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Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we find useful to our readersBlunders with hair color shades is unavoidable at times. That moment when you are waiting for your hair to dry to see its color and it turns out that the color is orange instead of what it should have been, now that’s heartbreaking, isn’t it?
Hold on! It is not as heartbreaking as you think, don’t get worried as there are ways to fix orange hair after bleaching. Well, did you know that?
No woman likes the hair color getting jinxed because it can mess with one’s personal choice. No one prefers hair color disasters and although orange is a beautiful and vibrant color still it’s not everyone’s favourite on the hair.
This article is going to be your guide to help you fix orange hair after bleaching. Learn about what causes orange hair, how to prevent it and details about methods of treating orange hair.
What Is Orange Hair?
Orange hair is even known as brassy hair. Technically, the word orange hair means an orange color. However, it is not about your hair color changing orange but they are tinges of warm tone colors on your hair, it gives your hair color an entirely different look.
When does this happen? Usually, you will see this brassiness on your hair a few weeks after you get it colored. What’s the brassiness like? You will notice a blend of reddish and yellowish shades or the red and yellow colors separately.
This is most likely to happen with women who naturally have dark-coloured hair who want a completely new look such as a blonde or ash shade on their hair.
Besides, it is no rule the hair gets reddish or yellow only for the one’s whose hair is dark. It can happen when a woman gets her hair highlighted to a lighter shade as well.
Not to worry, you won’t have to be stuck with the brassiness on your hair, it is reversible and you can tone orange hair after bleaching.
Causes Of Orange Hair
Take a look at what causes orange hair color after bleaching. It is going to be useful for you to even understand why it happens so that you can be aware and avoid doing things that can make it orange the next time. You are going to understand it, it’s simple!
Cause 1: Natural Hair Color Not Blending With Artificial Hair Color
It is as simple as the color mixing concept. For instance, if you want to achieve color red, you need to mix pink and white. Right? That said, if you mix pink with another color, you will get a different shade. The same goes with hair colors as well.
Whenever the hair color you apply fails to blend with your natural hair color it gets brassy. Thus, be aware of the chemistry of colors. Lookup for it in the above image. Try and understand what will be the result of your hair color when you mix it with the right color.
Cause 2: Using A Permanent Dye
At times, your hair color will ditch you after a few days, it tends to turn brassy after a few washes and this could possibly happen if you used a permanent dye on your hair.
That said, the nature of a permanent dye is to steal away the original color of your natural hair even before you choose to apply artificial hair color.
Cause 3: Bleaching Steals The Natural Pigment
Have you ever been advised to wash your hair only when needed or avoid washing it for two days after you get it colored? Do you recollect anything of this sort.
Well, there is a reason that it is told to you and by now you would have understood that washing your hair makes it brassy. Surprisingly, it is not your hair that is doing this but the permanent dye.
The real picture is nothing but when you bleached your hair at first it would have stolen away your natural hair color and given your hair a different color. Thus, the different color is real brassiness.
Cause 4: Using Sulphate Products On Light Hair
Every hair kind is different from the other and if you have light hair then you got to be aware of something.
Having said, you need to know about the products you use because it could cause your hair to turn orange after bleaching. To name one, using sulphate shampoos on light hair could possibly make it orange or brassy.
You are bound to face this risk when the mineral nutrients get accumulated and fail to evenly spread in your hair.
All in all, using a dye, not being wise on picking the right color based on your natural hair color, accumulated minerals and frequently washing your hair causes the hair to get brassy after bleaching.
[Check Out: Best Products For Bleached Hair]
7 Ways To Fix Orange Hair After Bleaching – Master Them!
Here are ways to fix orange hair after bleaching. Try them all and see the difference in your hair color
No 1. Being Natural Is The Best
Nothing like choosing natural ingredients to pump up and fix your orange hair after bleaching. Therefore, make the most of home remedies to effectively treat the brassiness in your hair.
Take a look at all of them
a. Apple Cider Vinegar & Water
Apple cider vinegar helps in fixing the orange effect on your hair.
The reasons you should use vinegar to get rid of orange brassy hair is because it
- helps you get rid of frizz
- smoothens and adds shine to your hair
- balances the pH levels in your scalp and keeps your hair good
- it is effective with making your hair slightly brown
You will need quarter cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 a cup water. Mix both of these ingredients well. Take a brush, dip it in this mixture and apply it on your hair. Leave it for 15 minutes and then wash your hair with cold water.
b. Salt & Coconut Oil
The combination of salt and oil can help with eliminating the orange color on your hair. Coconut oil is good because it shields the color on your hair and salt molecules have the ability to control the orange effect.
What you need to do is take a quarter bowl of coconut oil and mix around 2 tsp salt. Apply it all on your hair and leave it for 30 minutes. In the end, wash your hair with a mild shampoo.
c. Lemon Juice & Baking Soda
If you want to reduce the effects of brassiness in your hair you need to use lemon juice and baking soda, the two of them are bleaching agents and this mixture will cater to your need.
- What you need is 5 tsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp baking soda.
- Mix both of these ingredients in water.
- Take a brush, dip it into this mixture and apply it on your hair.
- Leave it for 15 minutes and then wash your hair with a mild shampoo.
d. Tea Bags
Tea bags help in cleansing your hair and reducing the brassiness. You can be sure of making the most of this remedy with regards to controlling the orange effect on your hair.
You need to boil 1/2 a cup of water and add two bags in it. Let this tea water cool down and after a while take a brush and dip it in this water. Apply this water on your hair. Leave it for 15 minutes and then wash your hair with a mild shampoo.
All in all, try these home remedies for a while, don’t expect immediate results. Give it a while and your problem will get solved.
No 2 – Use A Toner To Balance Brassiness
It is advised to use a toner while getting your hair colored because it has the ability to balance and fix the orange effect on your hair. However, you should know that toner doesn’t get you rid of the orange colour on your hair.
How to Select Toner for Orange Hair
Two things to keep in mind, if your hair is too orange then a blue toner will serve the purpose and if your hair is too yellow then a purple toner will serve the purpose. Here is one of the product you can use
Wella Toner for Orange Hair
What’s unique about this toner is that it is subtle on your hair (less risk of damage). It is effective in terms of perfectly lightening the bleach on your hair. This Wella toner is capable of turning the brassiness on your hair into perfect blonde hair color.
How to Use Toner for Orange Hair
- You will need to mix the toner and developer by following instructions.
- Take a brush and start to apply the toner on your hair.
- Leave it for about 30 minutes and then wash your hair with a sulphate-free shampoo.
Here is one of the best blue toning shampoo for orange hair
Matrix Blue Shampoo for Orange Hair
This shampoo can work efficiently in removing the brassiness on your hair, its unique feature is that it leaves blue pigments on your hair to alter the hair color into a brunette shade.
It is safe to use these products as it does not just lighten the brassiness, but, nourishes and softens your hair as well.
No 3 – Box Dye Will Fix Orange Hair And Turn It To Blonde
A box dye will help you the best when you see layers of different colors on your hair, it is either the hair color or the natural color if your hair.
Box dye treatment is reliable with regards to fixing orange hair. The reason your hair must have gone orange either because it must have not lightened well and you must have not given it enough time to be effective on your hair.
Box dye helps with making your orange hair turn blonde, this way you get to even out the color.
Follow the Steps Below :
Step 1 – Do a Bleach Touch Up
You need to make sure to leave the bleach on your hair for the right amount of time. Divide your hair into equal sections, apply the bleach all over your hair, let it remain for at least 30 minutes(still look into what the instructions say) and then wash your hair with a shampoo and conditioner.
[Check Out: Best Conditioners for Bleached Hair]
Step 2 – Stabilize The Yellow Shade On Your Hair
If your hair color is too flashy and the brassiness is more towards a yellow shade then you need to use a blond dye to get rid of the brassiness in your hair.
Basically, you will need to use cool toned colors to balance and fix the brassiness in your hair. Few of the best ideas would be to use dark beige blondes or dark ash blondes to draw a decent balance with your hair color and reduce the brassiness in your hair.
The logic of using a dark blonde is to balance the existing light yellow. That said, if you end up using light blonde then it won’t make much of a difference in the hair color.
The reason this is used is to not make your hair look artificial with the yellow shade on your hair, this is more of natural shade.
No 4 – A Medium Ash Blonde For A Brown Hair Color
You must have wished to have a light brown shade on your hair and it turns out yellow, it can drive you nuts.
That said, it can be corrected and for a proper light brown shade, you need to use a medium ash blonde shade on your hair. Avoid using a light shade because it will not give you the desired result.
You need to follow the instructions on the hair color box and accordingly wash your hair with a shampoo and conditioner.
[Check Best Shampoos For Bleached Hair on Amazon]
No 5 – Rely On A Purple Shampoo
Once you get your hair bleached and after a while, if you see it turn orange you should use a purple shampoo because it has the ability to change the brassiness and stabilize the color on your hair.
Follow Two Rules if you are Using the Purple Shampoo
- No 1 – Avoid using purple shampoo frequently. See to it that you don’t use it more than two times a month. Overusing it would end up making your hair dry.
- No 2 – Always remember that it is essential for you to condition your hair whenever you use a dry shampoo.
[Check Best Purple Shampoos that are available]
No 6 – Dry Shampoo’s Wok A Way
Using a dry shampoo can help with toning the brassiness in your hair. Apart from this, it helps with reducing the dirt and oil on your hair to make it clean.
Therefore, if you want to retain the shine and color on your hair you must use an effective dry shampoo.
Use a dry shampoo once a while, don’t get used to using it every now and then.
[Check Out the Best Dry Shampoo Brands]
No 7 – Balance The Brassiness With A Silver Shampoo
Just like how purple shampoos help with keeping away the brassiness in your hair, silver shampoos work the same way.
They are good with protecting the color on your hair. The same rules of a purple shampoo are applicable with a silver shampoo. More or less these shampoo’s have a similarity.
Take Away
As you have gone through several tips and information on how to fix orange hair and reverse the brassiness into a hair color shade of your choice. Take a look at a short summary of everything that you read
- What causes brassiness in the hair is leaving it for a lesser time frame, using a permanent hair dye and using an incorrect hair color based on the natural hair color.
- Brassiness can be in two kinds, your hair can get yellow and orange. Both of these can be reversed.
- If you want the yellow hair to become blonde then you need to use a dark ash blonde color on your hair.
- If you want the orange hair to become brown then you need to use a medium blonde color on your hair.
- Toners, purple and silver shampoos help with fixing the orange hair after bleaching.
- Several home remedies are useful in fixing the brassiness after bleaching. That said, the best of all is vinegar.
- Do a box dye treatment so that your hair color can be corrected another time.
How To Prevent Orange Hair
Take measures from your end to avoid getting orange hair after coloring it. Take a look at what best you can do
1. Shield Your Hair From Chemicals
It is essential that you keep your hair covered from chemicals and sun-rays after bleaching it because it can end up ruining your hair strands.
The sun rays and chemicals end up stealing the locked moisture from your hair. Having said, make sure to use a scarf before you step out in the sunlight and cover your hair if you go swimming because chlorine can steal the natural oils and moisture.
2. Avoid Over-Washing Your Hair
It is a must to wash your hair twice a week. That said, if you exceed the number of times you wash your hair it won’t take long for the colored hair to turn brassy.
Therefore, if you want to remove orange hair after bleaching, stop washing it more than required to keep it safe.
3. Hot Water Is Bad For Your Hair
Using hot water on your hair is bad. If you truly want to keep your hair away from getting brassy you need to avoid using steaming hot water. Coldwater will work great and secure the color on your hair. Strictly say no to using hot water.
4. Protect Your Hair From Heat
The reason it is essential for you to use a heat protectant is that the color gets damaged if it is not given enough care. If at all the color gets damaged, chances are that it will end up making your hair look brassy.
Having said, whenever you want to use a straightener or blow dryer, first apply a heat protectant spray or cream and then get started with your task.
5. Give Your Hair A Good Oil Massage
Oil has sufficient nutrients to keep your hair protected from harsh pollutants. It is essential to give yourself a hair massage so that you can fix your orange hair after bleaching.
The best oils to use would be coconut or olive oil as they nourish and protect your hair well. Give yourself a hair oil massage twice a week. It should do good.
In conclusion, to fix orange hair after bleaching you have box dye treatments, an option to use purple shampoos, toners can stabilize the orange color on your hair and several home remedies are there to cater to your need.
From your end, try your best to prevent bleached hair from turning orange and don’t expose it to things that can cause a blunder on your hair.
Therefore, the next time your hair turns orange after you have bleached it, you just need not worry as you have the ease of fixing orange hair and making it better.