I’m sure you’ve heard the term root smudge before. It can also be called a root melt and a root stretch, too! With so many professional terms, it can be confusing to understand how the root smudging technique is different and whether you should ask for it at your salon. A spoiler – there are some good reasons to do this, especially if you tend to wear highlighted hair. Let me break down the technique and its benefits for you.

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What Is the Root Smudging Technique?

The purpose of this color technique is to achieve a softer transition between the client’s natural hair and the highlight, which allows for a much more seamless blend. Erasing the lines of demarcation gives the color a lot more longevity than a traditional highlight would.

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For me, the two words that come to mind for the purpose of a roots smudge are softness and longevity. Softness – because it blends the line of demarcation, and longevity – because the client can go longer in between appointments. Traditional highlighting appointments are between four to eight weeks. With a root smudge, you can go two to three months before needing a retouch.

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What’s the Difference Between Balayage and Root Smudge?

If your hair goals include some natural transition, you will often hear about these two techniques and may come to wonder what’s the difference, after all? Here it is: balayage is a highlighting technique, while a root smudge is a color that would be painted on the roots after the highlights.

Advertisement Here are the results of a root smudge being applied after a balayage hair color. You can see that the blend between her natural color and highlights is seamless.

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Root Smudge vs Root Shadow

If you’re curious about the difference between the root melt and shadow root techniques, here is a side by side. Some clients prefer seeing all that depth and dimension at the crown. There are also those blonde clients that still want to see their highlights go all the way up with just a little shadow at the root.