Orange hair after bleaching happens when bleach fails to remove darker pigments in your hair. Use our tips to get rid of orange hair so that you can rock your blonde locks!
You were going for a nice golden blonde. Instead, your DIY color job came out...orange. Don’t panic. It’s easily fixable! And you don’t even have to visit the salon. Here’s how to fix orange hair and tone brassy hair at home when bleaching goes oh so wrong.
Chances are, if you tried to lighten your hair only to come out with a brassy orange color, you are a brunette. Dark hair has many underlying pigments that give your rich brown or ebony strands depth and dimension. Red and orange pigments are the most dominant undertones in dark hair. So if you don’t bleach enough of those pigments out, you end up with an unflattering brassy orange.
“But I’m already blonde!” you say. Well, those blonde locks may develop brassy tones after bleaching if you have a buildup of chemicals or minerals in your hair. Brassiness can also occur if you’ve been hanging out in saltwater or a chlorinated pool.
“Red and orange pigments are the most dominant undertones in dark hair. So if you don’t bleach enough of those pigments out, you end up with an unflattering brassy orange.”
When bleaching goes wrong, the key to fixing orange hair is usually to neutralize the color with its complementary color—blue.
Here are some expert tips on how to fix orange hair at home using one of these three methods.
The Bottom Line: Use purple shampoo to tone yellow, usually blonde hair, and blue shampoo to tone orange, usually brunette hair.
When deciding how to fix orange hair, you might try using a toner to get rid of the orange pigment. Toning neutralizes unwanted brassy tones to reveal a cooler blonde or light brown shade. The trick is figuring out which color toner to use, where the choice is usually between blue and purple depending on your hair color.
“Toning neutralizes unwanted brassy tones to reveal a cooler blonde or light brown shade.”
A rule of thumb is to look at the color of your hair currently and find the color that is exactly opposite it. Try imagining a straight diagonal line from your current color to the other end of the wheel to figure out what color toner to use.
If your bad bleach job has come out more yellow, you’ll need a purple toner. Purple shampoo can help neutralize the yellow.
If your hair is orange, you’ll need a blue toner. Try a blue shampoo to tone the brassiness and get rid of the orange. This color toner is commonly needed for darker hair.
Whether you’re using purple shampoo, blue shampoo, or another hair toner, it is usually a simple fix that will get rid of the orange or yellow brassiness without you having to book another salon appointment.
You can also try an anti-brass cleansing treatment that works for all shades of color-treated or highlighted blonde hair. Just apply the treatment to wet hair, then lather, and leave it in for up to 1 minute. Rinse well and use again up to 3 times per week.
Over time, hair glazes or glosses can help get rid of brassy tones and prevent them from appearing. Glosses can make your hair look shinier and smoother as well as reinforce the tone you are looking for. Choose a glaze or gloss depending on your desired hair color.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up with hair that is not only brassy but also has patches of orange or yellow, it’s probably best to cut your losses and dye your mane dark again. Select a brunette hair dye that’s either close to your natural color or dark enough to cover the orange, and breathe easy once again. Learn more by reading our tips for hair color correction.
If you’re one of those brave souls that wants to give bleaching a whirl again, you can try to lighten your orange hair further to get that perfect blonde you were shooting for. But don’t bust out the bleach again too soon. To avoid significant damage, you’ll need to wait at least a week or two to restore your hair’s natural moisture balance. So be prepared to rock that orange mane for a while!
Once you’ve made it through the waiting period, you can give round two a go. After about 20-30 minutes with more bleach, your locks should be a nice yellow. From there, you can use an ash blonde dye kit to achieve a cooler blonde, or you can tone your hair with purple shampoo to neutralize the yellow. After dyeing your hair, use a hair mask for blonde hair to strengthen and protect your bleach-damaged locks..
Add a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar into a cup or so of water. Then add a couple drops of liquid food coloring—blue for more orange hair and purple for more yellow. Mix it together.
After washing and conditioning your hair, apply this mixture and rinse. You can repeat every two weeks to help tone down the brassiness in your hair.
Color mistakes happen to the best of us. Fortunately, there’s always a solution. Now go show off your beautiful brass-free do! Check out more John Frieda blonde hair color tips here.
Blonde Hair
You may need hair color correction if you’re unhappy with your dye job. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get your hair fixed ASAP!
Blonde Hair
Hair toner is a type of hair product that corrects your hair color by enhancing the tonality of bleached or dyed hair. It’s key for correcting bad color and getting your perfect shade.
Frizzy Hair
Learning how to lighten your hair can be tricky when you’re first starting out. Use our tips and tricks to learn to basics about lightening hair.