There’s nothing quite like walking out of the salon loving your hair.
The color is fresh, everything came together the way you hoped it would, and for the next few weeks you don’t give much thought to your hair beyond enjoying the way it looks.
Then one morning you notice your roots.
Maybe it’s along your part. Maybe it’s around your hairline. At first it’s just enough that you notice it. Then the difference between your natural hair and your color becomes a little harder to ignore.
Eventually, you’re looking at the calendar and realizing it’s about time to make another appointment. Then you do it all over again.
For some people, that cycle is simply part of having a hair color they love. The maintenance is worth it. But after months or years of repeating that cycle, you might start feeling differently about it.
Maybe you still love your color. You just don’t love how quickly that line starts showing up again. Maybe you find yourself scheduling your life around your roots more than you’d like. Or maybe you’re simply starting to wonder whether there’s another way to do this.
Do I really have to keep chasing my roots?
The Real Question
I’ve been doing hair for more than 25 years, and this is a conversation I have pretty regularly.
And one of the first things I want to know isn’t what color you want to try next or which technique we should use.
I want to know where you want to go.
Where do you want your hair to be a few months from now?
Because being tired of chasing your roots tells me what’s bothering you now. It doesn’t tell me what you want instead.
So Why Is It So Noticeable?
Before we talk about changing anything, it helps to understand why you’re seeing such a definite line in the first place.
Sometimes it comes from the type of color you’re using.
If you’re using permanent color for 100% coverage, there can be a pretty definite difference between the hair we’ve colored and the new hair growing in. As your hair grows, that difference becomes more noticeable.
Then there’s contrast.
If your natural hair is very dark and you’re coloring it much lighter, that dark new growth is going to stand out against the lighter hair. The greater the difference between your natural color and the color you’re wearing, the more noticeable your roots can be when they grow in.
Neither of those things means there’s anything wrong with your color.
It just helps explain why you may feel like you’re constantly chasing it.
What If You Don’t Want to Change a Thing?
That’s an option too.
You may love your current color. You may love having complete coverage. And once you understand why the grow-out is so noticeable, you may decide the maintenance is worth it.
Sometimes the color you love simply comes with more upkeep.
But if you’re at the point where the upkeep is starting to matter more to you, then we can start talking about what you might be willing to change.
What If You Just Want a Softer Grow-Out?
You don’t necessarily have to stop coloring your hair to get away from such a definite grow-out line.
We can change the way we approach the color.
Highlights, for example, can grow in a little less harshly than 100% full-coverage permanent color. Instead of creating one solid color against the new hair growing in, we’re working with more variation.
Another possibility is moving toward a color that’s more sheer instead of completely covering what’s naturally there.
The goal isn’t necessarily to change everything about the way your hair looks. It may simply be to make the difference between your colored hair and your new growth less obvious.
But there is a tradeoff.
The more we move away from complete coverage, the more willing you need to be to see some of your natural hair.
What If Grey Is Part of the Picture?
If the roots you’re chasing are grey, this is where the conversation can take another turn.
When you’ve been completely covering your grey for a long time, simply seeing some of it again can take some getting used to.
That doesn’t mean you have to decide one day to stop coloring your hair and just grow it all out.
You might start by moving toward something more sheer instead of full coverage. You might decide you want to start blending some of your natural grey into your color rather than completely covering it.
And eventually, you may decide you want to stop coloring altogether.
Or you may not.
Grey blending is one possible direction, but the important part is deciding how much of your natural grey you’re comfortable seeing and where you ultimately want to end up.
Same Problem. Different Destinations.
Two people can sit in my chair and say exactly the same thing: “I’m tired of chasing my roots.”
But they may mean very different things.
One may love her current color and decide the maintenance is worth it. Another may want to keep coloring but would rather have something that grows out more softly.
Someone else may be ready to let some of her natural grey become part of her color. And someone else may be ready to start working toward not coloring her hair at all.
There isn’t one right answer because they aren’t all trying to get to the same place. That’s why I keep coming back to the same question:
Where do you want your hair to be a few months from now?
Once you know where you want to go, it becomes much easier to figure out the coloring approach that can help you get there.
If you’re starting to think about where you’d like your hair to go next, contact me at KM Hair Studio and see what other clients have shared about their experience.