When Coloring Goes Wrong . . . Here’s What to Do    

We’ve all been there, staring at the endless sea of box dyes at the drugstore, wondering which shade will be the perfect new look. You get home excited to give it a try and wait for the reveal. But most of the time, your hair doesn’t end up looking like that beautiful shiny color on the box. Whether it’s a patchy dye job or your platinum blonde comes out orange, sometimes you end up with a hair disaster. It’s easy to freak out when your hair coloring goes wrong, but don’t worry, if your hair coloring has gone wrong, here’s what to do. 

Blonde Gone Wrong 

One of the most common colors to go wrong is blonde. It can take multiple trials and errors, the right products, and a whole lot of luck to get the blonde of your dreams at home. There is just so, so much that can go wrong when trying to achieve the perfect shade of blonde. The surest way to avoid a disaster when going blonde is to work with a professional stylist. They know how to properly bleach and lift the color from your hair and pick a shade of blonde that will complement your skin. But if you tried it yourself anyway, here are some of the most common issues you may run into. 

Brassy Hair 

It’s easy for at-home blonde dyes to make your hair turn a brassy yellow. This is usually due to not lightening the hair enough. Brassy or yellow hair can be saved at home with the help of purple shampoo. Coloring hair is just like using color in art class, so using the opposite color on the color wheel will neutralize that tone in your hair. If your hair is yellow, using its opposite, purple, will help reduce brassiness and neutralize warm tones instantly. A good tip when you are looking for an intense blonde is to steer towards cool-tone blondes and avoid shades like honey or caramel. 

Orange Hair 

Often when going blonde, you have to lighten your hair to a very light or bleach blonde before adding a toner to get the desired shade of blonde.If you don’t, you might end up with hair that appears orange. Again, you can use a color corrective shampoo to bring the orange down. Try a blue or indigo shampoo to neutralize orange tones.

Seeing Streaks and Spots 

If you color your hair on your own, it’s very difficult to evenly coat every strand of your hair.  A good rule of thumb is to always start applying color at the roots as they will take the longest time to take in the color.. A poor dye job can leave your hair looking streaky or result in spots. These are some of the hardest problems to fix on your own. Some of the best advice is to leave your hair alone and get on the phone to book an appointment with your Elan stylist. But until then, try wearing your hair in styles that blend the colors like French braids or use a tinted dry shampoo to cover up spotty areas.

Color Correction with Elan Hair

The best way to ensure that you will have a gorgeous new hair color is to work with a professional. Our stylists at Elan Hair have the training and expertise to work with you to achieve your perfect look. We can also work with you on correcting a color gone wrong. The best advice when hair coloring goes wrong is to wait and get your hair to a professional. We will  work with you to prevent any further damage and bring your hair to a gorgeous new color you’ll be proud to wear out of the salon.