Grey hair happens: L'Oreal Root Cover Up


Grey hair. It happens. I see women rocking grey hair, and I hope I can do that one day. Right now, my hair has a mixture of highlights and lowlights, and the few greys I have, used to just blend in for the most part. For years, I went about 10 weeks between coloring sessions, which was awesome. Lately I've noticed that my natural hair color seem to be coming in a bit darker, which makes the greys more noticeable. Thank you, Father Time, Mother Nature, and genes! So I've switched to an 8 week schedule and I'm alternating having just the roots touched up with having highlights and lowlights done all over. I may end up needing to go every 6 weeks instead, but we'll give this a try first!

L'Oreal Root Cover Up

So what does a girl do when she has just a little grey showing through? It's not quite time for a touch-up, and you can't seem to find that sweet spot in criss-crossing your part that hides the grey? I decided that it was time to give one of the root concealer products a try. There are several available. Some are like mascara - in tubes with wands. Some are powders. And some are spray-on products. There's even a crayon. I decided to go with the L'Oreal Root Cover Up because it was available at my local grocery for around $11 (it's less expensive on Amazon.)

The Root Cover Up is ammonia-free, peroxide-free, and contains no synthetic dyes. It says it will last until you shampoo it out, and is quick-drying, leaving no sticky residue.

back of L'Oreal Root Cover Up can

This product comes in 8 shades: Light to Medium Blonde, Dark Blonde, Light Golden Brown, Light Brown, Medium Brown, Dark Brown, Red, and Black. Both blonde shades looked very yellow on the color chart. I watched a YouTube video of someone demonstrating how to use this product and she used one of the blonde colors. It was extremely yellow. My blonde is beige/neutral, so I knew that wasn't going to work. The darker part of my hair is a dark blonde/light brown, and I know my colorist puts some chocolate color in it, so I opted for the Golden Brown shade. It doesn't really look golden, it's just a "bronde" color (in my opinion), and it matched fairly well. 

L'Oreal Root Cover Up nozzle

The can has an extended, thin nozzle to direct the spray onto the roots, but it's a little difficult to depress the button - which means if you try to depress it slowly the product will come out in a splatter and if you depress it normally, it comes out quickly and is difficult to control where it is being sprayed. (See spray patterns in photo below)

L'Oreal Root Cover Up spray pattern

Since I only have a few greys, I really didn't want to spray my entire root area/hairline. I also didn't want the darker color getting on my highlights. Since I had to depress the button firmly, I found it difficult to direct the nozzle to those few greys with the force of the spray coming out of the can. You need to hold the can 4-6 inches from your head, so even with the thin nozzle to direct the spray, that increases the range of the spray. (Note: The directions on the can say to hold the can 6-8 inches from hair, but the directions on the website say 4-6 inches.) If you were trying to cover a lot of greys, or if your hair was all one color, it probably wouldn't matter. The day that I sprayed it on, someone asked me if I had been to the salon and had my hair colored darker. I did have my hair pulled up in a ponytail, which shows all of the darker underlayers and hides most of the blonde highlights - so that probably had a lot to do with it, too. Sigh. At least it looked professional, right? And no grey.

I decided that I was going to try to find a solution to my dilemma. What ended up working best for me is using a disposable mascara spoolie brush to apply the product to my greys. I hold the spoolie brush over a paper towel, and spray the Root Cover Up directly on the brush, then quickly brush it over/through the greys before the product dries. It's a little more work, but since I only shampoo my hair every 4-5 days, it's worth the extra time. I also found that applying it this way looks completely natural. It also keeps the product off the scalp/skin.

My hair before using L'Oreal Root Cover Up.

My hair after using L'Oreal Root Cover Up.

In the photos above, I tried to get a good shot of the before and after with my hair parted the same way. You can see how my roots are mostly darker with some grey - although some of those lighter hairs are actually blonde. So when I covered them, I tried to just cover the ones that were grey. And it's not easy to photograph the top of your own head! LOL! These photos were taken a week before my regular appointment for color, but I had to reschedule and wait 2 weeks. Ugh!

I will say that it does cover well, dries quickly, and you can comb/brush/style it just like the rest of your hair. At least when you apply it in the amounts that I did.

Reading other product reviews, it seems the biggest issue might be finding a color match, which is understandable. It's less of a problem if you're brushing the product in with a spoolie brush, but if you're trying to cover a larger area, it would be more crucial to have a good match.

Pros:
  • Covers greys well.
  • Dries quickly.
  • Lasts until you shampoo it out.
  • Can brush and style hair as usual (at least with the amount I used).
  • Inexpensive.
  • Doesn't rub off on clothing or sheets.

Cons:
  • Packaging - difficult to control spray.
  • May be difficult to find a color match.
  • Can splatter on clothing and surrounding area (does clean up easily).

Overall, I like this product. I wish it was a little easier to use, but for the price, I'm okay with it. I'd like to try the bumble & bumble color stick, but I don't see me shelling out almost $30 for a crayon for my hair anytime soon. Especially when you still have to smooth it with your fingers.

Have you tried any root touch-up products? Do you have any favorites? Any failures? 

Kim
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