We guess every blonde somehow faced the situation when after the hair dyeing the main hair shade is absolutely fine and gorgeous yet the roots are just horribly orange and look like two vertical stripes. How can this problem be solved and prevented? Is there a way to fix hot roots after all? Check out this article and find everything out!
1. What are hot roots?
Unfortunately, the word “hot” in this case has nothing to do with words such as “cool” or “nice”. Hot roots is a term used by hair stylists to explain a condition caused by the application of artificial pigment to hair, resulting in brassy roots noticeably warmer in color than the ends of the hair. In fact, your hair roots may look orange or even reddish, however, the rest of the hair will be perfectly fine
Hot roots can occur in any case, be you blonde, brunette or redhead. However, to be fair, blondes face hot roots oftener that other beauties because they lighten their hair. Considering the fact that natural hair roots are usually a little bit darker than the rest of your hair, but not warmer, the bright color of hot roots basically creates a clear boundary between your root area and the rest of the hair
2. What Causes Hot Roots?
There are several reasons of hot roots. Let’s have a look at the most common ones.
- if hot roots appeared when you tried to dye your outgrown hair roots, it means that you probably picked the wrong color of the hair dye that doesn’t match your colored ends. It’s not the most popular cause of hot roots, however sometimes the wrong choice of the hair dye color is to blame
- the most common reason is when you try to dye your previously-colored hair in a lighter color. In this case, the natural warmth from your scalp activates and accelerates the action of the hair dye by your roots. This way your natural hair which is closest to the scalp, lightens faster while the rest of your hair does it more slowly.
- when you try to perform hair lightening on your natural locks for the first time or if you use a bright hair dye for your natural hair that has never been dyed before. If you’re dyeing your locks several levels lighter or use a vivid color, you should remember about the rules of hair dye application. If you don’t know what we mean, then check them out in the next paragraphs
3. How to Get Rid of Hot Roots
If you already have such a problem and desperately want to fix hot roots, then we can help! Of course, everything depends on your main hair color obtained. If you have blonde hair, we suggest you use blue or purple hair toner and just tone your hot roots away. Don’t worry as everything is super easy. If your roots are more orange, then use purple toning shampoo, if the shade of your hot roots is yellow, then use the blue one. Don’t forget to apply the shampoo little bit down the hair length just to smooth the boundary between your hot roots and the main hair shade. Wait for 10-15 minutes and wash it away.
If you are brunette, then you can use a darker shade of hair dye just to make your overall hair color even. Besides, you can also use a cool-toned gloss of the same shade that your hair has. We only recommend you choose a cool shade even if you have warm hair color, as this will help to neutralize brassy shade of hot roots
4. How to avoid hot roots
There’s nothing hard in avoiding hot roots. Basically, the main rule here is NOT to apply hair dye straight on the roots and then on the rest of your hair length. We know that many ladies do this, however, it’s the main reason of hot roots! First of all, you have to start with your hair ends or your mid-zone and move in the upper direction. Hair roots will be the final point as they develop much faster than the rest of your hair due to the natural heat from your scalp. If you apply hair dye on the roots first, you can over-process them and get orange mess instead of a beautiful color
If there is a contrast between the outgrown hair and previously colored hair (for example, blonde hair with dark brown roots), you will have to use different compositions of different level for each zone. We won’t be giving you the exact formulas as it’s super individual in each particular case. Just don’t wonder that professional hair colorists earn a lot, as these guys are worth their salt
If you dye your hair lighter, then choose cool or ashy tones. The thing is that lightening process makes your hair shade warmer, thus, cool shade will help you not to turn into an orange. Besides, apply hair dye to the hair mid-length first. Applying the dye to the roots right at the end of the treatment just for 5 minutes is a good idea as well. Avoiding hot roots isn’t difficult at all
All in all, hot roots is one of the most common issues when dyeing your hair, but luckily one of the easiest to be fixed. Just do everything according to the instructions or consult a professional colorist first just to prevent hot roots. Then you won’t have to fix hot roots at all.
