How Often Should You Get a Root Touch-Up?
A root touch-up is one of the most requested colour appointments, and one of the most common questions a colourist hears is simply: how often should I be doing this? The right answer depends on your hair growth, your natural colour, and whether you are covering grey. In this guide, a colourist at Hair Nova Angel walks through a realistic touch-up timeline, so you can plan your colour appointments with confidence.
Why Root Touch-Ups Matter
As your hair grows, your natural colour becomes visible at the root, creating a line between your natural shade and your coloured lengths. A root touch-up simply colours that new growth to match the rest of your hair, keeping your overall colour looking fresh and seamless rather than patchy.
The Average Root Touch-Up Timeline
Most clients book a root touch-up every four to six weeks. This is a general guide rather than a strict rule, as hair grows at different rates and some regrowth lines are far less noticeable than others.
If your colour is close to your natural shade, you may be able to stretch this out, whereas a bigger contrast between your natural and coloured hair usually means booking in sooner.
What Affects How Often You Need a Touch-Up
Hair growth speed varies from person to person, and faster-growing hair naturally needs more frequent touch-ups. The contrast between your natural colour and your dyed colour also plays a big role, as does whether you are covering grey, which tends to show through more obviously than a subtle colour change.
Root Touch-Ups for Grey Coverage
Grey regrowth is usually the most visible of all, since it contrasts sharply against most colours. Clients covering grey often find they need a touch-up every three to five weeks to keep the root line from becoming obvious, particularly around the hairline and parting.
Signs You Are Overdue for a Touch-Up
A clear stripe of regrowth at the parting, a noticeable change in texture where colour meets natural hair, or grey coming through at the root are all signs it is time to book. If you find yourself reaching for a root concealer spray more than once a week, that is usually a good cue too.
Can You Leave It Too Long?
Leaving a long gap between touch-ups is not harmful to your hair, but it can make the eventual appointment longer and sometimes trickier, especially if there has been a lot of regrowth or fading in between. It can also mean more product and time is needed to blend everything evenly.
Root Touch-Up vs Full Colour Refresh
A root touch-up focuses only on the new growth at the root, while a full colour refresh recolours the mid-lengths and ends as well, often alongside a gloss or toner. Most clients alternate between the two, booking a root-only appointment most visits and a fuller refresh every few appointments to keep the overall colour vibrant.
How to Make Time Between Touch-Ups Easier
A good root concealer spray or powder can bridge the gap between appointments if you need a few extra days. Booking your next touch-up before you leave the salon is also one of the easiest ways to stay on schedule, especially with a busy diary.
Book Your Root Touch-Up at Hair Nova Angel
Ready to keep your colour looking fresh? Explore our hair colour in Islington services and our expert colourists will help you find the right touch-up schedule for you.
To book, reserve online on Fresha, call 020 7993 5484, or message us on WhatsApp. We are two minutes from King’s Cross Station, open Tuesday to Saturday.