[ Airtouch ]
Airtouch touch-up: when and how
How often does Airtouch need a touch-up, and what happens during one?
I recommend an Airtouch touch-up roughly every four months if up to half of your hair is blonde. Or you can skip it entirely: Airtouch grows out smoothly, and the blonde simply moves further down over time. If there's a lot of blonde, almost full blonde with your own roots, the line is more defined and you'll need touch-ups more often. At a touch-up I lighten only the regrowth, and the lengths that are already light are just toned.
How often to have an Airtouch touch-up
The interval depends on how your hair looks and what you want.
The first thing I look at is the contrast between your base and the blonde. The darker your natural colour and the lighter the blonde, the sooner the regrowth becomes noticeable. On a light brown base with a soft blonde you can go a long time.
The second is how much blonde there is. If it makes up to half of the hair, the light hairs near the root are sparse and the grow-out is barely visible. With a lot of blonde a more noticeable line appears at the root, and then it's better to come in more often.
The third is grey. Airtouch camouflages it well, since grey hairs get lost among the light ones. But when there's a lot of grey growing through, it's usual to want to refresh the colour more often so the root doesn't look speckled.
And finally, what you'd like. Some people love a bright, light blonde around the face, while others happily grow it out and only come in for toning.
What gets lightened at a touch-up
Before lightening I always do chelation. Over a few months minerals from water build up on the lengths, and without clearing them the lightener works less evenly on the regrowth and the toner then goes on patchy.
At a touch-up I work with the regrowth. I separate the sections the same way, blow them through with the dryer and apply lightener only to the new part, without going over the lengths that are already lightened. Lightening the same hair again makes it brittle and gradually eats into your length, so I avoid it.
In foil it's easy to see where the regrowth ends and the old blonde begins, so the line can be controlled. What's already light doesn't need powder: reconstruction looks after its condition and toning refreshes its colour. Lightening always puts some strain on the hair, and that risk can't be removed completely. But when only new growth is lightened at each appointment, the lengths have a chance of staying healthy.
Partial and full touch-ups
A full touch-up covers every zone: the top, the back, the temples, the face frame. It's done when you want to refresh all of the blonde.
A partial touch-up covers only the most visible areas. Usually that means the face frame, the parting and top, and the temples. Those are the first places regrowth shows when you look in the mirror or tie your hair up. A partial touch-up works well when the back isn't bothering you yet but you'd like more light around the face.
I'll tell you which to go for once I've seen your hair. Sometimes it's enough to brighten the face frame and tone all the lengths; sometimes it's better to refresh everything at once so there's no difference between zones.
Toning all the lengths
After lightening the regrowth I tone all the hair, from root to tip. Toner washes out over time and a warmer base shows through on the lengths, so in the few months between touch-ups the blonde has time to shift. Toning brings it back to the shade we agreed on and evens out the difference between new and old lightening.
If nothing needs lightening yet but the shade looks tired, you can come in just for toning. I explain how and why toner fades in how long Airtouch lasts.
How a touch-up differs from the first appointment
At the first Airtouch I build the distribution of blonde across the whole head, and it's often a long appointment, from four hours. At a touch-up the main work has already been done: I lighten only the regrowth, so it usually takes less time, especially if it's partial. If over time you'd like more light, a touch-up can do that too: adding more light hairs and gradually moving closer to full blonde. The technique and what it involves are described in detail in what Airtouch is.
As for the price of an Airtouch touch-up: with me the full technique and the touch-up have the same starting price, and both include chelation, toning and reconstruction. The final cost depends on thickness, length and how many zones need doing.
Getting an Airtouch touch-up with me
I'm a colourist in Odesa working with blonde and light hair, using Viart products. An Airtouch touch-up with me includes chelation, lightening the regrowth, toning and reconstruction and costs from 3,200 UAH for all zones. A partial touch-up is possible, for example just the face frame, the top and the temples. If you only need the shade refreshed, toning with reconstruction and chelation costs from 700 UAH.
Message me on Telegram: t.me/le2chris. Send photos of your hair in daylight, from the front and from above onto the parting, and tell me when it was last lightened. If your Airtouch was done elsewhere, that's fine too: I'll take a look and tell you whether it can be continued.