You notice something weird a few weeks after dying your hair blonde: the hue you left the salon with is no longer there, and your hair has taken on an unwelcome yellow, orange, or red tone. What’s going on? That’s what it is: brassy hair.
The undesirable warm tones that show up in colored hair are referred to as brassiness. It’s most common in dark hair that’s been bleached or dyed platinum blonde, but it can also appear in highlighted or lightened to brown hair.
To comprehend why this occurs, you must first comprehend what occurs during the entire hair lightening procedure. Bleaching with a mixture of ammonia and peroxide to lift dark hair is usually an essential element of the process. Melanin, a dark brown to black pigment, is diluted when hair is bleached, a process called as oxidation.
After bleaching, your haircolor is normally applied, which deposits artificial pigment onto your locks while eliminating some of your natural color.
When bleaching or lifting fails to remove all of the underlying pigment in your hair, allowing the warm tones to show through, brassy haircolor develops. The underlying color in lightened blonde hair is yellow, while the underlying pigments in lightened brown to black hair are orange to red. Consider the brassiness as your natural hair saying, “Hey, remember us?” when it starts to appear.
When your hair dye turns brassy, it signifies the blue color molecules have moved on faster than the red, yellow, and blue ones, leaving only the warm tones. Because the blue color molecules are smaller, they are more easily broken down and fade with each wash. Unfair.
Fortunately, there are various choices for dealing with brassy hair, both in terms of preventing it and correcting it once it occurs.
1. BEGIN BY SELECTING THE CORRECT PERMANENT HAIRCOLOR.
Cool haircolors, such as those with the word “ash” in the name, are less prone to turn brassy than warm haircolors. If you like warmer tones, don’t panic; there are lots of lighter haircolors with a decent balance of cool tones that you can wear.
Looking for a place to start? Redken’s new Color Fusion Cool Fashion Collection includes 14 haircolors, including blonde tones that are supposed to combat brassiness and deliver cooler effects. The line uses C-Lock technology to create bigger dye molecules that keep cool tones in place for up to 8 weeks, and the haircolors all feature a black-to-gray background to hide warm tones.
2. GO TO THE SALON AND GET A BRASSY HAIR TONER
Toner, a translucent haircolor deposit that fades in a few weeks, isn’t just for changing your haircolor without committing. It’s also an excellent way to get rid of brassy hair. Toning, also known as demi-permanent color, glaze, or gloss, can help you get rid of any undesired yellow, orange, or even red tones in your hair by containing just enough pigment to improve your haircolor. In addition, the service will increase the luster of your strands, so you’ll be doing your hair numerous favors in one sitting.
Shades EQ, a toner for brassy hair from Redken, performs all of the above while also raising the hair cuticle, providing hair volume and texture while also increasing manageability. Furthermore, the toning procedure can be completed in as little as 20 minutes.
Just keep in mind that a hair gloss only has a short-term effect. The good thing is that you won’t have to deal with the obvious root growing out phase that you might have to deal with if you color your hair all over again.
3. USE A PURPLE SHAMPOO TO NEUTRALIZE UNWANTED WARM TONES IN YOUR HAIR.
Need a quick remedy for brassy hair at home? Because yellow is opposite purple and orange is opposite blue on the color wheel, blondes should use a purple shampoo like Redken’s Color Extend Blondage, and brunettes should use a blue-tinted shampoo like Redken’s Color Extend Brownlights.
4. STAY AWAY FROM THE SUN AND THE POOL
We know, we know: how can you say no to a dip in the pool and some sunbathing? It’s advisable to keep away if you want your haircolor to last.
Chlorine, which is typically present in swimming pools, can dry out your hair, making it lifeless and prone to damage. When hair is damaged, haircolor has a harder difficulty staying in place, which means there are greater chances for brassy haircolor to show up.
Sun exposure might also cause your haircolor to fade more quickly and make brassiness more obvious. So make sure you cover yourself or use a hair sunscreen the next time you go outside.
5. FOR THE REST OF THE TIME, USE A SHAMPOO ON COLOR-TREATED HAIR.
Because using a color-depositing hair product more than once a week can cause your hair to turn blue or purple, only use it once a week. Apply color-protecting hair products, such as Redken Color Extend Magnetics Shampoo, the rest of the time because they’re gentler than conventional shampoo and don’t include sulfate, which can fade haircolor.
6. PURCHASE A SHOWER FILTER
Washing your hair with water that leaves a lot of mineral deposits, including chlorine and iron, is terrible for colored hair because the buildup dries out your haircolor and the chemicals can fade your haircolor, allowing brassy hair to show back again. A shower filter can help reduce mineral deposits, allowing your haircolor to last longer.
Looking for some cool-toned hair color ideas? Look through the @Redken Instagram account for a photo to show your hairstylist.
7. NEUTRALIZE BRASSY HAIR WITH A PURPLE HAIR MASK
You’ll need a thorough haircare regimen to maintain strong, brilliant blonde hair, as well as to strengthen and help neutralize the brassy tones that sometimes occur between salon visits. In addition to using purple shampoo and conditioner on a regular basis, using an ultra-pigmented purple hair mask like Redken’s Color Extend Blondage Express Anti-Brass hair mask will help you go from brassy to cool and brilliant in just 5 minutes.
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