To tone out blue, use its opposite on the color wheel: orange or copper. If your hair is over-toned (e.g., icy blonde gone blue), you can quickly fade it by washing with clarifying shampoo. For stubborn blue tints, neutralizing with a heavily diluted warm-toned color is the standard approach.
The best way to tone pastel blue hair is to use a blue or purple toner, depending on the underlying tones you want to neutralize. If pastel blue hair starts turning brassy or yellow, a purple toner will help balance out the warm hues and maintain the cool, icy blue shade.
In mild cases, you can help to fix over-toned hair with a clarifying shampoo. These are intensive cleansers that may help to soften and fade the excess toner. Plus, they're much kinder to hair than dishwashing liquid or baking soda – two popular home 'remedies' that clients may be drawn to despite their drying effects.
An orange toner (or a warm, peachy hue) is used to cancel out blue tones. Based on the color wheel, blue and orange are directly opposite each other, meaning they neutralize and cancel each other out upon contact.
Orange cancels out blue. According to the color wheel, they are complementary colors and sit directly opposite each other. When mixed, they neutralize each other, turning vibrant blue into a natural brown or beige base.
Yes, you can, but it is notoriously stubborn to remove. Because blue pigments have large molecules, simply applying traditional bleach can push the color deeper into the hair shaft or turn it an unflattering green. Explore the most effective ways to remove it:
The hardest hair colors to pull off, maintain, and remove are typically white/platinum, grey/silver, and intense vibrant blue. White is considered difficult because it requires extreme bleaching to remove all natural warmth, while vibrant blues are notoriously hard to remove, often leaving stubborn greenish stains.
The importance of lifting out the orange before toning
Before applying blue-based dyes to correct orange tones, it's essential to lift out the existing orange color. You do this by lightening the hair using bleach.
To tone out unwanted blue or brassy/blue-green tones, use the color wheel principle of neutralization. According to color theory, the exact opposite of blue is orange (or peach). Applying a warm, orange-based toner or color-depositing product directly over the blue will cancel it out, neutralizing the shade.
Red tones can be used to neutralize green hues, as red is opposite green on the color wheel and helps cancel out unwanted green shades.
Try diluted hydrogen peroxide for stubborn toner
Leave it on for no more than 10 minutes, checking your hair every three minutes to watch the colour lift. Rinse immediately with cool water once you see the toner lighten, then apply conditioner generously.
Dish Soap
Fortunately, if you go through the effort of using this drying soap on your dyed hair, it can help remove unwanted color. You'll need to do many washes to fade it out, but it is a step in the right direction if you want to remove a color.
You can use hair toner at any point during your colouring cycle - but we'd recommend you use it every time you bleach your hair, as you'll need a toner to neutralise unwanted undertones. Salon-style toners last around three to four weeks before a refresh is needed.
To cover blue hair, choose a color based on your current shade and desired result. If your blue is faded, purple or green will blend naturally. To completely neutralize blue into a neutral brown, apply a warm red or orange filler first, as these are opposite on the color wheel.
The Cons of Using a Toner
Alcohol-based toners, in particular, can be quite harsh on sensitive skin. Unnecessary for Some Skin Types: If you have dry or sensitive skin, you might not need a toner at all. For some, it might feel like an unnecessary extra step that doesn't add much to the routine.
To make a 60-year-old look younger, the most effective hair colors are softer, multi-dimensional shades that are a few steps lighter than your natural hair. Lighter and warmer tones soften facial features, brighten the complexion, and minimize shadows from fine lines.
Creating a Cool Blue
Firstly, veronese green is an ideal colour for creating cool blue hues, as it has a bright, cool green tone that naturally leans towards light blue. Mixing veronese green with ultramarine blue will result in a very cool, slightly darker blue shade.
For enhanced fading power without harsh chemicals, try this DIY vitamin C treatment:
Orange is the color that cancels out blue hair. Based on the color theory wheel, these two colors are opposites, meaning they neutralize each other. If your hair is currently a light blue, use a pale or pastel orange to balance it out.
Putting blue dye on orange hair creates a muddy brown, muted neutral, or a dark, muddy green. Because blue and orange are direct opposites on the color wheel, they cancel each other out. Instead of getting a bright blue, the colors mix and neutralize each other.
If you are using our Periwinkle semi-permanent hair dye as a toner, we recommend leaving it on for at least 15-30 minutes. However, you can leave it on even longer if you'd like since there are no harsh chemicals in any of our dyes.
Blue is the color that cancels out brassy orange hair. According to the color wheel, blue and orange are complementary opposites. When combined, they neutralize each other.
Natural red is the rarest hair color in the world, occurring in only 1% to 2% of the global population. This striking hue is caused by a genetic mutation in the MC1R gene, which requires both parents to pass on the recessive trait.
Kelly says that blue, green, and red tend to be the hardest colors to remove from hair because their large pigment molecules penetrate deeper into the hair shaft, making them more resistant to fading and washing out.
Generally, you should go lighter and warmer by one or two shades as you age. Lighter tones reflect more light onto the face, softening facial features, reducing the harsh shadows that accentuate wrinkles, and blending grey roots much more seamlessly than dark hair.