If you tried to lighten your hair but the end result was a brassy orange colour, there's a good chance you're a brunette. Darker hair is made up of several underlying pigments which give your brown, dark brown or black hair depth and dimension, and red and orange are the most dominant undertones.
Either your base color was too dark or you didnt leave the bleach in long enough, or both. You can give up and dye it darker (toner/purple shampoo will do ZERO to your hair right now, dont waste your money!) or re-bleach. Do some serious deep conditioning, soak in coconut oil, etc. Give it at least a few days!!
Bleached hair is extremely porous and your colouring is unable to fully saturate through diffusion and there aren't enough protein for the colour pigment anchor on. You'll need to do a protein treatment to fill in the void, and a pre/post colour protection treatment.
Basically, bleach removes pigment from the hair. It also removes protein from the hair. The simple answer to why over-bleached hair doesn't hold color is that the bleaching process removed too much of the pigment and protein inside the hair, basic...
To cancel out brassy orange hair, you should use a blue toner or hair dye. In color theory, blue is opposite orange on the color wheel, which means it can neutralize the unwanted brassy tones.
Your stylist's colour-correction methods may vary, but it's likely they'll reapply bleach to lighten your hair to fully remove the orange, then tone your hair with an ash or light beige colour to neutralise brassiness.
Re-Dye the Hair a Darker Colour
Now, we understand you might be a bit nervous to put more dye on your hair after your bleaching disaster. However, dyeing your hair a darker colour is the fastest way to resolve badly bleached hair.
Repeated bleaching is not recommended since you're putting yourself at risk of overprocessing and breakage.
Demi-permanent hair dye won't lighten your hair, as it doesn't contain hydrogen peroxide or bleach in its formula. This means it isn't the right pick for those trying to adopt a lighter hair color. On the flip side, if you want to go darker, demi-permanent hair dye is a great option!
Blue toning formulas can help counteract orange tones in the hair. The reasoning goes back to basic color theory: Shades positioned opposite on the color wheel are complementary and effectively cancel each other out when combined.
The Science Behind Hair Color Absorption
If it's too closed or damaged, dye can't penetrate well. Healthy hair with an open cuticle layer will soak up color better, giving you that vibrant look. The pH level and the porosity of your hair also affect how well it takes color.
You needed to leave the bleach on for longer.
Otherwise, your toner really isn't going to do much. Let me explain why. Firstly, most of your favourite blonde toners are designed to work best on very pale blonde hair (think the inside of a banana). Applying your regular toner to the highlighter yellow isn't enough.
Thats why your root's always lighten faster than the ends. Heat is an execelarator, it speeds up the process… plus the ends have been around for awhile and usually have some build up as well an damaged, or blown out if real bad which also make it difficult to lighten at the same rate as the roots….
Yes, a bleach bath can help to fix orange or yellow hair by neutralizing brassy tones. The bleach solution can help to remove excess pigments from the hair, resulting in a more neutral, natural-looking color.
The best toner for orange brassy hair will be one that is very cool toned (think ashy) and one that has a blue base to it. When I say a blue base think of that as like the main pigment in the colour so you want to find a toner that has a lot of blue pigments to it.
Your hair will not hold color as it has been over processed and has the cuticle wide open not allowing pigment to stick to the hair follicle. You would want to replace the pigment that is missing from the hair.
Generally speaking, hair dye won't lighten previously-colored hair. Why? Because it's not designed to! Hair dye is created to simply add color to your hair, not to lighten or remove color.
In others, redheads are seen as least attractive of all hair colors, but this may be the result of changing trends (Clayson and Klassen, 1989; Feinman and Gill, 1978; Rich and Page 12 Hair Color 12 Cash, 1993; Roll and Verinis, 1971).
For up to 3 levels lift, use bleach with 20 Vol developer. For greater than 3 levels lift, use bleach with 30 Vol developer. For second time bleach applications, use only 20 Vol developer. Otherwise you will damage the hair excessively.
Each individual hair has different levels of pigment that the bleach needs to dissolve through, and your overall result is dependent on the condition and type of hair you have, as well as how dark your natural colour is.
Lighten Orange Hair
But don't bust out the bleach again too soon. You'll need to wait at least a week or two to restore your hair's natural moisture balance to avoid significant damage. So be prepared to rock that orange mane for a while! You can give round two a go once you've made it through the waiting period.
Why is Toner Needed? Toners are more than just an accessory to your color treatment. They refresh and enhance your hair's tone, and they're a lifesaver for tackling any unwanted oranges, brassiness or yellows as bleaching exposes the hair's underlying pigments that can get damaged without further treatment.
Unless it's a multiple processing situation (ideally being handled by a professional), you shouldn't bleach over hair that's already been bleached. Instead, you should target new growth. Clark says,“If you bleach your hair roots to ends every time, you risk it breaking and becoming damaged.
What color is ash blonde? Ash blonde colors have a cooler tone than honey or golden blondes. They can range from icy white to a darker blonde with gray undertones.