Hair Color Mistakes And How To Correct Them

We at one time or another have all colored our hair and had a horriable result. The new color was either too dark, too red, or basically the color we just wasn't pleased with. I'am no professional but I have found a few tips and tricks on the net to correct bad hair color. I have personally tried some of these techniques myself. Dawn Dishliquid works wonders. The Colorfix is awesome! L'Oreal Haircolor Remover is good but it can be VERY drying to your hair.

Situation 1: I colored my hair and it turned out too dark.

Solution: You can do several things but try these in the order suggested.

The first thing to do is shampoo with a mixture of shampoo and liquid dish detergent. You can do this several times but condition well between shampoos as this can be drying to the hair.
The next thing to try is a deep conditioning treatment with a protein pack. Proteins can pull color out of the hair. Saturating the hair with a protein pack and leaving it as long as you can may remove some color. You can protect the hair with a disposable plastic hair cap. There is a product called Metalex available at beauty supply stores. This is a mild color remover that will not change your regular haircolor as a bleach will do and can lighten a shade or two. This can be applied a few times if you notice color rinsing out in the water.
There is also a product called Colorfix that actually shrinks the dye molecules and is used for major color removal and is a very gentle product. The instructions are easy to follow and there are a few applications in each box. If this doesn't get your hair as light as you want, then using a mild solution of bleach mixed with shampoo and conditioner is the next step. Do not use a haircolor to lighten haircolor. It is unpredictable, and is not meant for this purpose. It can actually drive the dark color further into the hair making it harder to remove. To make a bleach shampoo which will lighten a little and be more gentle on the hair, mix an on-scalp bleach per directions and add three tablespoons of Shampoo and three tablespoons of Conditioner. This will buffer the bleach, dilute it and condition as it is lightening. Once the hair has reached the right stage of lightness, you should use cool water to rinse the bleach from the hair. Gently shampoo the hair and rinse well. Wrap hair in a towel to absorb excess water and follow with a Permanent Hair Color Product to tone the hair if necessary.

Other Suggestions:

Heat to Fade

Hot water is notorious for fading chemically colored hair. Some volume shampoos and gels like Matrix Amplify and related products may also help fade color faster because it is designed to blow open the hair cuticle which sometimes accelerates hair color loss. Hot extra virgin olive oil and some commercial oil treatments will also help to strip chemically applied color. An old trick of colorists is to shampoo with Prell shampoo which is known for its color striping talents.