Most women (if not all), have at least onehair colour-related sob story to tell. And the universal salt in the wound is that it often takes place right before one of the biggest milestones in your life.
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Whether it’s a botched DIY dye job, a not-so-subtle streak of highlights or an unfortunately bad balayage experience, before you lose all hope and reach for the scissors consider this: Most colour catastrophes are fixable over time.
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To help you cope with whatever colour crisis you’re currently working through, we’ve got the intel on how to fix these hairy mishaps.
#1 SEEK ADVICE
If your colour job left your locks with more brass than a Michael Bublé album, your first instinct might be to book in a quick fix. But, for the sake of your hair, consult an expert before doing anything. Since tones, formulas and techniques can be so varied, a professional assessment about when and how your hair can be processed again is crucial, as they’ll be able to determine what is best for maintaining the health of your hair.
#2 START SHAMPOOING
There are a number of products you can use in the shower to help kick-start the correction process. If you feel like your blonde ended up a little too dark, use a clarifying shampoo to help remove unwanted tones.
bh recommends: Hask Purifying Shampoo – Charcoal with Citrus Oil, Palmer’s Natural Fusions Micellar Rosewater Cleanser Clarifying Shampoo and Maui Moisture Detoxifying + Volcanic Ash Shampoo
And if you’re colour is looking a little too golden, give it a rinse with purple shampoo to counteract it for a creamier finish.
bh recommends: Provoke: Touch of Silver Brightening Shampoo, TIGI BedHead Dumb Blonde Violet Toning and Aveda Blue Malva Shampoo
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#3 MASK IT!
Alternatively, if you’ve ended up with locks that are too light, try sleeping in a deep conditioning, colour treatment mask 2-3 nights in a row. Through over-conditioning, this will help fade the unwanted colour.
bh recommends: Kerastase Bain Chroma Captive, Wella SP Reverse Regenerating Hair Mask and Andalou Exotic Marula Oil Silky Smooth Deep Conditioning Hair Mask
#4 BALANCE BRASSINESS
One of the easier colouring mistakes to correct, a too-brassy dye job calls for toner. Brassiness can be a result of a darker base not being processed enough, so applying toner helps get the job done. If you can’t wait for your next trip to the salon to nix those brassy tones, a purple or blue-tinted shampoo which contains correcting and neutralising pigments is a temporary solution.
bh recommends: De Lorenzo Novafusion, JUSTICE Professional Perfect Violet Shampoo and KMS COLORVITALITY Blonde Shampoo
#5 SOLVE STRIPEY HIGHLIGHTS
If skunk-like highlights weren’t exactly what you had in mind, solve the issue by blending the highlights with a toner to match your natural colour and lessen the contrast. Alternatively, book an appointment at the salon for more highlights. Use a shade slightly darker or lighter to fill in the spaces
bh recommends: Goldwell Dualsenses Blondes & Highlights Anti-Brassiness Shampoo, Fudge Clean Blonde Shampoo, John Frieda Sheer Blonde® Colour Renew Tone-Correcting Shampoo
#6 LIGHTEN UP
Even if you start with the best of intentions, and follow the directions on a box to a T, sometimes hair colour mishaps just happen – and even to the most skilled DIY colourist. If you find yourself reconsidering your newfound Morticia Addams-inspired strands, a colour softener or colour remover is an immediate way to fade out those unwanted darker tones.
bh recommends: Scott Cornwall Decolour Stripper and Colourless Max Effect
#7 BAD BALAYAGE
Despite it being one of the most coveted hair colour trends, many people still have the wrong idea on what balayage actually is and as a result, sport dark roots and light ends. In fact, the term means “to sweep”, and is always done freehand by a colourist. Don’t risk the ‘top deck’, dip-dyed look by attempting this at home – go see a professional who will give your hair effortless, naturally sun-kissed colour instead.
Image credit: @sophiemonk
Have you got a hair colour horror story? How did you fix it?
Did it again. So toning goodies to the rescue! hahah…fanola vegan no yellow saved the situation
One thing I won’t do is dye my own hair so then there are no stuff ups.
Olaplex No.3 is great for damaged hair.
I always use the same brand and colour (boring!) and haven’t had any issues with disasters thank goodness.
All of these are possible and while I have dyed my hair for years, I’m luck to say that l’ve never had a bad experience with the colour that my hair has turned!
All I can say is don’t over-react when something goes wrong with your hair – relax – find a hairdresser or friend you can trust and start again – the shampoos and hair masks sound like reliable products!
Disaster!
Never attempted to do a total change of colour of home , just using hair colour close to my natural colour.
a little oil just a little is nice
I remember using one of these sprays years ago too! Orangey yellow hair…………yuck. I have my highlights done by a hairdresser nowadays:)
Great tips here.
I no longer colour my hair. I used to have highlights done regularly but after having cancer I am very careful about what I use on my skin and hair.
I regularly use L’Oreal home permanent colouring kits and vary between them. I now won’t use ash blonde as it seems to make my blonde hair grey, which I try to hide. Lucky I don’t need to fix problems.
I dyed my hair red once and it looked horrible. I managed to get rid of most of it by washing my hair with lots of anti-dandruff shampoo. That was a long time ago, and these days there are probably better products I could have used to remove the colour.