How to Fix Brassy Hair at home. If you have bleached your hair at home or at a salon and your hair tuned brassy orange or yellow, I have the remedy! This article is all about how to fix brassy hair at home.
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This is part of my bleached hair series and today I’m discussing how to fix brassy hair at home.
If you have ever wanted to go from dark brown hair or black hair to blonde or to platinum blonde hair, you have probably just experienced the dreaded bleached brassy hair or yellow hair if you tried bleaching your own hair at home.
-> These are the hair products you’re looking for to fix your brassy hair fast
Brassy hair usually happens when the hair bleach was not left on long enough during the hair bleaching process. Brassy hair can also happen if the peroxide dried too fast and did not have enough time to lift the color and bleach your hair.
You hair bleaching process is actually unfinished. There is also a way to fix brassy hair with some popular products you can find at your local beauty store, which I will discuss.
How to Fix Brassy Hair
What you’ll need to fix your brassy hair situation:
Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo and Conditioner
Here’s where to purchase this brassy hair remedy online:
Directions How to Fix Brassy Hair:
1. If you had your hair bleached at a salon, attempt to call your beautician and request a free color fix. Most salons will apply a hair toner that will help tone down the brassy color. If you went to a reputable hair salon, they will want to make you happy.
2. Purchase a hair toner system such as shimmer lights shampoo and conditioner by Clairol. This is how I used to always keep my platinum hair color looking fresh. This blue-toned shampoo and conditioner will quickly tone down the yellows and brassy oranges in your hair. This is the most guaranteed approach how to tone down the bold shade, and if your hair is badly damaged by the bleach, it might be the safest way how to fix brassy hair without further harming the hair shaft. These toners also help tone down brassy orange and yellow tints from grey, white, silver or platinum hair.
What’s a Hair Toner?
A hair toner is simply a hair color that neutralizes the unwanted hair color. Because oranges and yellows (brassy colors) are the opposite colors of blues and violets on the color wheel. This toner treatment does not permanently remove your color, it tones it down. The toner helps you mask your brassy hair until it’s time to attempt bleaching your hair again. It’s best to wait at least one month to let your hair regain it’s protein and moisture. The shimmer lights system will help add protein, moisture, and get your hair strong enough to bleach again.
If you hair is having serious dryness and breakage, I strongly recommend you read my article How to Repair Bleached Hair These helpful tips are perfect for people who have bleached their hair for the first time and need to repair their hair fast.
3. Next, apply an ash toner to your hair. Select a shade that is the approximately the same color or just a tad lighter than your hair. Make sure the shade specifically has the word “ash” in the hair color name! For example, if your hair is now a light brown with brassy orange tones,purchase a light ash brown toner of any brand.
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4. Carefully bleach your hair again after one month of deeply conditioning your hair. You will also want to make sure your hair is deeply conditioned using my How to Repair Bleached Hair Remedies for basic care of bleached blonde hair for beginners. If you also need help selecting the best products for bleached hair
This time when you bleach your hair, try to only do one section at a time to ensure you develop the correct hair color. This will also ensure less damage. A smart way to do this is to slowly add in highlights! This way, you will not be overwhelmed.
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Here’s where to purchase Shimmer Lights on Amazon:
Amazon: Shimmer Lights
Thank you for reading Fix Brassy Hair at Home FAST and Easy DIY
If you have any questions how to fix brassy hair, please leave them down below in the comments.
XO
Jen
Definitely a product I want to try when I bleach my hair but I’m wondering since my hair is relaxed but,just started transitioning,would that be a good idea right now? Should I wait till I’m completely natural or a least halfway?
Bleached hair and relaxed hair don’t mix! If your hair is relaxed, you can’t safely bleach your hair, it must grow out first. That would break your hair off my dear.
No… Don’t do it, I am biracial mixed white and black. I had hair down my back. I texturized my hair waited about 1 week decided I wanted to be blonde so I bleached… Worse mistake I ever made for my hair. Damaged my hair so bad u would believe. My hair is maybe 2 inches long now. Its been over a year and my hair hasn’t grown back yet. Still breaking, so dry. Its the worst…
Sorry to hear about your hair Patricia,
I suggest you deep condition what little hair you have left with olive oil to prevent any more breakage.Also condition your scalp, it could be irritated.
Jen
I have to be honest, free the blonde wannabes of such ridiculous miracle cures as purple shampoo… Yes,it can help but there is only one way to correctthe problem properly and for good. That is you must lift your hair to the color of the inside of a banana peel.This is the only way as toners will not lighten, they will not take apricot to rich orange out.
Color cannot lighten color,therefore bleach is the only feasible option. Be Patient and let your hair follicles relax between treatments while using a good protein mask ,coconut oil treatments in between as bleach does damage the hair. Also do not bleach over bleached hair ,will cause breakage. So only bleach the roots not overlapping last bleach line oc demarcation.
Trust me guys… i used a 12high lift with 30 vol (i normally bleach) and came out with apricot
Streaks. . The toners did not touch it even using a 20 to 25 vol developer.. i tried t14, t10 ands t18…which
Only turned my previously bleached highlights lavender.
If you’re like me, simply trying to save money and learn …Please walk into a high end salon …ask them for advice..Be respectful and do not take up more than 2 minutes of their time…you may find that they can get your hair Beautimous (my word..lol) in a short time, cheaper than buying up Sallys.. Also, a tip that most stylists will cut a deal on is if u brush your hair out, offer to brush and dry yourself after shampoo as this is one if the most time consuming aspects of a stylist. Hey,it doesn’t hurt to ask,right? 😉
Main thing is patience, also most brass comes from either attempting to lighten too many shades in one step OR not leaving bleach /high lift color on long enough.
I feel your pain girls but research, time and patience will get u to that ultimate and perfect blonde! Good Luck Girls and Guys. Mwaaah!:-*
Peace and One Love Y’all♡
Yes, Patience is the KEY!
Hi Haley, Yes, great information you shared. Toner is like a temporary band aid. Condition condition, and then bleach.
I bleached my hair and dyed it pink it’s been a month sense i want to change the color is it OK to bleach over the pink? And dye it another metallic color?
Hi Tasha,
They make a dye removal kit in most drug stores, for your pink hair. You can also bleach over the pink if your hair is healthy enough for it. Remember to condition heavily after.
Jen
Hey Jen I just dye my hair blonde and it is really blonde is some spots and orange and yellow on some spots so if I use a box blonde to try and fix it will it work
Hi Meghan,
If you used bleach to get your hair blonde, use more bleach in the brassy and orange / yellow sections. If you used a box dye to lighten your hair, use that same box dye to fix those spots mentioned.
Good luck!
Jen
Hey Jen I have a question. A few years ago I dyed my hair brown with a red tint and I still to this day have an orange tint to my hair and it will not go away. A few days ago I dyed my hair a color that was close to my natural hair color (dirty ash blonde) to cover the orange but I had spent all weekend in the sun and the Orange is back. Would this process work for me?
Please follow all the steps listed above
I purchase my “purple shampoo” at Sallys! I’m a natural dirty blonde but prefer my hair a light “diamond” blonde. This shampoo does do my hair wonders in turning it an ash blonde as opposed to what my hair always ends up doing (just like my moms) turning brass! Just my two cents in agreement with you!
I love “the purple shampoo” shimmer lights. So happy this worked well for you. Thanks for letting me know.
Jen
I recently had my hair dyed a solid medium brown, then 2 weeks later went in for dark blonde/mocha highlights. which didn’t take at all: instead I have orange/red tinted roots & the top layer of my hair (I guess the last layer of highlights) my hair is also darker in spots..I tried to cover with one shade darker & my roots and top layer still look orange..would the shampoo work for my roots to get them one color with the rest of my hair since its brown? or any suggestions?
Hi Heather,
It sounds like you need to re bleach the brassy sections. The problem you’re experiencing sounds like the bleach set better in some areas and blotchy in another. The tone correcting shampoo won’t give an even look, so rebleaching is you best bet.
I used an L’Oreal Extreme Platinum on my salt and pepper beard ( for Santa )I applied twice and I still have brassy parts on my beard. Will this work for me.
Phil
Hi Phil,
Facial hair is much thicker so you will need to dye it again. Don’t worry because thicker hair can easily handle the bleach. Good luck. Condition after!
I recently dyed my hair with Revlon Colorsilk Light Ash Brown. For some reason it turned out brassy, not sure why. My hair always has a reddish undertone when I dye it. Do you have any recommendations to get rid of the orange/red tones? I thought about re-dying my hair but I don’t know what color to use & I’m afraid of over-processing my hair. Thanks 🙂
Hi Tammy,
Sounds like you have to dye your hair again. When you dye your hair, going from a dark color to a lighter color takes longer to achieve than someone with a sandy blonde or light brown hair color. I have the same problem. Just make sure your hair is conditioned and strong enough before you attempt to re dye your hair. Good luck.
I have died my hair brunette/medium to dark auburn for years. I started going gray at 19. I am *ahem* quite older now and decided to go gray gracefully by bleaching my hair. I bought the new Age Beautiful line from Sally’s (was using it for brunette coloring and LOVE it!) so I got their lightener which is supposed to lighten up to 8 shades lighter. Well, I admit, I had no idea what I was doing and ended up with platinum roots and then about 2 inches down my head my hair is a hideous peachy orange color (after two applications of the lightener). I was told not to tone my hair with Ash because it would turn my platinum roots green. The underside of my hair all around is platinum, the second, outer layer is orange so I can’t just drop down my head a few inches and tone it. From what I understand my hair is “stained” from coloring and I cannot remove it with bleach and I can’t remove it with a lighter color either. I tried ION’s color remover but it just made my hair feel awful and didn’t touch the orange. Bleaching the second time made it more peach colored but it is still hideous LOL. Any suggestions (I know..I know…go see a professional!)
Hi Paula!
Did you try a test patch when you rebleached it? I don’t think you left it in long enough. And as always, don’t attempt any bleaching until your hair is strong enough. Lots of conditioner, and even try some olive oil on your scalp to keep your roots strong. When it’s strong enough try a patch test and bleach the crap out of it again 😉 That’s what I would do!
Jen
Hi! I bleached my hair and turned out blonde brassy hair.. And i want to tone it down/ i want to make my hair color brown or light brown? What shade of color do I need to apply? Hope you can help thankyou! You can also message me at email
( and i hate it because at my roots i really have a bright orange hair!!)
Hi Candy,
You can easily go to a darker color when your hair is brassy. Choose any shade.
Jen
Hello,
So,I made the mistake of dyeing my hair black. A few months later I wanted to go back to a dark brown. I went to a beauty supy store, and they recommended a dye that was specific for darker hair. She recommended to use a blonde dye to lighten my hair. I followed their directions but my hair is still almost black with blonde roots. To further worsen the situation I just dyed it brown,trying to cover my roots but now they ate orange.PLEASE HELP!
I recommend you try an all over natural brown dye such as henna. It will help provide an even color to remedy the situation without causing further damage.
Hello! So I had my purple hair reveled he’s and it turned green so my hairdresser had to add warmth to my hair to cover the green and now it is a bronze copper orange and I DO NOT look good with warm shades, like at all! Would the toning shampoo help at all or do I just need to rebleach to get my platinum blonde back?
Hi Jessica,
Toning the orange will cool the color back down. I would also rebleach and apply the pretty purple dye again.
Hello, Jen…I really hope you can help me…I wanted to dye my hair a beautiful purple color but I had to bleach it first…When I bleached my hair, my roots became VERY blonde (almost whitish) but the rest of my hair is a brassy yellow color…I haven’t done the purple yet because I terrified that it’ll end up being different shades of purple and splotchy…How do I go about fixing the brassiness prior to dying it with the purple??? I’ve been using deep moisturizing and repairing conditioners that I’ve been keeping in my hair overnight to be sure I don’t annihilate my hair with all the dying also…Please say I can fix this so I can FINALLY move on to the purple dye…Thank you so much!!!?
Hi Hope,
Sounds like you’re doing everything correct now. Yes, moisturize it until your hair is strong enough to bleach evenly. When you do get your nice purple hair color, remember to keep you hair deeply conditioned.
Jen
Hi, I bleached my moms hair (at home) to try and lighten her blonde up. It’s went yellow and orange. Iv just bought just a normal blonde hair dye. Would it be ok if I put that on it? Or would it just go more yellow? Hairdresses is too expensive and her birthdays just two days away! Help me!
You will need to re bleach the hair that’s orange. Good luck!
Hi jenn, so i recently used color remover on my hair to get out black and red, well it turned my hair blond which i wanted but it has a orange brassy look to it-_- will this shampoo work for me? Im afraid to dye it again because in between doing the black n red which was approx. 8 months ago and doing the color remover i tried dying it blonde which the black didnt disappear at all hence the reason why i used the color remover. Please help:)) thanks in advance!!
Hi Samantha, the toner will add cold colored tones to the brass. It’s like a temporary band aid until your hair is strong again to bleach it.
Good luck!
Hi Jen, Thank you soo much for sharing your expertise. how long to you leave in bleach so ur hair doesn’t turn red and I’m able to put in a toner?
Thank you again.
It depends on the brand of bleach and your current hair color. You also need to do a test patch to see how long you need to leave it in for. So grab a small section of your hair – usually the back of your neck and apply some bleach and keep checking on the color and time. When you get the desired shade, you will know how long you need to leave the bleach in your hair.
Jen
Hello I recently dyed my hair ” honey Blonde” from a dark brown. It turned a brassy, golden, orangish color. Will the shimmering lights shampoo work for toning down the weird colors I got going on?
Hi Brittney, It’s a temporary way to tone down the brass and condition your hair until it’s strong enough to bleach again. It sounds like you didn’t leave the bleach in long enough. Try it again. Do a test patch too!
Jen XO
Hi. My problem is my hair was highlighted professionally and when my roots grew in I tried a box blonde to lighten my roots and they came out a orange brassy color. I then toned it n used the shampoo n conditioner u suggested but it’s still orangeish at roots. What can I do to fix the roots? The length is still a beautiful blonde because of the existing highlights. Please help cause I can’t afford the salon right now..
Hi Nikki,
It sounds like you didn’t leave the bleach in your hair long enough. Always do a test patch especially when trying a box bleach kit. It has to be a bleaching kit too btw. Not just a box of blonde dye. You need to carefully go over the roots again. I hope it works out well for you.
Jen XO
I’m dying the bottom half of my hair grey and leaving the top black. after bleaching n putting the toner in, my hairs orange . Do i use toner. Or bleach ? and if I bleach it again do I follow the same procedures and use a toner after bleach or just bleach and then put in the grey?
Hi Chemin,
You should carefully rebleach the orange hair when it’s strong enough.
Hey!
Thank you so much for posting this. I am naturally a brunette and recently went to a salon to get blonde balayage done. It turned our pretty brassy so I went back and asked them to correct it. It worked a little better, but still not great. 5 weeks later, I went back again because I want an actual blonde color. Again, still pretty brassy, a little lighter, but not there yet. This is so expensive to keep going back! Any recommendations for me? I want to dye it myself at home, but should I use a box dye or get bleach dye? Reading the thread above, clearly a test patch is the way to start 🙂 Thanks!
Giiiiiiirrl,
If you already have a salon that knows what they used on your hair, you should go back to them to correct it. Otherwise, I would say tone it yourself using the a box of bleach hi light kit. The hi light kit I would always use is listed on my shop beauty page: https://eleganceandbeautyreviews.com/shop-beauty/
Hi jen.
Im in big trouble!!!!
I bleached my hair today and i wanted to get rid of the brassy copper colour and the result was terrifying. My hair is stringy and VERY SOFT
I am very scared that i have damaged my hair 4 ever.
I dont have money to go buy stuff so what can i use that is in my house to help my hair.
Can i use normal oil or baby oil to restore my hairs oils?
Hi Kelly,
You can saturate your hair in conditioner and perhaps try sealing it in with a little baby oil if that’s all you have. Try wrapping your hair in a warm towel, leave this on for at least an hour to soak the moisture back into your damaged hair. Good luck!
Jen
I can’t wait a month to correct highlights that are brassy. I need to redo them right away. I used 40 vol developer creme and quick blue bleach powder. I was thinking of using 20 or 30 developer. I dont think it was on long enough and did not seem like enough product. Help! I need advice quick!
I would make sure your hair is in good condition prior, as in moisturized and conditioned. Go for it, do a patch test so you know how long to redo all the brass.
Hi jen.
I bleached my hair blonde on wed,the back and ends of my hair are brassy,i bought purple tone shampoo and conditioner in boots today,i washed my air and followed instructions the rest of my hair is whiter but back and ends are still brassy,shampoo i got only recommemds it to be used twice a week,would i make a mess of my hair if ijust put shampoo on brassy sections,thanks in advance
Great tip margaret. You can probably re dye the brassy sections now since your hair is in good condition.
Thank you so much for posting this! I went to get my hair done to a bright blonde and came out looking like a Fisher Price Little Person (gross yellow)… I had her redo it… But now I look like Tony the Tiger with stripes on my head- Not Grrreat! I am excited to see what my hair will look like in a month, but the strands are so thin can I just dye my whole head?
Yes, as long as you condition it well before so it won’t break.
Hi, I’m interracial and I got my hair professionally dyed and highlighted at the same time. I wanted a lighter brown with blonde highlights. Well it came out brassy brown and orangey blonde highlights. I went home thinking I could fix it in a few days and use a box dye of medium ash blonde. It didn’t work. My hair is still very a brassy brown color with brassy highlights. Please help! I don’t want to damage my hair more but I really hate this color.
Hi LeeAnne,
You can tone down the brass using the shimmer lights shampoo / conditioner I recommend. Regular hair color won’t fix brass, you have to bleach to remove the pigment. Sorry. The hair dresser should have done a test patch to time it perfectly.
Omg so i have dyed my hair 4 x with a different dye bc i couldnt find my old one amd each time it came out brassy staw color…i was broke so no redye or toner i seen this add tht it couldnt hurt..i tweeked itbc other comments. So i used apple cider vingar a little purple dish soap bleach for clothes smig of cinnamon and sugar and hot water i rinsed it in homemade toner waited 10 min. Washed it with shampoo. .remade the toner but this time i added conditioner poured it let it sitand literally waited 15vmin washed conditioned dryed and omg it worked i went to the blonde color i was hopin to achieve all alone..ty
Yay! That is so awesome!
Jen
I actually wanted to go platinum , so my friend bleached my hair and its yellow and orange …how can I fix it? and when can I re bleach it without damaging or burning my hair? I bought the purple shampoo ..oh and another thing its different shades of yellow and orange 🙁
Yes, you can rebleach. Just make sure your hair is nicely conditioned first meaning it’s not dry and breaking.
Hey Jen – I’ve been highlighting the gray frame around my face for a few years with a vey light Ashe or champagne color without problems. The beauty of this is I can go months without a touch up. This time I had to take care of lots of new gray on top (think Elvira) so it was virgin to bleaching/processing. As always,I used a blue base lift & light Ashe toner, new growth results… I was red like a baby orangutan!! Went back over it with toner & color… it’s better but virgin hair looks bad. Can I just put a dark color on it to blend in with my natural color or will it be transparent? Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us. Barb G
Hi Barb,
Yes, you can put a dark color over it no problem.
MY HAIR IS YELLOW WOULD LIKE TO TONE DOWN IT WOUD LIKE TO WAIT BEFORE BLEACHING AGAIN – SO BY USING THE RECOMMENDED SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER – I AM UNDERSTANDING THIS WILL TAKE AWAY SOME THE BRASSISNESS BUT NOT NECESSARILY TONE DOWN IS THIS CORRECT – PLEASE RESPOND VERY DESPERATE.
Yes. That’s right!
My hair was a decent white/silver/gray and I put bleach on it to try to light up some of the underlying blond tones. The bleach made my hair yellow/orange… yuck!!! I went to the salon and the stylist did a heavy highlight with light brown lowlights; but, its still yellow. Light, canary yellow. Ive washed it twice with the purple shampoo, but still light hello. What options do I have to get it back white/silver/gray???