How to Treat Brassy Blonde Hair
January 27, 2008 by Kristie Leong MD
Published in Hair
Brassy blonde is a common problem with people who lighten their hair. Here’s what to do about it.
If you’ve lightened your hair in the past, you may have experienced the dreaded “brassy blonde” look where you beautiful blond color takes on an undesirable orange tone. Unless brassy hair happens to be flattering to your skin, you may not be pleased with your new color. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to tone down brassy blonde hair and return it to a more realistic blonde shade. Here are some suggestions:
Reassess The Color
One reason hair can take on a brassy tone when it’s lightened is the product is not left on the hair long enough to lift out the color. When hair is lightened it goes through various stages before reaching the final blonde shade. Orange is one of these intermediate shades that’s part of the natural progression to blonde. If you remove the hair coloring from your hair before it’s passed through the orange stage to blonde, the result can be brassy undertones to the hair.
The other reason you may experience brassy hair after coloring is your hair is too dark for the particular coloring you’re using. Standard permanent dyes only lift the hair two to three shades. If your hair is dark, two to three shades may leave you in the orange range There are high lift tints available that have more lightening power for darker hair and can lift the hair three to four shades. In extreme cases, you may need to use bleach to lift your hair beyond the orange level. The drawback is you’re going to experience more damage to the hair with these products.
Check Your Home Water Supply
In some areas, the water supply may be high in iron deposits. High levels of iron are most frequently found in well water. These iron deposits can add a red, brassy tone to hair when the hair is washed and rinsed. This problem can be resolved by adding a water softener with an iron filter to your shower to filter out the iron deposits. To remove iron deposits already present, a demineralizing shampoo can be used. These are available at some salons and beauty supply stores.
Use a Blue Shampoo
There are specific shampoos available to help counteract unwanted brassiness. These shampoos generally have a blue or purple color which is effective in offsetting shades of orange. Using one of these color shampoos regularly can help to mask hair that has turned brassy. An example would be Shimmer Lights shampoo which is available at beauty supply stores and many drugstores.
Use a Toner
A toner is a semi-permanent dye that deposits color rather than lightens. Since toners have a minimal amount of peroxide, they generally don’t damage the hair. Choosing a toner with a violet or blue base can help to mask any brassy tones that are present in colored hair. Unfortunately, toners tend to wash out of the hair over several weeks so the brassiness may reappear. If you want to do it yourself, you may be able to get assistance in choosing an appropriate toner shade from Sally’s Beauty Supply store if you have one in your area. If not, you may want to consult your hairdresser.
By choosing the right products and taking the appropriate steps, you can prevent brassy blonde hair from occurring as well as treat it if it should appear. Give these tips a try and keep that beautiful blonde shade.
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April 3rd, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Thankyou!
This is really useful info.
I just got my hair dyed really blonde after being dark brown. My hair is now really brassy and orange. I have to wait 4weeks until I can go back for my next appointment which will see me go alot white, but in the meantime I don’t want to be left with orange hair.
I bought a blue shampoo, designed for toning so I will try that and hope for the best.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:36 am
I dyed my hair with Clairol Born Blonde Ultra Blue, which specifically states on the bottle that it has ingredients to combat brassyness. HOWEVER, I followed directions precisely and left the dye in for the max amount of time, and my hair turned out bright orange-yellow. I then proceeded to get hair toner and followed the directions and it did nothing (using a Clairol blonde toner). Showed no difference. Maybe my hair has more red in it than most (I’m a medium brunette naturally). I bought blue based hair conditioner so hopefully that’ll help….
eesh, what a mess!
May 7th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I used Clariol Lighest Natural blonde on my roots from Sally’s Beauty supply and my hair turned a scary, light brassy orange. I went back to Sally’s and the cashier suggested an ash toner (Second Nature) and now my hair is very dark and dull looking. All it did was make it drab and too dark esp in the bang area. I’m hoping it washes out soon because if I keep messing with it I might end up bald!
May 24th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I originally had a darker color on my hair like a level 5 with blonde highlights. It faded out to a orangey blonde. I went to lower priced hairdresser and asked for darker lowlights and blonde to cover my roots. She ended up telling me after she processed my hair that she used a variety of levels of colors like a 2, 3 & 7. It turned out to be almost black, DARK ash, totally oppisite from what I was hoping to see. So then went to a professional to cover up her half-assed hair job. She used bleach to lighten the dark strands in my hair. All those dark spots torned a brassy orange. UGH!! Ill try Shimmer Lights purple shampoo and try to avoid messing up my hair again. LESSON TO BE LEARNED… the amout of money spent is actually less when you go to a good salon in the first place.
June 7th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Advice for people who find the toner or ash shampoo to dull, you can lift it out by using a anti-dandruff shampoo on dry hair and then rinse off. Totally random suggestion at my drug store but it worked for me!
October 30th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I know what everyone is going through…When having already dark hair & then going blonde it really is worth spending the extra money to have a professional do it…Because by the time ou actaully have your hair fixed & done correctly you have already spent a fortune…You think I would learn by now…I hate my hair right now…I feel like I am from the future with this bright ass glow…Maybe I’ll e a flashlight for halloween! lol…I’m just going to color my hair a Golden Brown and forget about this blonde gold crap and soon in a few months when my hair has time to adjust to all the chemicals I have abusing with then I will pay a pro to make me look fabulous again…Girls…When will we learn?! lolololol