Dyeing or highlighting your hair at home can be cheaper and less time-consuming than visiting a salon, but DIY hair coloring can lead to mistakes as well. If you’re dealing with a hair coloring mishap, here are some ways to fix common at-home dye mistakes. However, the best way to deal with hair color problems is to consult a hair color correction hair salon.
How To Color Correct DIY Hair Dye Blunders?
Mistake 1: Hair Color Is Too Dark
Solution: Wash your hair frequently with a clarifying shampoo. This will help fade the color, which you will be able to notice after a few washes. Make sure to use hot water, and after each wash, apply a moisturizing hair mask to help prevent damage from frequent washing. Even though the results will be noticeable after a few washes, you will see the color fade to a normal level in a week or so. Don’t over wash hair to get quicker results (multiple times a day) because it can be disastrous for your hair.
Usually, clarifying shampoos are not recommended for dyed hair for the same reason you’ll be using them in this case: they fade the dye quickly.
Don’t bleach your hair again to lighten your hair because this will damage your hair to no end. Moreover, applying a lighter box dye also won’t do anything because it can’t lift the effects of another darker box dye pigment.
Mistake 2: Hair Color Is Too Light
Solution: The most common solution for a hair dye that turns out to be too light is to use a demi-permanent hair dye. This is the best fix if your desired color is only 1- 2 shades darker. For instance, you wanted dark brown, but got light brown.
There are some other subtle solutions that slightly fix the too-light-hair-dye problem if it’s not too drastically light from your expectations. You can use a color depositing shampoo that will gradually add slightly color to your hair with each wash. You can also apply a color gloss.
However, if you need a major change, you should apply the hair dye again that you did before or a shade darker. But make sure that the first application has developed and your hair health is good enough. If you can, only touch up the roots and apply a diluted solution to the lengths. And if the hair is damaged, avoid completely dyeing your hair again too soon and consult a hair colorist.
Never bleach your hair again if you get too light hair color.
Mistake 3: You Have Orange Tones
Solution: Use blue to cancel out the orange tones. So, you can use a blue shampoo or conditioner to slowly add blue pigments to your hair, which will remove the ugly orange color from your hair. It won’t be immediate. You will have to do a few washes to see a noticeable difference. This is for mild orange tones.
If you have a moderate to very noticeable orange color, you should use a blue toner. It’s considered better and faster than a blue shampoo for neutralizing orange tones.
Moreover, if you want stronger and even results, get a demi-permanent blue-ash color. Consider a level 7 or 8 hair color with a 10-volume developer or anything low-volume.
Lastly, if the results are way off, you should lighten hair again. But it can be very damaging to the hair, so it’s better to visit a Balayage hair salon Rockville where an expert can fix the orange tones without, or with the least possible, damage.
Note that hard water can cause orange or yellow tones (solutions in the next section for yellow tones). So, install a shower filter to wash hair with soft water.
Mistake 4: Yellow Brassy Hair
Solution: To get rid of brassy hair, use a purple shampoo, as the color purple can neutralize yellow tones. Again, this is a milder and slower method for removing yellow brassiness. If you want another method, you can use a purple gloss. Use a violet or pearl toner if you want results to be even more noticeable.
If you need stronger or quicker results, use a purple toner that is a demi-permanent hair dye.
Mistake 5: Roots Are Lighter Than The Rest Of The Hair (Hot Roots)
Solutions: The fix is similar to a touch-up. You can simply apply a demi-permanent hair toner of the right shade to the roots only. For yellow roots, use a violet or purple toner. For orange or copper roots, get a blue or blue-violet toner, and for orange-yellow roots, consider a blue-violet toner.
In case you don’t want to tone or dye your hair again, use a blue (for orange roots) or purple (for yellow roots) color-depositing mask.
Moreover, you can also do a shadow root. You apply a demi-permanent hair toner or gloss to the roots only that is slightly darker than the current color of the roots. Yellow roots will need a neutral-violet or cool beige shade, and orange roots will require a blue-violet or ash-based shade. But this can be difficult and improper application can cause uneven color, so consult a hair colorist if needed.
Mistake 6: You Have Green Hair
Solution: Use a warm-toned color-depositing shampoo because green hair is a result of applying ash tones to bleached or light blonde hair. So, a warm-toned addition is all you need to neutralize the greens.
The shade depends on the color of your hair:
- Blonde or light hair: Peach-gold, strawberry-blonde, soft copper, etc.
- Light brown or dark blonde: Copper or gold.
- Medium or dark brown: chestnut, copper-brown, red-brown, etc.
For stronger results, use a warm-toned gloss. Use the above-mentioned list to pick the right shade of the gloss. However, if the green tones are too patchy and uneven, refrain from fixing it yourself and contact a hair color specialist.
Mistake 7: Uneven Or Patchy Hair Color
Solution: For milder patchy or uneven spots, you can use a clarifying shampoo. It helps fade the color and could balance out the patchy spots with the rest of the hair.
If you need to be somewhere and you want to hide the patchy spots, you can use a root touch-up or color blending hair spray. It will help conceal uneven hair dye, but it works only till the next hair wash. However, it’s still a good quick fix or a method to give your hair a breather before another round of hair dyeing.
For a permanent fix, you can reapply the dye to the patchy spots if they are lighter. It’s usually better to use the same solution and wash after the minimum time period allowed on the label, or use a slightly diluted solution.
But if you have severe patchy or uneven spots, avoid DIY fixes and consult a hair colorist.
Mistake 8: Hair Is Gummy Or Damaged After Coloring
Solution: Stop all chemical coloring, treatments, and heat styling, and perform damage restoration. First, rinse with cool or lukewarm water once and use a sulphate-free shampoo, and then a rich conditioner. Avoid the conditioner on the scalp and roots. Don’t rub the hair too much. Afterward, consider a bond-repair or molecular-repair treatment or consult a hairstylist.
Conclusion
Hair dye mistakes can happen, so use this guide to fix the common ones. However, if the problem is severe or you notice hair damage, stop trying the fixes and consult hair salons specializing in color Rockville.
