Is your hair still brassy after toning or colouring?
Maybe this sounds familiar. You picked up a toner or hair colour that promised to solve all of your brassiness issues. You excitedly applied it to your hair, and impatiently waited for it to process. Then, after rinsing it out in the shower, you’re ready to see your amazing new hair in the mirror. But, as your hair dries, it looks… the same?
It’s so frustrating and disappointing when this happens! Unfortunately, it’s also a really common problem. Hair can be still brassy after the salon or after at home toning or colouring - it’s not just a you problem! So, why did it happen and what can you do about it?
Why is my hair still brassy after toning or colouring?
There’s two reasons why your hair is still brassy after toning or colouring. Either the undertone of the toner/colour is wrong, or the product is too light for you.
Does my toner or colour have the wrong undertone?
In order to remove brassiness from your hair, you need to use a product that has the right pigment in it. This pigment is often referred to as the undertone.
Different shades of brassiness need different pigments to fight them. For example, orange brassiness needs a product with blue pigments to remove that orange brassiness. If you use a toner or colour with purple pigments in it on orange brassiness, it won’t do anything.
Here’s the pigments that address the most common types of brassiness:
For yellow brassiness, choose products with violet (purple) pigments
For orange brassiness, choose products with blue pigments
For red brassiness, choose products with green pigments
It’s also very possible that you’re seeing two shades of brassiness in your hair. If that’s you, you want to choose a product with both pigments in it, or mix your own! For example:
For gold looking orange yellow brassiness, choose products with blue-violet pigments.
For shocking looking orange red brassiness, choose products with blue-green pigments.
Was the toner or colour I used too light for me?
If a product is too light for you, no matter what the undertone, it won’t be effective in removing brassiness.
When talking about hair, you’ll hear a lot about levels. A level is just a number that’s used to describe how light or dark your hair is. This gives you a more accurate way of picking products, as opposed to just reading the colour name. What is “cappuccino light brown” anyways?
Once you know your level, you’ll be able to make sure you’re choosing toners or hair colours that will actually work for you!
The general rule is: you want to tone your hair at the same level, or one darker. Of course you can go darker still if that’s what you’re looking for!
How to fix hair that’s still brassy after toning or colouring?
Now that you understand undertones and levels, you should be able to confidently pick the right hair toner or colour for you - and get to re-doing that hair!
If you’d like more info, I created a free guide that will help you to learn exactly how to tone your brassy hair at home. No guesswork needed! You can find it here.