What cancels out yellow in blonde hair?

A bad at-home hair dye is not a new predicament to be in. We’ve all been there, desperate to get our hair done but with no money or time to book a professional stylist at a salon. So, we turn to some home remedies such as boxed bleach and ammonia-filled dyes.

The problem with this is that we usually don’t know what we’re doing, and a five-minute tutorial from YouTube won’t make that big of a difference in the process. If your DIY color job came out yellow, you don’t need to hide under your blankets for days. There are some easy solutions for botched blonde jobs to help you out.

Firstly we need to ask the question why. Why did your hair turn yellow and brassy? Well, if you have naturally dark hair, it’s hard to get an icy blonde right off the bat. All hair has underlying pigments that contribute to a complex and rich shade. These underlying pigments are typically hard to lift and will result in some yellow tones and orange tones.

Another reason for the yellow-toned bleach job is that the mineral or chemicals from the bleach or other dyes that are in your hair may be developing an off-color.

For whatever reason caused your yellow hair, the important thing to realize is that it’s fixable! Don’t panic if it’s not looking desirable right now, you can definitely turn this around.

How can I fix bleached hair that turned yellow?

There are a few ways you can fix yellow or brassy hair. The first and most common way to rid your hair of yellow tones after bleaching is by using a purple shampoo, conditioner or toner. You need to tone out the yellow. Purple shampoo is an easy and affordable way of doing it at home.

You simply use it in the shower, lathering it up and letting it sit for the directed time on the bottle instructions. Then, rinse it out and watch the yellow buildup fade away. Be cautious to not leave it on too long, no matter what some viral hair hacks may say.

Leaving your purple toning shampoo on for too long will transfer those purple pigments onto your hair rather than just toning it.

Our two top picks for purple shampoo include the Redken Color Extend Blondage and the Biolage ColorLast Purple Shampoo. These two are well-loved brands that have great results for brassy-toned hair.

Another way to fix the yellow and brassy tones is to bleach it again. Wait a few days to do this so that your hair can relax between bleach sessions. Bleaching your hair one more time will most likely even out the color and get rid of the yellow.

Depending on your hair type, natural hydration, undertones and more, it can possibly be damaging to your hair to bleach it again. This being said, if you are going to take this route, try using Olaplex.

Olaplex has bond repairing technology for damaged hair that is used by stylists worldwide to help in the bleaching and post-bleaching processes. It might be pricy, but the results are worth it.

Olaplex has many different kinds of treatments with different purposes. It’s important to read and follow the directions of each to make sure you’re using them to their full potential!

The last-ditch attempt way of fixing yellow hair is hair dyes. Using an ashy blonde hair dye will probably cover that yellow tone, even out your overall hair color, and give it some life back. Many people will tell you not to use boxed blonde hair color, but there’s no shame in using them!

Some of us can’t afford to go get our color done professionally by a colorist and box dyed is a cost-efficient and full-proof way of getting the color you want.

L’Oreal Paris Superior Preference Fade-Defying + Shine Permanent Hair Color in 7A is a dark ash blonde that is flattering on so many skin types.

L’Oreal Paris Excellence Crème Permanent Hair Color in 8.5A is a Champagne Blonde that is slightly lighter and less neutral. It also has Ceramides, Pro-Keratine, and Collagen in the formula for extra protection.

You can also always go darker. If you’re worried about your hair not dyeing evenly, you have another option but you may not want to hear it. If your end goal was to go blonde, hearing that brunette is your best bet might get you down.

But, in our books, it’s better to have healthy-looking brown hair than blonde hair with an unsightly bleach-caused yellow tint. You can go black or brunette using a multitude of hair dyed including Arctic Fox which will be gentler on your hair than box dye. If you are going darker, you should be filling your hair.

If you don’t know what filling your hair means, it essentially is the act of putting range or red dye in your hair before dying it brunette or black. This will give your hair a more complex tone and eliminate the possibility of it turning green as a chemical reaction to blonde dyes or bleach.

Or another option is to go bright and bold. If there was ever a time for blue or purple hair, it’s this moment right now! Ditch the yellow hair and give it a punky pink because… well, why not! Hair grows back and color will fade, so choose a color that you love. Whether that’s a natural brunette, a fire red, or a natural blonde.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to hair dye and you should explore the color that you feel best in. Arctic Fox has some of the best bright colors to work with, but you can also go with Manic Panic, or Punky Colour for a similarly bold and non-damaging hair dye option.

Before using any dye, do a strand test and a patch test. Strand tests are important to make sure that the color deposits as the shade you were expecting and a patch test is vital to ensure that you’re not allergic to any ingredients in the dye you’re using, specifically the pigments or silicones present in the formula.

This is an important first step and will contribute to healthy hair and desirable end result.

There isn’t just one answer to this problem because first, we need to evaluate why your hair has those yellowish tones. And once we know why, then we can focus on the solution, which, of course, won’t involve using toner. So:

• If your hair turned yellow because you bleached it, the best way to fix it is to use an ash blonde dye.
• If your hair ended up yellow because you used a dye on it, you could get rid of the yellow using a purple shampoo.
• And, if your hair is yellow because your dye has faded, you can touch it up by using a blonde dye with a pearl tone.

Other than the why behind your hair turning yellow, all of these situations do have a common denominator, which is exactly that yellow color that you’re not happy with in your hair.

But, cheer up! Because thanks to the color wheel and Mother Nature’s wonderful ways, all colors have an opposite color that cancels it out.

In this case, purple neutralizes yellow.

You’ll be able to get rid of that yellow in your hair without using a toner with any of these methods. So, you’re fed up with that ugly yellow in your hair?

Well, declare war on it!

Let’s start with the first situation. You bleached your hair, and the result was a color disaster.

How to get rid of yellow tones in bleached hair without using toner

It’s very common for orange and yellow to appear in hair after bleaching it since during the chemical process of bleaching it, your hair fiber fades each time you use the bleach mix.

That’s why you have to be very careful each time you bleach your hair and never use a developer stronger than 30 volumes.

Dye with an ash tone is any dye that has a 1 as its secondary number.

For example:

• If your hair is a medium to light color, you can use a dark ash blonde 1.
• If your hair is light to very light, you can use a light ash blonde 1 or a very light ash blonde 9.1.
• And, if your hair is very light to the lightest colors out there, then you can use an extra light ash blonde 1, or you can use extra light ash 11.1.

As you can see, the number after the decimal – the number 1 – indicates that it’s an ash-toned color.

I always recommend that if unwanted tones appear after bleaching your hair, you use a more purple tone, which would be the number 2.

Why?

For two primary reasons:

• If your hair turns really yellow after bleaching it and then use an ash tone on it (1), you run the risk of your color ending up green. If you mix yellow and blue, the result is green.
• Chicken yellow isn’t the same as orangey yellow. In this case, the pearl tone (2) will perfectly neutralize either variation of yellow.

So, if you bleached your hair and turned out yellow, all you need to do is use an ash-toned dye (1) or a pearl-toned dye (2).

Use the dye as you normally would, and the yellow will disappear from your hair.

Now, what happens if you dyed your hair and it ended up chicken yellow? I’m about to tell you how to fix that.

How to fix yellow from dye without using toner

Many women love golden tones because they’re warm colors that go perfectly with any kind of hair and skin. But sometimes, a tone can turn out too yellow once the dye settles.

What do you think? Should you go ahead and re-dye your hair?

No! You don’t have to put your hair through that again.

You need to replace your normal shampoo with purple shampoo each time you wash your hair.

• If you wash your hair every day, you’ll need to use purple shampoo every day.
• If you wash your hair every two days, you should use the purple shampoo every two days.

You’ll see that after just two or three washes, the yellow will have disappeared.

How exactly you should use the shampoo can vary depending on the brand.

The procedure is generally the same from brand to brand, except how long you’re supposed to leave the shampoo in your hair. So, in general, all you’ll need to do is:

Did you dye your hair blonde, and you’ve noticed that after a little while, it has started to look yellow? That happens because dye fades. But, there’s a solution to this, too, that doesn’t include toner.

How to fix yellow that appears when blonde dye fades

Don’t worry because, in this case, you won’t have to resort to toner to get rid of those yellow tones, either.

All permanent dyes last a certain amount of time, which is usually about 4-5 weeks. It will all depend on how often you wash your hair, how much it’s exposed to the sun and your hair care routine.

After that time goes by, you’ll start to notice the color fading, leaving the dominant pigment exposed.

I’ll give you an example:

• If you used a light golden blonde 8.3, the dominant color or pigment is yellow.

When you first use the dye, your hair will look blonde with a gold-tone, but washing it, the products you use on it, and the sun, among other factors, degrade the dye and leave that predominate yellow tone.

In this case, the solution is to dye your hair again. But, if you use the same dye with the same tone as before, that unwanted yellow will appear again.

What you need to do is choose the same color dye, but with a pearl tone.

For example:

• If you always use a 9.3, then you can use a 9.1 or 9.2.
• If you always use an 8.3, then you can use an 8.1 or 8.2.

Again, I personally recommend using a pearl-toned dye since it doesn’t contain too much blue pigment, so you won’t run the risk of your hair turning green.

Conclusions

Now you know that it’s possible to get rid of yellow tones in your hair without using a toner.

It’s important that you first identify why your hair turned yellow so you can find the best solution.

• If your hair turned yellow because you bleached it or because your dye faded, you could use a blonde dye with an ash tone.
• If you used a dye and some yellow appeared soon after, you can neutralize it with a purple shampoo.

And all of that without ever having to touch a toner.

Which of these solutions is best for you?