose a hair dye because you liked the picture on the box.
Big mistake!
The picture on the package is never accurate. To buy a hair dye at the supermarket, you have to take two things into account:
- You must know what shade you got in the salon.
- You must know the undertone used with that base shade.
Let’s take an example: you apply a base shade 8 (light blonde). However, at the salon, you got an 8.3 (light golden blonde), but you bought an 8.1 (light ash blonde) because the girl in the store had a color similar to yours.
However, when you applied it, your roots took on a different shade.
If this was your case, no big deal. Just leave it for a few days.
That’ll give the shade time to wash out a bit. Then, you can reapply the right shade. After that, it’ll be solved.
A light shade doesn’t cover a dark shade
You wanted to lighten the color of your hair. Did you think that you could lighten your hair by applying a lighter shade?
One of the laws of colorimetry tells us that a dark shade works perfectly on a light shade. However, it doesn’t work the other way around. A light shade doesn’t work on a dark one.
Therefore, the dye will only work where there’s no darker hair dye. In this case, at the roots. There’re two possible solutions.
- Wait for a few days and color your hair again. However, this time use the same dark shade you had. It’ll make your color even out again.
- The other alternative is to dye very light strands, if possible, in the same shade that you have achieved in the roots.
If you dye many highlights, you’ll achieve a lightening effect on your hair because the roots and the highlights will provide the necessary lightness. Meanwhile, the hair you haven’t bleached (which will remain dark) will add depth. Then, you’ll get beautiful two-tone hair.
Extra tip: Remember that bleaching risks drying your hair. So, you should nourish your hair to prevent it.
Gray hair: eternal enemies
This can be a recurring mistake for people who hate gray hair.
Have you dyed your hair and discovered that the gray at your roots didn’t absorb the color?
I imagine that you have a stripe that gives away those unbearable gray hairs.
Two different scenarios could have happened here:
- Scenario 1. The shade you chose is lighter than a 7 (medium blonde). This detail is of utmost importance because the lighter the shade, the less covering power.
Solution: Add a quarter of a shade darker than the one you chose. That mix will dye the gray hair without darkening the color.
- Scenario 2. If your gray hair is unruly and the cuticles are hard and closed, the hair dye may not cover it.
Solution: Apply a Pre-soften gray hair before dyeing. There are different products on the market, from keratin softeners to intensive treatments to soften gray hair. The easiest and quickest to prepare is a 20-volume peroxide. It’s better if it’s liquid. Put it in a plastic container, soak a cotton pad, and apply it to the gray hair. Leave it on for about 20 minutes. Then, without rinsing, apply the pre-softener on the hair dye as usual. Leave for the corresponding exposure time and rinse. The result should be an even tone without gray hair.
Mistake between bleaching and lightening
Did you buy a high lift hair dye instead of bleach?
If your hair is dark, the result will be a beautiful shiny orange stripe at the roots.
- What is a high lift?
It’s a creamy product similar to a hair dye but with the power to lighten up to four shades. It’s mixed with a 30 or 40-volume peroxide. Therefore, it turns brown hair coppery. It has the advantage of being less aggressive than bleaching.
- What is bleach?
It’s usually bleach powder mixed with peroxide. Its lightening power goes up to five to six shades, which is one or two shades lighter than a high lift.
- Solution if you used a lightener
If this was your case, the solution requires being accurate. You’ll have to bleach the hair with bleach powder and a low volume peroxide. Then, apply it carefully not to touch what is already bleached.
If you overdo it and deposit the product on what is already bleached, a lighter stripe will appear when you wash the product. It’ll look just as bad.
Still, as your hair is already light due to the previous high lift, it won’t need long to lighten. Of course, you’ll need deep nourishment afterward as you always do when you bleach your hair.
Conclusion: “Do it yourself” can fail
The problem may have arisen when you decided to touch up the color yourself. If this happens to you in a salon, you should just go back and talk to the stylist to fix the problem.
On the other hand, if it happened to you, you can fix it by following the tips I gave you. However, make an appointment at your usual salon and look for a professional solution to prevent the problem from worsening.
Are you embarrassed to go to the salon with such messy hair?
Don’t worry. Stylists see these cases often. They’ll be able to help you and make your hair the ideal frame for your face. Go ahead!
