Have you ever had that trouble when, after bleaching your locks, you find out that they turned…orange? Oh, no! Does it mean your strands will never be the same?
Calm down! Even though it looks disastrous, such trouble can be fixed quite easily.
And today you are going to know, how.
Why Did My Hair Turn Orange?!
First of all, why does our hair become orange at all after bleaching?
Several reasons exist and every girl must know them.
To begin with, we need to say that our hair contains pigments, and every person has a different mixture of those. The darker the initial hair is the more pigment it contains.
Then, pigments can be cool and larger. Cool pigments are less durable and they fade first when we bleach our locks. Larger pigments (like orange), on the contrary, remain longer.
And now, let’s see what can cause our hair to turn orange.
- When our initial hair color doesn’t blend well with the dye
Yes, it can happen! Especially, if your natural color is dark, and you suddenly decides to bleach it to very fair colors like blonde or even white. Those who ever tried to change their hair color so dramatically can prove that dark-haired girls face the “orange disaster” much more often!
Do you remember what we just said above? The darker your locks are the more likely they will become orange after bleaching.
- Using permanent dye
It may seem surprising but it is so! When applying permanent coloring agents on dark locks especially, our strands will most likely end up being orange after a while.
It happens mostly when we decide to bleach our chevelure and then bring the initial color back again. In this case, the tips of the locks first become yellowish, and then gradually shift to orange shade.
Since it is very difficult to properly wash the permanent dye off, we would not recommend you, girls, to apply this coloring agent.
- Using sulfate-containing products
If you have naturally fair hair, and you’re using sulfate shampoos and other products, be ready that your locks will sooner or later turn yellowish or even orange. It is especially actual for those who are in love with the purple shampoo.
- Applying cheap bleaching products
Never ever buy untested and suspicious products meant for hair coloring! It is better to spend more money on purchasing a professional dye rather than finding some cheap hair bleach that will eventually ruin your hair.
- Coloring in red
That’s probably the most obvious reason! If you are initially red-haired, and you decide to shift your natural color to blonde or even lighter shades, it is very likely that the natural color will look through the artificial one.
It can be even worse if your hair was dyed red first, and later its color was changed to blonde.
- External factors
No matter whether we want it or not, but sunshine is not that good for our strands.
Being exposed to sun all the time, our dyed locks will start fading and turning yellowish/orange gradually.
In addition, if you are a fan of swimming pools, be aware of chlorine that is widely used in those swimming areas since this chemical damages the strands as well.
- Shower water
Since shower water is not 100% pure and chemical-free, it may also contain a certain amount of chlorine, just like the water in swimming pools. To avoid damaging your freshly-colored locks, wear special protective shower hats. It may look old-fashioned but at least your strands will be secure!
How Do I Fix My Orange Hair?
Is there any possible way to save our locks from turning copper-orange? In fact, such methods exist!
As you already know from the information provided above, certain external factors can lead to the colored hair turning orange.
However, we can prevent such aftermath!
- Never use cheap coloring kits that are not professional/produced by some unknown brands. Never buy dye on the market where you can’t get any proof that the product is 100% qualitative and effective.
- If you suspect your shower water is too harsh and may contain chlorine, install a filter in the shower tap. And wear a shower hat to protect your locks just in case!
- Are you going to the swimming pool regularly? Then we would advise you to use a special swimmer’s rubber hat to secure the chevelure from chlorine.
- Always shade your hair with a cap or any other head cover on sunny days.
- Finally, try to use a special toner that removes orange shade from colored hair. Such toners decrease the orange shade and turn it to brown instead.
Be mindful and take care of your hair to make the new color last longer.
Toning the Orange Out
If your locks already became orange and the mission is to return their normal color back, using hair toner is the optimal way.
But before starting, take into account how to choose the proper product to avoid causing even more damage.
Choose a toner counting on the color of your hair (blue toners are best for orange locks).
To make it simpler for you to make a choice, check out this brief summary:
- Purple-red locks need yellow-green toner
- Red hair requires green toner
- Red-orange strands can be turned normal with blue-green product
- Yellow-orange locks will need blue-violet toner
- Yellow/pale yellow strands must be treated with a violet product
And remember that toners are best to use only if your hair has reached the yellow-orange level.
Now how do we apply this magical treatment?
- First of all, it must not cover the whole chevelure, only the orange parts.
- The toner will work better if blended with peroxide
- After the product is prepared, apply it to the damaged areas or the chevelure with the special wide brush like the one we use for coloring
- Let the magic happen but don’t leave the toner for more than 45 min!
- Rinse your locks with any sulfate-free shampoo
If you are not quite sure whether you will manage to do everything correctly, you’d better visit the stylist so that the professional could take care of your chevelure.
Dyeing Orange Hair
What if toning didn’t help? Well, then the next option is to dye the damaged parts of the chevelure! Yes, so easily, since one of the most frequent reasons why we turn orange is that we simply didn’t use enough dye when coloring our locks for the first time!
So after buying enough dye that fits your hair type and color, just go through the whole coloring procedure as you usually do, or visit the salon to let the professional help you.
Remember that hair must be colored when splitting into sections so that the pigment could properly soak the locks. In addition, give your chevelure enough time to intake the artificial color.
And remember to finish with the conditioner!
Related: How to get hair dye off the sink
Lightening Orange Hair
For those fearless ladies who can face any problem with a smile, try to beat the orange shade with…more bleaching! When adding more fair color, it will be possible to reach the desired blonde shade by lightening the orange further.
The only thing that must be remembered when doing this is that it is important to wait for at least a week or two after the first dye since bleaching is a rather traumatizing procedure for our hair.
If we double-bleach our chevelure too soon, its natural moisture balance won’t be able to restore and we will end up with an over dry bird nest on the head that will take extremely much time, effort, and money to restore it.
Blonde Locks Maintenance
It is not enough to just color the chevelure, it’s the same essential to take care of it properly so that the shade holds longer and remains bright.
What to do to keep your blonde strands awesome?
- Stop washing hair too often
- Use dry shampoo to moisturize the locks instead of ordinary wash
- Go for the purple toner if you notice the hair tips start turning yellowish
- It may sound weird but try to wash the chevelure with beer! This drink helps to brighten the blonde shades
- As an option, shine spray can become a good help
- If you are afraid your locks will turn orange, why not to try special blonde formula? It will allow your locks to become more moisturized, besides, this formula makes our strands blend. Choose those that have no colors since they won’t damage the dye
It’s up to you, of course, which method to use, however, be reasonable. If your hair is initially rather weak, then, probably, additional bleaching won’t be the best idea.
Never purchase hair dyes that are cheap and are sold in unchecked places like markets, etc.
Anyway, it would be much wiser to ask advice from the specialist or just go to the salon instead of fixing those orange tips yourself!
Take care!
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