FAQ: How To Remove Soft Black Hair Color

Question:

Hi I recently dyed my hair with a box dye - the color was called "soft black" and it was the worst mistake I have ever done! It doesn't compliment me at all and I was wondering if there is anything I can do to fade the color or to make it lighter? Before dying it black my hair was a warm coppery brown color that seemed orange in the sun. If my black color fades or is stripped will that color surface? I really don't want to bleach my hair, do you have any recommendations? your help is much appreciated!

Answer:

If the "soft black" color you used was permanent it will not fade much. If you used a semi-permanent color it will fade somewhat, and if you used temporary it should be washed away soon.
The only way to remove the permanent or semi-permanent color is to use either color remover or a bleach, provided you cannot find any color remover. You should be able to find it at any beauty supply store.
If you chose the route of removing the color (with either product mentioned above) I would advise you to do it as soon as possible because both products will remove color from your natural hair also. What will happen is that the hair in the root area will get lighter, while your colored hair will be darker - pigment from the bottle is harder to remove. The longer you leave either product on your hair the lighter your hair will get. You will have to make decision when you take the color off your hair. The color remover (or the bleach) should be applied all over the hair as fast as possible so the color gets removed evenly. The lightest it could get is to a yellow blond color. The speed chemical remover will depend if you color your hair on regular basis (it is unclear from your message if you colored your hair coppery brown) and how you apply your color. If you never colored your hair before then the color remover will remove color faster.
If you never used any bleach or hair color remover product it would be best to have it done in a salon that specializes in coloring. The colorist will probably apply the color remover at the sink.
Good luck.


Credit: Above image is published on the internet by to me unknown owner, but is the best illustration of the Soft Black Color mentioned above.

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advise you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ - My Colorist Cannot Make My Hair Ashy Brown

Question:

I have dark brown hair & want a light brown ashy colour i have been going to my hairdressers telling them this but every time after colouring my hair with a full head colour i still come away with reddish results all the time. I am always disappointed i have since been back at the same place despite the results, its a place that I like going to & it's also very convenient for me. I have booked yet another appointment & i have explained again about how i am still washing my hair with the silver shampoo as they keep suggesting with me still getting the reddish results & when i booked another appointment they told me that they will use a toner this time. Do you think that will this work or have you any suggestions? Thanks

Answer:

Hi,
well your colorist should explain to you that what you want cannot be done without bleaching your hair and depositing the brown color. But that may not turn out perfectly as well.

This is what is happening if they use ash brown color over your naturally dark hair:
The chemicals in the bottle work on natural pigments in your hair, bringing them to certain "level". Then the pigment in the bottle gets deposited into your hair - which "mingles" with the chemically altered pigments that were few minutes natural. Ant that's it. There is nothing else a colorist can do for you, because there is not such powerful ash brown that could do what you want it to do. No scientist developed such color in the bottle and no scientist will ever be able to do it in one step coloring process (= permanent haircolor in one bottle).

Your options:

Single/double process coloring - either color (depending on a color of the hair) or bleach hair to yellow stage, and then apply the ash-y pigment to your tresses. But no colorist knows an exact pigmentation in these bottles, so they do not know how exactly it will turn out if mixed with your hair color bleached to the yellow stage on the first try. The best way it would be do a test - snip a small amount of hair, bleach it and then apply the color from bottle. The bleached hair color level would have to be the perfect "shade base" for the ashy brown that is in the bottle.
If it would come to somewhat desirable shade (you are looking for) then the hardest trick would be with each touch up. Your colorist would have to bleach hair to almost same yellow "level" as previously done - your colorist has to have a good eye for the bleached shades.

Also consider:

1. bleaching and then coloring is time consuming
2. it is actually two processes (done in one session) - so therefore more expensive
3. after "first initial color correction", the bleach would be applied only to regrowth area - so if your hair is not strong these heavy duty chemicals won't be gentle to your hair

Highlighting idea - Probably another solution would be to highlight hair in fine strands to a very light stage and then apply a toner. This light hair mixed with your natural hair color can create an effect of ashy & lighter brown color. However, you have been coloring your hair, so on your color treated hair (you no longer have a natural hair color) it could come out a little different than on natural hair you will grow each month. You really need to employ a colorist who does a really fine highlights and understands pigmentation in the hair.

I hope this helps in making a decision what your next step will be.


Credit: Above image is published on the internet by to me unknown owner, but is the best illustration of the Highlighting idea mentioned above.

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advise you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: My Hair Ends Are Dark After Coloring

Question:
My hair color has an ash tone and is pretty healthy. I have been coloring my hair in the past with a lighter shade hair color, but my hair ends are dark after I color my hair and I am not able to make my hair lighter no matter how I try. My hair length is medium. What hair color brand should I purchase that would lighten my ends?

Answer:
You are doing one thing wrong - a color application. You apply a hair color on your hair in a wrong manner. If you previously colored your hair, then the next consecutive color applications should be applied only to your roots. You can freshen up your hair color on the rest of the hair only if you dilute the rest of the leftover color. This is done especially for reds and darks. You could skip it for blonds, but if you want your blond to be on a "cool" (ashy) side, then squirt any blue or violet shampoo into your color mixture. Your dark ends need to be treated with bleach at this point, because you have a build up of various color pigments inside your hair from repeated application. I would probably put a little bleach on a wide tooth comb and comb it on the dark ends just to give it a little "lift" (it will turn hair lighter). You need to watch how fast the color is lifting = how long you need to leave the bleach on before you shampoo it out. You can purchase bleach at your local beauty supply store. Ask any clerk what he/she recommends.

Although the image above has been colored purposely light to dark. However, it is the best example of dark ends if someone would repeatedly color the entire hair shaft every 4-6 weeks - which after a while ends turn dark or even black in color.

Credit:
The image above is from THIS website.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Help! My Hair Turned Green!

Question:
My natural hair is very dark and I always wanted to color my hair ashy blond or light brown. So I bleached it and colored it with light ash brown. But it has a green color to it. What should I do to fix it?

Answer:
You used a green based hair color. So now you have to balance it. I think that you should apply strawberry blond hair color to "tone" down the green. It will be more brown, so choose your blond on the lighter side. Also make sure that you do not color your regrowth, it would turn very red. First, you will need to do your roots (and ONLY roots) the same way as you did your hair before. Then, color your entire hair with a strawberry blond color. To color your root area, you will need most likely just one box of tint. However, for your entire length of hair you will need two plus boxes, depending on the length and the amount of your hair.

Credit:
The image above is from THIS website.

 Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: My Hair Color Turned Green (Too Ashy)

Question:
I colored my hair but it turned very ash with a green tinge to it. What did I do wrong and how can I prevent that from happening? Whats your trick?

Answer:
Many blond ladies hate "yellowness" in their colored hair, while brunettes hate "red" undertones in their colored hair. In order to be able to combat these "yellow", "orange" and "red" pigments, they color their hair with "ash" tones.

Here are two scenarios what could happen and how to avoid it:

• If your hair is long and you colored your hair over and over and over, you build up the ash tone over time inside the hair cuticle, resulting in green undertones. To avoid this mishap, do not color already colored hair. Color only regrowth.
• if the hair is gray (no pigment) and you end up with green tinge, use a mixture of natural color and ash tone color. The more gray hair the more natural tone color needs to be used. Again do not over color your already colored hair.

Credit: I found the above image which represents green tonality of hair on THIS PAGE. What is not wanted in one part of the world,  it's fashionable in another (Singapore). Plus, it took several "time consuming" steps to achieve that special "ash look".


Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: How Can I Fix My Ruined Hair Color?

Question:
My friend and I decided to put blonde highlights in my hair. Well, she told me she knew how. But now my hair is messed up pretty bad. My top half is blonde and I hate it. Is there any way I can get it back to my natural hair color? By the way my natural hair color is sandy blonde.

Answer:
Yes, you can.

Go to a store (food store, CVS,  or your local beauty supply store) and look at the hair color companies. Do not buy PERMANENT color yet, you may not need it at all. You need to look if it says SEMI-PERMANENT color on the box.

FYI:

• a semi-permanent color is little gentler for the hair than permanent color
• it deposits pigment on the surface yet some pigment may penetrate into the hairshaft
• it will last about 4+ weeks depending on how often you wash your hair
• it may be just what you need to do the "repair"
• it could be L'Oreal (Healthy Look Creme Gloss Color) or Clairol (Natural Instincts) or Garnier (HerbaShine) - they are all pretty similar. 

If the blond is not white then you choose the color like image on the box (in the store) or like the swatch (in the beauty supply store) as close to your natural hair color as possible. If it is white (it lacks pigment) then the color must have word "natural" in the name. No beige, no ash, not golden, but natural.

If you do not want to color your hair in about a month or so, and do not mind hair to be touch darker, buy it just as dark as your natural color. If you would prefer on the lighter side and would rather be safer and would not mind coloring your hair in about 4 weeks again, then buy the color closest to your hair color but on the lighter side. 

Mix it according to manufacturer's directions - read everything very carefully and follow the instructions to the letter. 

Since I do not your hair there are variables that may happen:

• hair can absorb pigment and turn slightly darker then on the box
• hair can wash out faster then mentioned on the box (especially if your hair was treated with bleach)
• hair may keep the color permanently
• hair may wash out slower over time

So, the first application will be a starting point and if you need any corrections, you may have to do it in the next application. Also if you would use a permanent color, then the color is there to stay, although the bleached hair may fade a little.

One last thing - condition your hair the day before you will color your hair, and condition it right after you color your hair. If the hair color doesn't turn out exactly as you would prefer, do not be upset, you are dealing with artificial pigment, which is not like your natural color - at least it is as close to your color as possible.

Credit: 
The image above is from Glamour web site. Rihanna's hair is a combination of her natural hair (roots), some golden shade, and some white blonde (the rest of the hair). If she would want to color her hair darker, her hairdresse would have to chose natural shade. If her hairdresser would use ash shade, her white strands would (most likely) turn unnatural color, because the pigment in the bottle would not be balanced.

Any more questions? Use Comments below this article.

 Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Dark Roots After Highlighting My Hair

Question:
I have my hair highlighted about every two months. However, after my hair is done I feel like it has not been highlighted at all. My roots are still dark, but rest of my hair is light, especially ends. What's wrong?

Answer:
From your description you get an improper color application - it is put on an entire length of each strand (if foil is used) or on an entire head (if a highlighting cap is used), and that is wrong. The longer your hair the more it gets re-colored on already highlighter hair and it becomes actually double processed, which can be also very damaging to the hair shaft, making it prone to breaking.
 (FYI - double process is when entire hair is bleached with an on-scalp lightener and then toned if needed, thus the expression "double process").

• If you highlight your hair at home, you need to start applying the mixture only on the regrowth. But you must realize one thing, your hair will not be as blond as your hair from your mid section to the ends. It will be blend of your natural hair and your highlights, thus "darker" and more natural looking. Also with a blend of blond and natural hair you would be seeing your roost less prominent.
• If you you are having your hair highlighter by a colorist, you need to find one who knows how to apply color properly.

If you want your hair as light as your mid section or ends, then you need to ask your colorist to switch to a double process (if your hair is dark) or a high-lift color. He/She should do a touch up on your roots and then blend it with the rest of your darker area (just next to your roots). After that you will need to do the root touch ups only on the regular basis, about every 3-6 weeks, depending on how blond your hair will be.

Credit: The above image of Pixie Geldof is from the UK Glamour magazine.


Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Please Help With Ombre Coloring

Question:
I just got my hair done this week and I did the ombré style. I already died my hair blonde so she colored my roots dark and did low lights and highlights it came out good but it didn't blend at all. I see a straight line and it's upsetting. I put down big bucks... Help me please..

Answer:
Well, I cannot help you much since I do not live in your town :-)
Since I cannot see your hair I really cannot answer this question very well. Initially, your hair colorist should have mixed several shades from browns to blonds and apply them in that order from scalp to the mid length or so.
You need to go back to the haircolorist and ask to get rid of the line of demarcation and that you do not want to see the straight line. Bring her some images to show her what you are talking about. Of course, she should fix it without extra charge.

FAQ: Black-Red-Bleach Hair Color Question

Question:
I dyed my hair black six months ago, and now I would like to dye it red, but I really don't want to bleach it. Will my hair take the red color since it's been about 6 months since I dyed it?

Answer:
It depends on what type of color you used. If you used temporary black color, that should not be a problem. If you used a semi-permanent, demi-permanent or permanent color, then that will be a problem.
If your last color application was 6 months ago, and you never touched the hair since, your regrowth will take the color, because it is virgin (a never colored hair). Same applies to a hair colored with a temporary color, since it is only a coating color (on the surface) and washes away with each shampoo.

If you used a semi-, demi- or permanent color, the artificial pigments of these tints penetrate the hair and get deposited for as long as you keep the hair and cannot be colored over with a lighter shade. These tints may somewhat fade, but nevertheless, the majority of the pigment stays put.
However, if you would try to color light artificial color to a darker shade that would not be a problem.

So if you used one of the permanent colors, you are now facing two options:

1. color your hair and cut the hair that will not turn red off (you will end up with about 3 inches long hair)
2. a color remover or bleach should be used on color treated hair (NOT on the virgin regrowth)  to bring hair to a slightly lighter red shade then the target color and then color the hair with the red color you like.

I am sorry to disappoint you, but there is no other way around it. You can do a strand test to see how it will turn out.

Credit:
The beautiful image of Jessica Stam by a photographer Gabor Jurina above is a property of:   http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/2012/01/11/one-fine-photo-jessica-stam/ 

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: My Hair Coloring Went Wrong....

Question:
Two months ago I colored my hair black, which faded a bit. Today, I bought a new hair color and colored my hair, but it went all wrong. I wanted to go lighter and redder but instead my roots are burgundy, but the rest is still black. How can I make my hair lighter?

Answer:
Your black color didn't turn lighter because you cannot make dark color lighter with color. You need to use bleach or a hair color remover.
First you need to condition your hair. Then you need to have the black color removed from your hair with Effasol (a hair color remover) or bleach, such as Super Blue by L'Oreal or 7th Stage by Clairol. Before you use Efassol, or any on scalp bleach check your scalp for any cuts or abrasions. If you find any, wait until it heals so the chemicals do not go directly into your blood stream. While working with bleach (or Effasol), there is no need to go very light - just remove enough color so you can dye it with the target color. You could lift the color just to a red stage if the red (or reddish brown) color is desired. After you are done wash and condition your hair and apply the desired hair color shade. And keep your hair conditioned every time you shampoo it. Your hair will undergo a big stress, so you need to keep it moisturized and conditioned. This entire procedure should be done by a very skilled colorist.

Credit:
The image above is a http://pinupgrace.blogspot.com/2011/07/damnit-there-arent-enough-bloggings.html property. This image is a good example what happens if you do not remove the black color first. Although there is a fad (or should I call it a fashion?) of having roots different color and ends also different color (such a hair tips dipping).

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Can I Color Very Dark Hair To A Red Shade?

Question:
I have been bleaching my hair, which I got tired of. I decided to color my hair dark brown (my natural hair is dark with reddish tones) to give my hair a break from bleach. But now, I would like to color my hair red. Can I use red color over my colored hair?

Answer:
This is a little complicated issue. If you just colored your hair dark brown and then decided to go red, you need   to lift the dark pigment to lighter shade with the help of hair color remover or bleach first. Then use the desired mixture to tint your hair desired color. Unfortunately, lighter shades in regular permanent tint (color) will not lift your dark pigments from your hair.
If you colored your hair dark brown a while back, then you are dealing with a natural color at the root area AND a deposited color on your previously colored hair. Then you need to remove color from a previously tinted hair only to a lighter shade, and then color the hair with the desired shade all over. However, the natural hair at the root area may give you a slightly different shade than the section of your hair that you removed color from with a hair color remover/bleach.
Down the road, you may also experience the color fading from the area that you used bleach on.

Credit:
The above image is a property of Schwartzkopf.

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Hair Chemically Stripped - What To Expect

Question:
My hair is colored, but I am planning to strip my hair with bleach and color it different color. Is it OK to do so? What should I expect to happen?

Answer:
Your description is not detailed enough to answer, so there are more variables than if you would describe the color you currently have, and what is your target color. Lets look at it if your hair is colored dark, then medium and finally if you are coloring your hair to a light shade.

1. Dark hair - if you colored your hair black, dark brown or medium dark brown and if you want to strip your hair to medium brown, your hair may strip to different levels of red/orange-y shade. If you would like to color your hair to medium NON red/orange-y shade, you probably will have hard time toning it down.
   If you would like to strip your hair to a light shade, you may end up with yellow blond. Which you would need to tone down, but you may have a hard time with that task as well.
2. Medium brown hair - if you will try to strip it to light color, you will end up with yellow shade (as in 1.), but it may be slightly lighter. Again it is hard to tone down a strong yellow pigment.
3. Light brown/dark blond hair is probably easiest to strip, but again it really depends what kind of shade you were coloring your hair with previously. You may end up with yellow to pale yellow shade. Toning your hair would be easiest. 

Now another question is what color so you want to color your hair after you strip it? Is it "normal" color (browns or blonds) or some "wild" color (purple, blue, green)? Each color will intermingle with the pigmentation in your hair. A light vibrant color on deep red/orange-y shade would not show as well as on pale yellow/white shade. Also the vibrant colors (as in Manic Panic coloring) may mix with the deeper reds/oranges/yellows and create a secondary shade (ie. strong yellow in your hair covered with blue pigment may create blue/green shade.

For any shade (including strong vibrant colors), it would be the best to strip hair to pale yellow and then color your hair to the desired shade. Prepare yourself for a "dry" hair after you are finished with stripping it. You will need hair treatments to make your hair strong again. Be careful not to over-process your hair. It would be the best to put your hair into hands of a very skilled colorist, since this process involves strong chemicals and a very good pigmentation knowledge.

Products you can remove your color with:

• color remover(ie. Effasol)
• on scalp bleach if foil is not used (7th Stage by Clairol or Super Blue by L'Oreal)
• if you want to remove color as in highlights, then off scalp bleach can be used (ie. Quick Blue by L'Oreal or BW2 by Clairol)

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: How Do I Remove Red Pigment From My Hair?

Question:
I've been coloring my hair red and I would like to change it to blond. How do I do it?

Answer:
The artificial red pigment is very hard to remove from hair. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 tries, and hair is still too brassy looking at the end. The hair can be treated either with a color remover or on scalp bleach. When my hair was red we used bleach two times and it still was yellow. I waited a couple of weeks and tried to remove the pigment again, yet still I was not as blond as I wished to be. I cut my hair short, kept coloring my regrowth blond to semi-match the "bleached" blond. I had to wait until all yellow-ish hair that would not get any lighter got all cut out over the time and then finaly got my hair the color I wanted to be. The whole process took many months. So prepare yourself psychologically for yellow blond instead of "blond blond". Make sure that a person who will be working on your hair knows how to work with strong chemicals and knows when to stops before your hair falls out.

If you do not want to be "yellow-ish" blond, perhaps you would color your hair brown (if that is your natural color) and wait it out without touching it for several months (up to couple of years, which depends how long you would like to have your hair) until you would color your natural hair to a blond shade without any problem.

Credit: The image above is from nucleardoll.com - which is a great example of a red hair before and after a color remover was applied. It took some red out, yet still left plenty of it in the hair. You can see how hard it is to get the red out and that you really need someone who know hot to do it properly.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: How Do I Tone My Very Light Highlights?

Question:
I use this formula to color my roots every 6 weeks using Redken Colorgels: 35 g 6 GN + 15 g 8GN + 20 volume cream developer. My hair gets processed for 30 minutes.  In addition I get highlights every 4-5 months. Now the highlights are too light. Can I use the same formula all over my hair and the highlights will turn darker? Or do I have to use a different formula to tone down the highlights?

Answer:
This is what I gather from your message: You color your hair medium-light brown most likely to cover some gray hair (at home?). You do not like just the flat color, so you then have it highlighted to a lighter shade. The shade seems too light.

Now here is where it gets little unclear to me (since I do not see your hair). I would need to know how is the application of highlights done, which can be done three ways:

1. The colorist applies the lightener on the REGROWTH ONLY and makes it too light
2. Your colorist applies the lightener on the ENTIRE HAIR SHAFT (from root to ends) and the root area highlighted for the first time is OK, but the anything that has been highlighted prior to 4-5 months gets lighter and the ends are the lightest
3. Your colorist sometimes highlights only regrowth that has never been highlighted and when your hair needs blending every so often he/she applies the lightener on the entire shaft

If the highlighting is applied as described in number 1 - your colorist needs to cut down on processing time - bleach keeps lifting the color the longer as long as it stays on the hair, which could possibly solve your problem and your hair would be spared one extra step.

If the highlighting is applied as described in 2 - your colorist needs to apply the lightener only to the root area and if the color comes out the way you like it there will be no need for toner.

If the highlighting is applied as described in 3 - you need occasional toner (you can read about toner on this page).

Now finally to your question "how to fix the over lightened hair" - if you would apply the above mentioned formula as is, you would make your hair too dark. This is what I would do:

If I would like the base color (shade) of the above mentioned formula, I would mix probably 1/2 of the amount (of the above mentioned formula) and I would dilute it 50:50 with water (that means equal amounts of the formula and water, or shampoo for thicker consistency). This would make the formula less powerful. I would try to process my hair for about 5 minutes, then I would take a paper towel and wipe a bit of one of my strands (strand test) to see how the color is turning. If it would be still light, I would check again in another 5 minutes and so on. When I would achieve the desired shade/darkness I would shampoo my hair and condition it. If the hair is porous it will "suck" the tint in, yet after few shampoos it may release it.

Now if you would like a different shade than your original formula (mentioned above), you could get yourself a toner in a darker shade than your highlights, but a lighter shade than your original formula, and process your hair according to manufacturer. Then shampoo and condition your hair. 

Please, read the note below.

Credit: The above image is from hairstylesdesign.com website.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: How To Get Rid Of Brassiness In My Blond Hair?

Question:
I colored my hair blond and it turned out brassy looking. How do I get rid of this yellow-orangey hue?



Answer:
There is some information missing in order to answer this question properly. So, I will start with questions myself.

• Have you ever colored your hair before, or was this your first time?
• Is your brassiness all over the hair shaft or just at the root area?
• How dark is your natural hair?
• What kind of color product was used - a regular color, a high lift color or a bleach?
• How dark is your brassiness? 
• What condition is your hair?
• Is your brassiness due to the coloring or did you notice the brassiness build up over time?

If your hair is still healthy looking and

1. it was a first time color job, your hair was fairly light to start with, and your brassiness is light - a blue/purple toner and/or blue shampoo should be sufficient
2. your hair was a medium brown color to start with, it was a first time color job, and your brassiness is light to slightly darker - a blue/purple high lift color with 40% peroxide may help
3. your hair was dark to start with, it was a first time color job, and your brassiness is medium dark - an on scalp bleach (or even a color remover) may be needed to solve your problem.

If your hair is damaged - you will be better off in the hands of a skilled hairdresser before your hair falls out due to more damage.

Other things to consider

1. if your home water has iron problem (which can cause the brassiness also), install a filtering system.
2. when coloring your hair do not cut the coloring time
3. use the blue/purple color shade to achieve hair without yellow or orange-y under tones
4. if your hair is on the darker side use bleach
5. if you want your hair looking more natural blond instead of "one color blond", have a skilled colorist highlight your hair
6. alternate a shampoo for color treated hair with blue shampoo for blonds to keep the brassy tones at bay
7. do not forget to condition your hair

Credit: The image above is from becomegorgeous.com - an example of brassy looking hair. 

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Correctors, Fillers And Toner - What Is The Difference?

Question: 
What is a difference between correctors and fillers, and what is a toner. I have a 100% white hair that I color dark brown, but the hair never gets full coverage. It is always lighter. What do you suggest to do? Should I use a black color?

Answer:

• Correctors are used to correct the shade of the color (ie. should any light blonde hair gets green from swimming in chlorinated water, a corrector pigment/color is used to make it blond again). 
• Fillers are used to help the color to deposit into the hair correctly (ie. the hair is very damaged and porous and takes in places on different shades while coloring, filler is put on the hair prior to coloring to make sure the color will be evenly deposited into the hair). 
• Toner is a type of color that gets deposited only on the surface of the hair to give a hair a nicer hue (ie. a bleached blond wants her blond to have a cooler blond color, so she gets blue toner, or brunette would like a warmer tone so she gets reddish toner). Toner doesn't change the original color, it only temporarily gives a  different hue, and sometimes even just a luster.

Regarding your hair: it is very resistant to color. What it means is that the cuticle is very resistant to open and therefor the color cannot fully penetrate. You could do three things:

• Leave the color on longer and put plastic cap over to keep it moist (so the color doesn't dry up - it would stop working)
• Use so called pre-softener prior to coloring (it is sold in any beauty supply store)
• add about 1/4 of the black color to your brown color (do not forget to adjust the amount of peroxide)

Credit: The above image is from www.wwbeautystore.com website.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: I Want My Blond Hair Back Without Bleaching It

Question:
I have been coloring my naturally blond hair with dark brown color. How can I make my hair be blond again without bleaching it?

Answer:
You will not have your natural hair color back until you grow it out, because you are dealing with an artificial pigments inside your hair. I am sorry to inform you that you will have to remove the dark color either with color remover or bleach, and then dye your your hair back to your natural color as close as possible - so as it is growing out, it sort of matches.  It cannot fade, unless you would color your hair with temporary color, which washes out in one or two shampoos. (Also, semi-permanent color fades but not as much as temporary color).

There are several variables to consider:

1. How often did you color your hair
2. Was your color done at home or at the salon?
3. If the hair was done at home, how was the tint applied?

All of the above questions (and many more) are very important to as how the color should be removed. Do not forget you are dealing with chemistry here. 

If you would decide to get your hair color removed after all, let your hair be taken care of by a very skilled and experienced colorist, because the more chemicals would be applied to fix your hair (in the case you would try to do it at home and would not succeed in doing a great job) the higher chance of damaged hair you would have and you would be facing a situation of cutting your hair off.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: My Blue Shampoo Is Not Working

Question:
I had my hair bleached couple of months ago. However, it has a yellow hue. I have been using a blue shampoo to tone down the yellowness, but I really do not see much difference. Does this shampoo actually work? Or when will I see some change? If it will not work, what do you recommend?

Answer:
It all depends on how much yellow there is in your hair. It sounds as if your hair was not "brought up" to a palest yellow shade and it has still too much of yellow pigments inside. If your natural hair is very dark, it is hard to make it very blond in only one session. And since the shampoo is not doing its job, your colorist may have to re-bleach your hair to make it more pale in color. However, if you decide for  a second application you must be careful not to have your hair over processed to the point that it would be breaking off. If you decide to go for one more bleach treatment, you should deep-condition your hair several times (over several days) prior to your chemical treatment - just to make it stronger for this process.
Blue or violet shampoos are not designed to "color" or "decolor" your hair. They are supposed to neutralize your yellow hues. But if your hair is too light, almost white, it may actually change your hair color into "blue-ish" or "purple-ish" shade, depending on which color shampoo you would be using. So, do not over use the shampoo. However it will not happen if the hue of your hair is too yellow.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Corrective Color - From Black To Caramel Blond

Question:
I dyed my hair black about a year and a half ago. But I got tired of it and wanted to do something different. I wanted to let it grow out so I can cut off the black ends and have my natural hair color which is a dark brown. Then I would want to go lighter, like a caramel color with blonde highlights, but instead of waiting for my hair to grow out I stripped the black color off with "One n Only" I bought from Sally Beauty Supply. I used it twice but it didn't strip all of it off and my color was very uneven. At this point I decided to go to the salon today and the hairdresser said that I can't get it colored one solid light color but to get it higlighted and toned. She also said that my hair would be medium brown. I needed a change so I said OK. I hate my hair. I don't understand why she couldn't dye my hair a light color if she could highlight some parts. How could I lighten the darker parts of my hair from a dark brown to a lighter color at home?

Answer:
Well this is quite a problem. I could almost say "a hairdressers nightmare". Let me take this whole issue step by step.
As I understand you colored your hair at home for year and a half. Now the application of your black color makes a big difference. That is HOW it should be applied, so if someone gets bored with color and needs a change it is stripped as easy as possible. Some people color over and over on already colored hair, which is WRONG. The proper application should be first time all over the hair and then when touch ups are needed only that re-growth gets colored, and if there is a little fading of the color that was tinted last time then that gets refreshed with diluted color which is left over from the application.
Now if the hair gets colored every time all over the hair (even the already colored hair) then anyone who wants to strip the tint has to deal with "over tinted hair". The pigment is build up to the point that it is hard to strip it well. The striping has to be done properly and all the hair needs to be saturated well so the "stripping" product works well. Then if needed do the stripping once more. Which you did, however I think that the stripping was either unevenly applied and/or the previous color applications were not applied well. If it would be you should have end up with  yellow hair after two "stripping" applications.
Now we are getting to the salon. I am not sure what you mean that your hair is medium brown. And you also didn't write what the colorist did to your hair. If she just highlighted your hair and left the rest of your hair be, that was not such a bad practice. If she did that she did it to protect your hair, so it doesn't all fall out.
You are asking a question: "why she couldn't dye my hair a light color if she could highlight some parts?" You can never color hair (which was previously tinted dark) with regular light color. You have to use a bleaching agent (on scalp bleach or stripper designed for stripping hair) to make it light.
So what your colorist would have to do is to bleach entire hair again as blond - perhaps to the yellow stage. She may have been scared what third application would do to your hair, since it is very strong chemical and if used improperly, or on week hair, or on damaged hair, the clients hair can go into the drain with the water. Than she would foil your hair for your highlights (that would be fourth application of bleach!) and in between the foil she would have to tone your hair with medium blond color, which would probably take darker due to the porosity of your hair. And again your blond hair color would probably wash out over time due to the porosity.
As to your last question "how could I lighten the darker parts of my hair from a dark brown to a lighter color at home?" I would say - I would not do it at home at this point. I would give my hair several conditioning treatments before I would go back to the salon for more highlights. Over time you will achieve the color you are looking for (always print an image found on internet of a model that has your hair type and that wears your desired color/style/cut), but until then you have to be patient. When going from a very dark tinted hair to a blond shade it always takes several sessions. Unfortunately.


Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: How Could I Color My Hair To My Natural Shade?

Question:
My hair is naturally blond, which I decided to color dark about two years ago. I enjoyed my darker color very much. I got tired of it and I tried to color my hair back to its original color. I stripped the dark hair color, but my hair turned out orange. I decided to try to grow the hair out. However, it is not working out and I hate it. I tried searching for tips on how to fix it on the internet but everyone is suggesting to dye it back or use the color strippers. Which I already tried. How can I fix my hair?


Answer:
You didn't do the de-stripping job the right way. You should have stripped the color much lighter - actually about a shade lighter than your natural color. Then you would need to apply a filler to balance the pigment and over the filler you would apply a semi-permanent or permanent hair color to tint your hair back. Of course, the tint would have to be in the shade of your natural hair color or slightly lighter since your porous hair would grab the color darker. However it would not be exactly matched. After all you would be dealing with a man made pigment.

But now you are facing a problem - two different hair colors. One is natural (regrowth) and orange shade (stripped) and also two types of hair natural (uprocessed) and chemically processed. Applying a corrective coloring to such hair can be tricky. Therefore this situation needs to be approached a bit differently. The best way is if you could get a professional to help you, because only the orange hair needs to be stripped one more time, while the roots should not be touched at all with color remover (or bleach). You need a help of some other person because you cannot see what you are doing. You see, if you would get the stripping agent on the roots accidentally, then your natural hair could become white blond, which is not desirable.
After the hair is stripped it needs to be covered with a right amount and color filler (so that the tint doesn't get diluted, yet it helps to balance the pigment while coloring) and only then the ENTIRE hair shaft should be tinted with a shade of blond as close to your natural hair color as possible. You can use either a permanent color or a semi-permanent hair color. A semi-permanent hair color is gentler on the hair. If you would use a permanent color - you may want to use 1/2 shade lighter, if a semi-permanent color would be used, then even same shade as your natural hair, because it washes slowly away.

After all this process you may see some fading to due to a porosity of your hair, which would have to be maintained either with shampoos designed to keep the color from fading and/or a semi-permanent hair (or temporary) hair color. You will have to use hair conditioners on your hair to improve the quality.

Also, do not forget to do a heavy duty conditioning treatment, such as E.V.A. Unbreakable Hair Repairing Mask, one day prior to this chemical process. Also JOICO has nice deep conditioning products.

Credit:
Above image is a property of mynewhair.info and it is a perfect example of different bleaching stages. However, the example is for never colored hair. Colored hair would have slightly different shades in these stages, because of an artificial pigment inside chemically treated hair.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.