Airtouch vs shatush: backcombing vs air separation

Shatush and Airtouch solve a similar problem: making sure lightened hair has no harsh line at the root. The difference is in how the colourist selects the hairs. Shatush uses backcombing; with Airtouch the section is blown through with a hairdryer. When it comes to Airtouch vs shatush for hair you want to grow, I choose Airtouch: less mechanical stress, a more even spread of blonde and calmer touch-ups.

How shatush is done

The colourist takes a section and backcombs it towards the root. The shorter hairs are pushed up into a dense cushion, and lightener goes on whatever is left below. It's often done in the open air, without foil, and the application can be quite loose, in strokes.

Backcombing creates a colour melt: darker at the top, lighter towards the ends. The denser the backcombing, the higher the light reaches and the softer the transition. The backcombing itself is quick, so shatush usually takes less time than Airtouch, where every section is blown through separately.

How Airtouch is done and why it uses a dryer instead

With Airtouch I separate a thin section, hold it taut and run a stream of air from the dryer along it. The shorter hairs fly back towards the root on their own, no comb involved. The longer ones remain, and I place them on foil and lighten them. I go into the technique in more detail in what Airtouch is.

Backcombing puts strain on the hair in itself. The comb travels against the direction of the cuticle scales, lifting them, and the hairs twist and tangle together. Then that backcombing has to be brushed out, after lightening, when the hair is more vulnerable. Air from a dryer also separates the hairs, but there's far less mechanical friction, and you don't have to work out matted knots after the appointment.

That doesn't mean Airtouch leaves no trace. Any lightening changes the hair's structure, and the risk can be reduced but not removed. There's simply one less source of stress.

How the root and lengths look

Shatush usually gives a colour melt close to ombré: the top is noticeably darker, with the light concentrated on the lengths and ends. The blonde is often warmer and patchier, because the lightener works in open air.

Airtouch gives a different kind of gradient. The light hairs are spread through the whole head, starting finely near the root and getting denser further down. The root looks like your natural colour with fine flecks of light, rather than a dark band above light lengths. Blonde lifted in foil comes out more even and is easier to tone to a clean shade.

You can see this in the toning too. After shatush the lengths are lightened unevenly, so toner takes differently on the lighter and darker areas. With Airtouch the level of lift across sections is closer, so the shade comes out more even and fades more evenly.

How each grows out and behaves at a touch-up

Shatush grows out softly because the top is dark anyway. But over time the light part moves down and the hair starts to look dark with lightened ends. To bring the light back up, the hair is backcombed again and lightener applied, and in open-air work it's hard to see where the old and new lightening meet. That's where the risk of going over already lightened hair comes from.

Airtouch grows out just as smoothly, and the gradient lasts longer because the light hairs are spread across the whole head. If up to half of your hair is blonde, I recommend a touch-up roughly every four months, or you can skip it. At a touch-up I lighten the regrowth, and in foil it's easy to see where the new section ends. I describe how that works in my piece on the Airtouch touch-up.

Airtouch vs shatush if you want to keep your length

If you're growing your hair, two things matter: that at each appointment the lightener goes mostly on new growth rather than already lightened lengths, and that there's as little unnecessary mechanical stress as possible.

Airtouch is the more practical option here. There's no backcombing to brush out. Lightening in foil is more controlled, so it's easier to stay off ends that are already light. And infrequent touch-ups mean fewer appointments a year. I always add chelation before lightening and reconstruction afterwards. They don't make the hair invulnerable, but they help keep it in better condition.

Shatush can make sense if you specifically want a warm melt with a dark top and don't plan to go lighter later. But it's harder to move from shatush to an even blonde or full blonde, because the light on the lengths is unevenly distributed.

Getting Airtouch done with me

I'm a colourist in Odesa specialising in blonde and light hair, and I work with Viart products. Airtouch with me includes chelation, lightening, toning and reconstruction and costs from 3,200 UAH for all zones. A partial service is possible too, for example just the face frame, the top and the temples.

If you already have shatush and want to switch to Airtouch, message me on Telegram: t.me/le2chris. Send photos in daylight, front and back, and tell me when you last had your hair lightened. I'll tell you whether the switch can be done in one appointment or is better done in stages.