Did it ever happen that you tried to take off a few shades from your hair expecting to get a nice shade of blonde, and it turned brassy orange? This can be really annoying. Orange hair is not that bad a hair color. But after bleaching your hair when it turns orange and that too uneven and in patches, then it can be very disappointing. Many of you might have experienced this situation. At the end you are forced to go to the hairdressers to fox your orange hair.
Fixing orange hair is not that hard a task as you may think. Getting orange hair color after a bleaching session is very common. When you try to bleach your dark hair, chances are that 8 out of 10 times you will end up with orange hair. One thing you should know is that you need not go to a hair dresser for fixing your orange hair. You can get rid of your orange hair color yourself.
Below are given ways to fix your orange hair after bleaching. First of all, let us see why your hair turns orange when it is bleached.
Why Bleached Hair Turns into Orange?
Bleach helps in lightening your hair, but it does not get rid of the natural pigment that helps in giving color to your hair. People with brunette hair have red and orange undertones to their hair. This is the reason that you get orange hair color after you bleach your hair.
If you look at the chart showing hair color and the undertone, you can see that people with dark hair mostly have orange tones in their hair, which make them more prone to end up with orange hair after bleaching their hair.
One more reason for getting orange hair is the build up of minerals in your hair. If you have light hair, you are likely to get yellow and orange tones after you use products that contain sulphates on your hair.
How do you fix bleached hair gone orange?
You can follow different ways to fix orange hair. However, the logic behind fixing is to neutralize the color. By referring a color chart, you can see that different shades of blue counteract with different shades of orange and neutralize the color. So, most of the toning shampoos that you use to fix orange hair contain blue or purple pigments to get rid of the orange and yellow tones.
How to fix orange hair with toner?
Using a toner helps in getting rid of the brassy orange and yellow tones from your hair and neutralizes them to give a cool toned hair color. Right after you bleach your hair, use the toner in combination with peroxide. Often you get the desired results after you tone your hair more than once.
How to choose a hair toner?
If your hair has more yellow tones than orange tones, you will have to use a purple toning shampoo or a toner like Wella Colorcharm T 18. If the orange tone is more than yellow on your hair, then you will have to use blue toning shampoo for more than a couple of weeks to neutralize the orange color. Using the opposite color on the color chart to neutralize your hair is the best way you can tone your hair.
Applying toner to hair:
To apply the toner, you will need a good toner for your hair, a brush to apply it, a plastic bowl and a volume 10 or 20 developer to mix it with.
- First of all you have to mix the toner and peroxide in the ratio 1:2.
- Now you have to apply the mixture on your hair with an applicator brush.
- Once you have covered all the orange hair, wait for more than 45 minutes.
- Wash it off with a toning shampoo or a shampoo that is free from sulphate.
How to fix orange hair with the help of box dye?
If your hair has become patchy with orange and blonde colours, it means that you have not used enough dye or bleach on your hair. So, you will have to re-do your hair. You can take the help of your friend for this. Take your hair into sections and make sure that you have applied the bleach or dye evenly on your hair. Now you can follow the steps given below to fix your orange hair with box dye.
- Take enough dye to cover your hair entirely.
- Now part your air into thin sections and then apply the dye well, so that it covers every strand. You can take the help of your friend for this.
- Leave the dye on your hair for the recommended amount of time and then you can shampoo and condition your hair.
Fixing Orange hair to light brown:
To fix your orange hair to light brown, you can use a medium ash hair dye. The ash blonde hair dye, when used on darker orange hair, helps in giving a nice light brown shade to your hair.
- Pick a lighter ash blonde color than the one that gave your hair the orange shade.
- Apply it evenly on your hair and then wait for the time given on the pack.
- Wash it off with shampoo and then condition your hair.
Orange hair to blonde:
To fix orange hair to blonde, the best thing to do is to re-bleach your hair after two weeks, when your hair comes down to yellow tones. Use an ash blonde box dye to neutralize your hair.
- Get a good quality bleaching powder, 30 vol developer and a platinum or ash blonde box hair dye.
- Mix the bleach and developer in 1:2 ratio in the plastic bowl and apply it on your hair. Wait for 30 minutes. Wash your hair and then apply the box hair dye after two days.
- Follow the instruction given on the box.
How to Fix Orange Hair Naturally?
Apple cider vinegar rinse:
For this you will have to apply coconut oil on your hair before you go to bed. Next morning wash and condition your hair. Now mix 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a few drops of blue or purple liquid food color and 1 cup of water. Rinse your hair with this mixture after you wash your hair. Repeat every two weeks to get the desired results.
Apple cider vinegar:
Boil 1 cup of water and add 1 ounce of hollyhock herbs and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to it. Heat the mixture till it thickens. Cool the mixture and apply this thick mixture on your hair. Rinse off with a sulphate-free shampoo after 10 minutes. Follow it with a conditioner.
