But no matter how many beautiful celebs and models I see with silver and grey locks flowing behind them, it’s not a look I will ever aspire to. Grey hair is just not for me, full stop. Spying a new streak of grey tells me that I’m losing my natural hair colour – that’s not something I want to be reminded of, particularly!
My natural shade is very dark brown, with a hint of red. At some point I will start going lighter, no doubt. But for the moment, with sparse grey, I’m keeping to a salon colour that is as close a match for my natural one as is possible.
I visit my hairdresser every 8 or so weeks, doing a root touch-up in between. But conventional colouring at home is a pain – it’s messy and not especially easy to do. The arrival in recent years of the instant root touch-ups, though, has made things a whole lot easier - and cleaner!
Instant root touch-ups are applied to dry hair and designed to make covering up the odd tuft or two of grey a breeze. Two of the most popular brands are Color Wow and Josh Wood. I’ve bought and used both. Now, let me get straight to the point: one I completely love; the other I absolutely loathe! I did say I was going to be direct!
Color Wow Root Cover Up - £28.50 for 3.1g/0.1oz
A dry mineral powder supplied in a single pan with a double ended brush and a mirror in lid.
Pros:
- Available in 6 shades, accommodating most hair colours (from platinum blonde to black)
- A doddle to apply. Hold hair taut at the root, apply a small amount of powder to the brush, dab product on roots and work outwards along the line of hair re-growth
- Easy to apply on the go with the mirror
- Covers grey 100%
- Blends seamlessly with my own hair colour (I’m using Dark Brown)
- Gives a matte finish (camouflaging the stand-out shininess of grey hair)
- Powder stays put until the next shampoo
- Palette lasts ages (I bought mine about 2 years ago, and it’s still going strong)
Cons:
- Comparatively expensive
- need to reapply after shampooing hair
Josh Wood Blending Wand - £12.50 for 28ml
A liquid root cover-up supplied in a tube with a large application brush at one end.
Pros:
- Available in 7 shades, accommodating most hair colours (from Light Blonde to Black)
- Comparatively cheap
Cons
- Boy this is messy. I found it difficult to get an even flow of product from the tube (sometimes it came out in a gush)
- Impossible to apply without getting product on your scalp, leaving a very noticeable stain on the skin (as one dear friend kindly pointed out to me - argh!!)
- I chose Dark Brown as it looked the closest match to my own hair. However, once applied it turned my grey a vibrant orange! I preferred the grey! Not good!
- It’s a liquid and when dry it made the treated hair feel crispy
- Impossible to apply on the go as too messy and no mirror
- I didn’t test its longevity as I stopped using it the moment my friend pointed out the stains on my scalp – I can’t believe I thought no one would notice!
Final Words
No contest: Color Wow wins hands down! It may be more than twice the price of the Josh Wood but it’s worth every penny. Rarely have I disliked a product as much as this Josh Wood one. If I was to give it another go (which I have no plans to), I would opt for the Black shade, which wasn’t available at the time I bought mine.Color Wow Root Cover Up is available here and the Josh Wood Blending Wand at M&S here.
