Root Touch-Up Chicago | Gray Coverage at Reverie Salon
Root Touch-Up in Chicago
A root touch-up is a color service applied only to new growth — the band of natural hair between your scalp and your existing color — to erase the visible line without re-processing hair that has already been colored. It is the maintenance appointment nobody looks forward to and everybody needs. At Reverie Salon in River North, Chicago, root touch-ups are priced by your stylist — choose yours when you book and their pricing appears before you confirm — and take about an hour.
Depending on how fast your hair grows and how much contrast sits between your natural color and your color, the line shows up somewhere between three and six weeks.
What we do — and what we deliberately do not
We apply color exclusively to the new growth, matched to your existing formula. The key word is exclusively. A common shortcut at less careful salons is pulling color through the ends at every visit, which causes build-up, dullness and over-processing over time. We only refresh the ends when they genuinely need it, which for most clients is every third or fourth appointment at most.
Your formula is kept on file from your first appointment: same shade, same developer, same processing time. That consistency is what keeps color looking natural appointment after appointment instead of drifting slightly with each visit.
Gray coverage at the root
If you are covering gray with single-process color, your schedule depends on how much gray you have and where it concentrates — most clients come in every 4 to 6 weeks. Temples and the front hairline usually go first and show fastest.
If that cadence has started to feel relentless, there is a way off it — but it is not gray blending. Years of single-process coverage leave permanent color banded through the hair, and that puts you in The Grey Transition: from $600, with Sal, the work of getting that old color off cleanly so your own hair can grow out without a line. It typically runs 2 to 5 sessions over 6 to 18 months, and we quote it only after a consultation — never over the phone, by text, by DM or over chat. Gray blending, from $170 as a standalone service or added to a haircut at a price confirmed with your stylist, is the related service for hair that is not on permanent color: there is nothing to remove, so we simply soften the root, and it typically stretches appointments to 8 to 12 weeks.
Root touch-up vs. root smudge vs. all-over color
- Root touch-up — color on new growth only, matched to your existing formula. Priced by your stylist.
- Root smudge or root melt — a soft blur of depth at the root of a lightened head, so the grow-out fades instead of lining. Usually done as part of a blonding appointment.
- All-over color — a single shade from root to end, when the whole head is changing rather than being maintained. Priced by your stylist.
Making it last longer
Stretching a root appointment is mostly about reducing contrast. Softening the depth of your base or adding a few face-framing lights both make the grow-out less abrupt. Your colorist can build that in at your next appointment — it is a design decision, not an upsell. And if what you actually want is to stop covering altogether, say so in the chair: that is The Grey Transition, planned as a series with Sal, and it starts with a consultation rather than a color appointment.
Pricing and timing
Every stylist at Reverie sets their own pricing. When you book online you’ll see your stylist’s current price before you confirm. Our colourists range widely in experience, and one flat salon-wide number would be unfair in both directions — so each of them prices their own work, and the booking site shows it to you up front.
- Root touch-up, with or without a blow-dry — priced by your stylist
- All-over color — priced by your stylist
- Gray blending — from $170 standalone, or added to a haircut at a price confirmed with your stylist
- The Grey Transition — from $600, with Sal, quoted only after a consultation
- Appointment time — about 1 hour
- Consultation in the chair — included with every booked appointment, at no extra charge
- Standalone consultation — $50 for 15 minutes, or $150 for 30 minutes with Sal, credited in full toward any service or product within 30 days
Within a stylist’s pricing, colour is priced by length and density, never by gender. Your exact quote is written before any color is applied. Not sure who to book? Find your stylist.
Related services
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a root touch-up?
A root touch-up is color applied only to new growth — the band of natural hair between your scalp and your existing color — matched to your formula on file, so the regrowth line disappears without re-processing hair that is already colored.
How much does a root touch-up cost in Chicago?
Every stylist at Reverie sets their own pricing, so there is no single root touch-up price. When you book online you choose your stylist and see their current price before you confirm, with or without a blow-dry. Within a stylist’s pricing it is by length and density, never by gender.
How often do I need a root touch-up?
Most clients come in every 4 to 6 weeks. It depends on how fast your hair grows and how much contrast sits between your natural color and your color — higher contrast shows sooner.
How long does a root touch-up take?
About an hour at Reverie Salon, or a little longer with a blow-dry.
Can I stretch the time between root appointments?
Yes, by reducing contrast. Softening the depth of your base or adding face-framing lights makes the grow-out less abrupt. If what you want is to stop covering altogether, that is The Grey Transition rather than gray blending: years of single-process color leave permanent color banded through the hair, and it has to come off before your own hair can grow out without a line. The Grey Transition is from $600 with Sal, typically 2 to 5 sessions over 6 to 18 months, and it is quoted only after a consultation. Gray blending, from $170, is the related service for hair that is not on permanent color, and it typically stretches appointments to 8 to 12 weeks.
Do you pull the color through the ends?
Only when the ends genuinely need it, which for most clients is every third or fourth appointment. Refreshing the ends every visit causes build-up, dullness and over-processing over time.
What does a consultation cost?
Every booked appointment includes a full consultation in the chair at no extra charge. A standalone consultation is $50 for 15 minutes, or $150 for 30 minutes with Sal, credited in full toward any service or product within 30 days. It is forfeited only on a no-show or a cancellation inside 24 hours.
