The Secret Of Touching Up Your Hair Colour

Introducing Garnier’s own root touch up lifesaver

We’ve all been there; we get invited to a glamorous event, but it’s very last minute and there are only a couple of days to go. Your hair is screaming out for a root touch up, but you call the salon and their colourist is fully booked!

Or, maybe the hot guy you met at that party last week texts to ask you out on a date… TONIGHT! 

Or perhaps, your boss phones in sick and asks you to present your genius marketing ideas to the board at 3pm this afternoon! 

Maybe, you’re away on holiday when you suddenly realize you’re getting back late on a Saturday night, the salon will be closed on Sunday and you are going to start your new job on the Monday morning! 

What if your schedule is just way too hectic between now and your best friend’s hen weekend? Or, what if your budget for the weekend won’t allow for a cut and colour? 

There are so many scenarios when the unavoidable appearance of unsightly roots can be a real drag. It’s fine if you’re just messing around at home, meeting old friends who accept you, warts and all, but when there’s a smart occasion, a job interview or a hot date, the last thing you want is a big sign over your head saying: I NEED TO TOUCH UP MY HAIR COLOUR!

For those of us with grey hair, it can be even more alarming when those ugly roots poke through between visits to your favourite professional colourist. Darling Joel – he’s so lovely! – might be a wonder with balayage effects and dramatic ombres but frankly, he won’t be there holding your hand when the six-foot-four hunk of your dreams walks into the restaurant and sees your roots lighting up like the Himalayas under the unforgiving halogens of the Spanish-style open kitchen (the tapas is going to have to be good to keep him distracted). 

So, what do we do? Ask Joel to move into the spare room, rent free if he does your hair every day? (Not a bad idea; he is so lovely!) 

There is another way that’s cheap, quick, easy, portable and it’s available in many different stores and grocers; it’s called Express Retouch root touch up applicator by Garnier. 

The idea is blissfully simple; between salon visits, whenever your roots are showing a little too much for your liking, you take your handbag-friendly bottle of Express Retouch, give it a shake, remove the lid to reveal the very handy cushion applicator – essentially a sponge attached to the lid – and touch up those roots, using a mirror preferably!

Two or three minutes later, they’ll be coloured subtly and undetectably that only Joel, lovely Joel, would know the difference. Genius! You can fix a whole headful of roots, and any rogue hairs to boot, in the blink of an eye, and you can do it pretty much anywhere (there’s a reason it’s such a neat, handbag-friendly size). 

Each application will last until at least your next shampoo and with up to 30 applications per bottle when used on parting only, you’ll find its incredibly good value. 

Ah yes, but are the results any good? And do they have my shade? Of course, everyone has different coloured hair; there are an infinite variety of natural hair shades and hundreds of artificial hair colours, which all look different depending on the colour of the hair being dyed, so an exact match would be impossible, but remember that your hair isn’t the same colour all over. It varies in tone and depth, plus the effects of light on your hair make a huge difference – the light source, whether it’s from behind, below, in front or above.

What does that mean? There is a palette of five shades ranging from black through to dark brown, mid brown, dark blonde and light blonde, for women (and men – it’s a unisex product). And with the cushion applicator, you can easily dab it onto the offending roots. 

Think of Express Retouch like make-up; you carry lipstick and mascara around for the same reason – to make yourself look amazing in a few seconds – so why not a root concealer? It’s the way forward.