Few beauty fixes are as instantly gratifying as covering up visible roots. The best root touch-up products help stretch the time between salon appointments with a little extra polish. The one we recommend most? Color Wow’s Root Coverup Powder. It is mess-free, produces surprisingly natural-looking results, and clings to roots like a clingy ex (but in a good way). Of course, depending on your hair color, texture, and tolerance for DIY beauty, the best root concealer product for you might look different than someone else’s. So we tested a lineup of sprays, powders, and even a few surprisingly elegant crayons to find the standouts for every scenario—whether you’re covering a couple of grays before a wedding or doing full-blown at-home root rehab.
The best root touch-up products, at a glance:
- Best Overall: Color Wow Root Coverup Powder, $35
- Best for Gray Hair: L’Oréal Magic Root Precision Temporary Gray Concealer Brush, $9
- Best for Red Hair: R+Co Bright Shadows Root Touch-Up Spray, $19
- Best for Dark Hair: Bumble and Bumble Color Stick Root Coverup, $33
- Best for Volume: Oribe Airbrush Root Touch-Up Spray, $36
- Best for Brows and Hair: Madison Reed The Great Cover Up Root Touch Up + Brow Filler, $34
Best Overall Root Touch-Up: Color Wow Root Coverup Powder
The Color Wow Root Coverup Powder blends seamlessly, even in tricky spots like the hairline and part, thanks to its finely milled formula and double-ended brush. Hairstylist Lona Vigi says she can’t live without it. “It makes hair look way thicker at the base, and the gray coverage is outstanding,” she says. Rogerio Cavalcante, a hair stylist and owner of Second Floor Salon in NYC, and Julie Dickson, a hairstylist and founder of Joon Drop salon in NYC, sing its praises too. “I give it to clients who need gray coverage between salon touch-ups, in addition to my clients with fine or thin hair needing to show a little less scalp on their hairline and part lines,” says Dickson. “It works wonders in photos as well, as it’s matte and won’t reflect a shiny scalp, which often occurs with flash photography.” Unlike sprays that can feel stiff or waxy, she goes on to say, the powder has a lightweight, almost creamy texture that clings to strands without settling on the scalp. It’s also water-resistant, so it’s no surprise this is a backstage staple for red carpets and runways.
Best Root Touch-Up for Gray Hair: L’Oréal Magic Root Precision Temporary Gray Concealer Brush
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Gray hair isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some people have a few silver strands, while others have full-on regrowth. This precise brush-on formula caters to both. Its mascara-like wand makes it easy to swipe color exactly where you need it (no mess, no overspray), and the fast-drying formula stays put until your next shampoo. It’s ideal for targeting temples or filling in along the part when you don’t want to color your whole head. Bonus: It’s under $15.
“I deal with some hair thinning around my crown, so I like to fill in the area with a root touch-up when I’m headed to a special event or going out. This brush was probably one of the best I tried, because it’s really easy to squeeze the product out and paint on in any area needed. I found that this one was easy to use, dried down quickly, and stayed put all night. I’ll definitely be reaching for this again next time I need a quick fix,” says Glamour commerce writer Alanna Martine Kilkeary.
Best Root Touch-Up for Dark Hair: Bumble and Bumble Color Stick Root Coverup
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Bumble and Bumble’s creamy formula comes in a twist-up, mess-free, and satisfyingly precise crayon. The pigment payoff is rich but natural-looking, especially loved by people with black or brown hair. While some touch-up products can skew too ashy or matte on deeper tones, this one nails that soft, satin finish that actually looks like hair. It glides on smoothly and doesn’t flake or transfer once it sets. Plus, you can stash it in your bag for sneaky on-the-go touch-ups.
Glamour’s Kilkeary is also a fan. “This crayon is compact, which makes it easy to throw in a bag, and it did a great job at filling in some sparse areas I have around my crown. The color match was also perfect, and it easily blended in with my hair. I do think that when using this one, it’s best to have a light hand, as it can smudge a bit if you use too much product, but it didn’t budge for hours and perfectly concealed some areas where my hair is thinning a bit.”
Best Root Touch-Up for Red Hair: R+Co Bright Shadows Root Touch-Up Spray
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Red hair is notoriously hard to match—but R+Co nails it. This pigment-rich spray comes in two natural-looking red shades that blend beautifully, with just the right undertone. The micro-fine mist evenly coats roots without creating stiff patches, and the dry finish keeps it from transferring onto hands or pillowcases. The formula is also infused with biotin and mica for a little strength and subtle shine. If you’re a redhead, this one’s a rare gem.
Best Root Touch-Up for Dry Hair: Divi Root Touch Up
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Dry scalps and root cover-ups usually don’t play well together, but this formula is an exception. Infused with scalp-friendly ingredients such as green tea extract and biotin, Divi’s root touch-up applies color with soothing and hydrating ingredients. The sensitive-skin-friendly formula dries to a soft, powdery finish that won’t flake or irritate. And unlike some sprays that feel like helmet hair, this one is designed to leave roots touchably soft.
Best Root Touch-Up Wand: Toppik Fill Me In Hairline Filler
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Toppik’s clever wand comes with a sponge-tip applicator that looks like a mascara wand with a tiny reindeer nose on its end. The wand and rounded tip make it incredibly easy to dab color exactly where you need it—whether it’s along your hairline, at your part, or anywhere your scalp peeks through. It’s especially handy for sleek updo days when you want everything to look a bit fuller. The formula is creamy, blendable, and buildable, so you can tap on just a little or layer for more coverage. It’s quick and precise, ideal for travel or on-the-go touch-ups.
Best Permanent Root Touch-Up: DP Hue Root Touch-Up Kit
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For anyone ready to commit a little more, this kit delivers salon-level results at home and is suitable for a variety of hair types. It comes with everything you need: developer, color, gloves, and even a brush. It’s especially great for covering grays that show up fast and fierce. The no-drip cream formula sticks exactly where you want it, and the color payoff is rich, dimensional, and impressively long-lasting. It’s not a quick fix, but it’s worth it if you want to stretch your salon visits.
Best Root Touch-Up for Volume: Oribe Airbrush Root Touch-Up Spray
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Oribe’s Dry Texturizing Spray has a cooler, more pragmatic cousin, and this is her. The Airbrush Root Touch-Up Spray doesn’t just disguise roots. It adds believable fullness and a dry, velvety texture that feels more “fresh blowout” than “panic cover-up.” It works especially well along the part or crown, where hair tends to lie a little flatter and color fades faster. “This is perfect for instantly covering grays or regrowth between salon visits. It blends seamlessly, adds volume, and even absorbs oil,” says Cavalcante. And yes, it smells as chic as you’d expect from Oribe—which is to say, as if you’re breezing out of a five-star hotel.
Best Root Touch-Up for Brows and Hair: Madison Reed The Great Cover Up Root Touch Up + Brow Filler
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This is a root touch-up product, but the pigment is refined enough to double as a brow filler—which makes it ideal for travel, gym bags, or anyone who loves a multitasking beauty product. The powder blends easily and clings to hair without looking chalky or powdery, and the dual-ended brush is surprisingly precise. Think of it as the concealer stick of root touch-ups: quick, clean, and genuinely undetectable when applied well.
All your root touch-up questions, answered
How do you touch up roots at home?
First, figure out what kind of touch-up product works best for your needs. Sprays are the easiest to use. Just give the bottle a good shake, hold it a few inches away from your roots, and mist on the color in light bursts until you’ve got the coverage you want. Powders take a bit more time but give you more control: Load the brush, tap off the excess, and press it into your roots, focusing on your part and hairline. Wands and crayons work like precision tools for smaller spots (think single grays or sparse temples), and they’re great if you want to draw in coverage exactly where you need it.
If you’re going the semipermanent route, those usually involve gloves, a mixing bowl, and a bit of commitment. But they’ll give you longer-lasting results. Just make sure to section your hair and apply the dye directly to the regrowth with the included applicator, following the specific product’s instructions on timing and rinsing.
“Root touch-up products can also be super helpful for people with only a few stray grays that are easy to cover at home,” says hairstylist Rogerio Cavalcante, founder of NYC’s Second Floor Salon. “Plus, they can fill in sparse areas along the hairline, which is especially useful when doing updos and wanting everything to look fuller and more polished.”
How often should you touch up your roots?
This depends on how fast your hair grows. If you’re covering grays, you might find yourself reaching for your preferred product every two to three weeks. Cavalcante notes that “depending on how much gray hair someone has, they may need to retouch their roots as often as every two weeks, which can get expensive and take up time.” A good root cover-up can be a helpful in-between fix, giving you “at least an extra week before you absolutely need to see your colorist.”
How long does a root touch-up last?
It varies based on the type of product you use. Temporary sprays and powders typically last until your next shampoo, while semipermanent root kits can hold up for several washes. If you’re using a temporary option like a spray or powder, hairstylist Julie Dickson, founder of Joon Drop salon in NYC, says they’re perfect “for when you have a Zoom meeting the week before your gray is scheduled to be touched up”—or when you want to camouflage scalp peek-through for an updo.
As Cavalcante puts it: “Root touch-ups work best for gray coverage until the regrowth reaches about an inch. If your roots are longer than 1.5 inches, it’s time to visit your colorist!”
Meet the experts
- Lona Vigi, celebrity hairstylist
- Rogerio Cavalcante, hair stylist and owner of Second Floor Salon in NYC
- Julie Dickson, hairstylist and founder of Joon Drop salon in NYC
