Dyeing hair is always like a russian roulette! Unless you are a hair coloring veteran or a professional colorist, there is always a chance that something goes wrong and you will end up with the completely different color of your mane than you expected! And one of the most common flaws that happen is when your hair suddenly becomes blue though the dye you applied to it was gray.
Is it a mystery, or was your dye expired? Or, maybe, you did something wrong? No and no! Well, maybe you did something wrong though. Anyway, no matter the reason, you need to urgently get rid of that blueness!
So today, you will learn all you need to know about getting blue out of grey hair, as well as what could be the reasons for such hair behavior. Read on since it’s going to be interesting and fun!
How to Remove Blue From My Hair After I Applied Gray Hair Dye?
My hair turned blue, how do I fix it?! You can often hear this cry from ladies who are not familiar with color theory much and they head off for some cardinal hair color changes being only equipped with a box hair dye kit. So when you suddenly wake up one day being absolutely sure you want to become gray, hold on before you rush to the nearest store! See, if you apply this color without being aware of its specifics, you may end up with blueish strands pretty soon!
If you have already done that and you now have your mane all blue, read how to get rid of blue hair relatively quickly and easily. Why relatively? Well, because such a color stripping procedure must take some time and effort, my friends! But in general, you can opt for one of the two most effective methods:
- Wash your blue hair with clarifying shampoo and baking soda
- Strip that unwanted color with clarifying shampoo mixed with vitamin C powder
And now let us explain to you in detail how each of these remedies have to be used step by step.
Baking Soda And Clarifying Shampoo Method
If you decide to stick to this approach, you will need to prepare all you might need for the procedure. So grab any clarifying shampoo, baking soda, hair conditioner, and a shower cap. By the way, when choosing what shampoo to purchase, opt for the refining one if you used semi-perm hair dye.
Now that you have both your shampoo which is going to be the base of your future anti-blueness remedy, and some baking soda, mix them together and stir thoroughly until you get a homogeneous substance. Why would we use baking soda, you may wonder? See, this powder is a natural bleach, however, unlike chemical bleaches, it treats your hair way more carefully. However, the effect is the same: the color will be stripped much faster!
Once the color removing remedy is ready to use, rinse your hair with hot water making the mane completely wet. Hot water will make the hair follicles and dermis open which means that your chevelure will be more sensitive and [perceptive to the color removal procedure and product.
So, now that your hair is all wet, apply your handmade anti-blue remedy onto it. Scrub your head with the fingertips to let the product work as it should be. Remove any extra foam that appears since it should be the color of the dye you are washing off. What you need to get is your hair being totally covered with shampoo. But don’t wash it off for now!
Now you need to clip your locks up and put the shower cap on. Heat your hair with a blow dryer but try not to melt the cap. This is needed because heat will let the shampoo and soda mixture get rid of blue color faster.
Keep your hair under cover for fifteen to twenty minutes, then wash the shampoo away.
Repeat this procedure two or three more times. The final result must be that, when you are done rinsing, the foam should only have a slight trace of dye. To end the procedure correctly, always apply a strong hair conditioner and wash it off after twenty-five to thirty minutes with cool water to close up your hair. Like this, it will keep the nutrients and the effect of color stripping will be better.
Vitamin C And Clarifying Shampoo Method
There is another thing you can do to your hair if it turns blue, but this approach can be used if you previously dyed your locks wrong (for instance, if you applied gray dye onto the hair that was not light enough).
What you have to do is to grab any color stripping shampoo and some vitamin C powder, mix them together, lather to your mane, and leave there to work for approximately one hour. However, do keep in mind that this remedy will be extremely drying on your locks, so apply strong hair conditioner afterwards!
With each of these methods, you will be able to get rid of blue hair if it appears on your gray mane.
What Color Cancels Out Blue Hair?
When you need to cast that blue tint away, you will surely start asking yourself what color or colors are able to cancel blue on your locks. Well, if you are not a pro in color theory, let us remind you the basics.
If you take a look at the color wheel, you will see that the color that’s opposite to blue on the wheel is orange. This is why, to cancel blue tones out, use orange toner or an orange pigment. This is the reason why you can successfully use orange hair dye to apply it on top of that blue disaster, by the way!
How to Neutralize Blue Hair
There is another way you can cope with unwanted blue shades in your tresses. Yes, you got it right, we mean canceling them out. But since this procedure requires certain knowledge of colors, we find it reasonable to remind you of all the possible options.
- Starting base. Blue, black, green, white, brown, or yellow. The ratios are going to be defined by the color to which you are matching.
- Darken black. Like this, you will darken but also remove the shine of blue tone.
- If you apply brown, it will also darken while dulling the blue tone.
- You can also lighten it with white but be aware that, in higher amounts, it will create a milky effect on your hair.
- When applying yellow, be ready that it will lighten the dark shades of blue, but it will also give your hair a green touch.
- If the color is too blue, add a bit of black or brown. And a small amount of white will repay the darkening impact.
However, since color neutralizing is a rather complicated procedure, we recommend you visit a salon to have it done for you by a professional colorist.
Things That Make Your Strands Become Blue After Gray Dye Is Applied
If you have ever experienced that blueish tint on your locks, you might be wondering what could lead to such an effect. Was the dye expired? Or, maybe, there was something wrong with how long you kept it applied to your hair?
Well, there are two major reasons that could lead to your tresses developing that blue tint.
- Your hair was initially dyed and you didn’t strip that color away. As a result, your locks were not fair enough for being dyed gray.
- Your hair might be damaged, over-processed, or porous. This might lead to the blue tone being stuck to it.
If you realize that yours is the first reason, you can remove that unwanted tone and re-color your hair later using the gray tone. But if you are the owner of damaged, weak, or over-processed hair, you might need cleansing shampoo to make the blue come out of your mane. However, over-coloring is not recommended!
So now you know what can lead to a blue tone in your strands after you apply gray hair dye, and how you can fix that issue. Hopefully, now you will be able to avoid such flaws with hair coloring and your locks will always look gorgeous!
[wp-faq-schema title=”Frequently Asked Questions”]
