HOW TO FIX ORANGE HAIR AFTER BLEACHING: 4 AT-HOME TIPS

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. Trying one of these tips can help tone brassiness and fix the orange hair:

1. Tone the orange out.
2. Dye it darker.
3. Lighten it more.
4. Give apple cider vinegar a try.

Here are some expert tips on how to fix orange hair at home using one of these three methods.
 

When deciding how to fix orange hair, you might try toning the orange out. 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.

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.

“Toning neutralizes unwanted brassy tones to reveal a cooler blonde or light brown shade.”

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.