Should I dye my roots first or last? It all depends on what you want to achieve

 

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Do you know what the most important thing is once you’ve decided to dye your hair?

 

Of course, the color, obviously. However, after that, what’s next? Think, think.

Exactly! It’s exposure time and where to start applying the hair dye.

 

Your hair has three sections: the roots are where the new hair growth comes from.

Then, the lengths, and, finally, the ends that are about 5 centimeters up from the end of your hair.

 

 Why is it important to know which of these sections to start with? Because the hair dye is processed differently in each of them 

 

Of course, if you’re just touching up the roots, you don’t need to apply color all over the hair.

In fact, you shouldn’t apply the hair dye to the mid-lengths and ends because that can make the color too dark and dull.

 

However, if you are coloring your hair for the first time or changing the shade, you should do it according to your base color and the chosen hair dye.

The processing times will also be different. Permanent hair color is applied using a developer. It’s a chemical that can play tricks on you.

Why?

 

Let’s look at an example.

If you apply a blonde hair dye on dark hair starting at the roots, you can get a very unpleasant orange.

If your hair is light and you dye it too blonde, your roots can turn white.

Therefore, to avoid making mistakes, you have to pay attention to your roots and the hair dye color. Then, you’ll know where to start.

 

If your roots are dark and you want to apply a light hair dye, you should start coloring the lengths.

Permanent hair color is applied with a 20-volume developer, which has a lightening effect of its own. If your roots are dark, you have to start with the light color on the lengths.

 

Women usually come to my salon with orange roots and the rest of their hair blonde. That’s because the roots are the youngest hair, and the lengths have already gone through other coloring processes.

As the roots are young and virgin hair, when you start applying the hair dye at the roots, they lighten faster resulting in an orange tone.

So, how should you apply the hair dye?

 

 

If your roots are light and you want to apply a light color, you should start with the lengths.

Do you know why?

The roots are very young hair and lose color more quickly. On the other hand, the permanent hair color contains developer. So, if you apply the light color on your roots first, your hair runs the risk of turning two-tone.

Even the growth can turn white!

 

Another tip: don’t leave the hair dye on longer than indicated because the color won’t get any lighter. If you want a lighter color, buy a lighter color.

The application on the lengths is always easier than on the roots because you don’t have to be very detailed.

 

 

Where do I start if my roots are light, and I want to apply a dark hair dye?

In this case, if your roots are light and you want to apply a dark color, you should dye your hair from roots to ends simultaneously and leave the hair dye on for 40 minutes.

This way, you’ll achieve an even color without tone differences between lengths and roots.

 

The application is easier because you don’t need to wait to apply the hair dye to the different sections.

 

Conclusions

You should only start coloring your hair at the roots when you’re doing a color touch-up on the growth.

For all other cases, whether you apply a lighter or darker shade, you should consider the base color and the color to be applied. Remember to respect the exposure time of the hair dye to avoid over-processing your hair and damaging it.