Pining for your hairstylist?

Yeah. Us too.

If you’re suddenly becoming reacquainted with your natural hair colour for the first time in years, look on the bright side: Covid-19 lockdown could be an ideal time for figuring out some tricks that will come in handy between appointments when all this is over.

If you don’t want to use these weeks to grow out your grey (there’s some great colour neutralising grey shampoos out there if you do decide to take the plunge) your best bet is a colour spray to gently cover up your roots until you can nab an appointment.

Our picks can all be removed with a quick shampoo, so your hair will be ready to go when you book a permanent colour at the salon after the restrictions are lifted.

New to the world of colour sprays? Here’s a primer: Too powdery and your roots will look worse than before. Too dark or light and you risk highlighting regrowth instead of disguising it.

A tip: Spray lightly and hold the can 12-15cm away from your head to avoid your scalp.

These are three tried-and-test root cover-ups you can depend on:

1. Batiste Hint of Colour

Batiste Hint of Colour is a dry shampoo that delivers a quick and easy cover-up for stray greys. It comes in three colours; Divine Dark, Beautiful Brunette and Brilliant Blonde and leaves no white residue.

Get it: €5.49 here

2. L’Oreal Magic Retouch

The world’s number 1 root concealer brand, L’Oreal Magic Retouch root concealer covers roots in as little three seconds. Leave to it to dry for one minute and you’re done. A major plus for this one is that it comes in nine shades, ranging from blonde and brown to black.

They also do a Magic Retouch Precision Brush, an instant grey concealer for temples and scattered greys.

Get it: €13.99 here

3. Josh Wood Root Marker

If you find sprays a bit fiddly, Josh Wood Colour Root Marker offers instant, controllable coverage for hair and eyebrows. Tackle stray greys by simply lifting hair away from the scalp and colouring them in as you go.

Get it: €9.99 here