Root hair initiation is a highly regulated aspect of root development. The plant hormone, ethylene, and its precursor, 1-amino-cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), induce formation and elongation of root hairs. We asked whether elevated ethylene induced root hair formation by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) synthesis in hair cells. Using confocal microscopy paired with redox biosensors and dyes, we demonstrated that treatments that elevate ethylene levels led to increased ROS accumulation in hair cells prior to root hair formation. In two ethylene-insensitive mutants, etr1-3 and ein3/eil1, there was no increase in root hair number or ROS accumulation. Conversely, etr1-7, a constitutive ethylene signaling receptor mutant, has increased root hair formation and ROS accumulation similar to ethylene-treated wild type seedlings. The rhd2-6 mutant, with a defect in the gene encoding a ROS synthesizing Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog C (RBOHC), showed impaired ethylene-dependent ROS synthesis and root hair formation and decreased RBOH enzyme activity compared to Col-0. To identify additional proteins that drive ROS induced root hair formation, we examined a time course root transcriptomic dataset examining Col-0 grown in the presence of ACC and identified PRX44 and other positively regulated transcripts that encode class III peroxidases (PRXs). The prx44-2 mutant has decreased root hair initiation and ROS accumulation when treated with ACC compared to Col-0 and pPRX44::GFP fluorescence is increased in response to ACC treatment. Together, these results support a model in which ethylene increases ROS accumulation through RBOHC and PRX44 to drive root hair formation.