How To Cancel Out Pink Tones In Hair? Tone Down Pink Hair?

Sometimes, when you choose a cheap hair dye – or hair products in general – the results can be pretty unsatisfactory. The same happens when you don’t follow the instructions, especially when dyeing hair in striking colors.

Pink can be a fun hair color – and even flat-out spectacular when you have a special occasion. But what if the color doesn’t turn out bright enough, ends up being too pink, or has several tones mixed in, for example?

That begs the question, how to cancel out pink tones in hair?

One of the options is bleaching, which isn’t highly recommended due to the damage it causes to your hair – especially if it’s done frequently. There are other alternatives worth considering here, though.

So, be sure to check this article to learn how to tone down pink hair and remove pink dye from your hair without resorting to bleaching. We’ll show you how to do it correctly!

Canceling Pink Tones Without Bleaching

As promised, we’re heading into this process of canceling out pink tones bleach-free. Here are our top suggestions!

Shampoos

When it comes to removing pink tones or managing to tone down pink hair without bleaching, one of the most common options you have is to use shampoo, which you can buy at any shop that sells hair products.

Of course, if you’re not in a hurry, you can always wait for three to four weeks for the pink dye to fade away.

That said, here are several shampoo options to remove pink dye from hair:

Clarifying Shampoo

When buying clarifying shampoo, make sure it’s specifically made for colored hair.

That said, it’s essential to be careful with this type of product, as it’s not always as effective as you hope it will be. Besides, it’s more helpful in removing semi-permanent hair dye compared to permanent ones.

It’s not that permanent dye won’t be removed – but it will take much longer to remove it and to see the color of your hair.

Anyway, it’s an option to consider here – and it’s pretty easy to use, too.

Anti-Dandruff Shampoo

This type of shampoo also helps eliminate fantasy dyes because they’re stronger than “regular” ones and are formulated to drag impurities from the hair.

Both of these shampoos are used just like any other shampoo. With each washing, you can see how the dye is disappearing.

Of course, there are a few steps you should take here:

Wet the hair with warm water because this opens the hair follicles, and removing the dye becomes much more manageable.
When the hair is wet, apply the clarifying or anti-dandruff shampoo until it foams, making sure that the entire scalp is well covered.
Remove the excess foam with your hands – but always leave the shampoo on the hair.
Put your hair in a loose bun using hairpins (use ones you don’t mind staining in the process).
Put a shower cap over your hair so that the entire head is well covered.
Apply heat with the blow dryer.
Leave the hat on for about 20 minutes.
Rinse the hair well with cold water to close the hair cuticles.

If you’re dealing with semi-permanent dye, you’ll need at least three washes. But to remove the permanent colors, you’ll have to repeat the process on subsequent days to avoid damaging the hair too much. It’s never a good idea to exceed three washes per day.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is another product that is pretty effective in removing pink tones from hair without bleaching it.

It has properties that act as a natural lightener and whitening agent – characteristics that make it ideal for solving this type of problem with hair dyes.

Using baking soda is straightforward. The best way to do this is to mix the baking soda with your clarifying or anti-dandruff shampoo. Simply combine both products and apply them as indicated in the previous section to remove the fantasy dye from the hair.

In this case, since baking soda is a more potent product, it’s not good to do more than one wash a day; that could damage the hair. Here’s the good news:

Because it’s more effective, you’ll notice that the pink-colored dye – especially semi-permanent – will go away faster.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is another popular solution for removing a dye from their hair without bleaching.

But, what happens in the case of the fantasy dyes – like pink-colored ones? Is it useful?

The answer is – yes. You can use vitamin C to eliminate it.

The best way to do this is to mix vitamin C powder – about 100 mg on average – with the mild shampoo that you will use to wash your hair.

The mixture must be a homogeneous mass without lumps; make sure the vitamin C has been diluted and mixed with the shampoo well.

Once you have it, you can start applying it.

The process is easy, and it’s pretty similar to what we’ve discussed in the first section about the use of shampoo to remove pink tones from your hair. The only difference is that, in this case, it’s much better to let it act with the hat on for about 45 minutes before rinsing well.

Green Shampoo

To cancel out pink tones, you need the opposite color on the color wheel – green. So, applying green shampoo is the easiest way to remove pink tones.

Every time you wash your hair with this shampoo, you deposit green-colored pigments.

That way, you can notice gradual results – and when the pink tones have disappeared, you can simply stop using the shampoo.

And don’t worry; it’s a safe procedure, and you won’t end up with green hair. Also, for protecting your strands, consider using a moisturizing shampoo.

Are you wondering how to apply the green shampoo?

First, wet your hair and apply the shampoo and massage it in, creating a foam. Leave it on for 5 minutes or so – and then rinse. Finally, dry your hair.

Did the pink tones disappear? Or do you still notice pink traces?

If the pink tones are still there, continue applying the green shampoo until you get the desired results.

Semi-Permanent Green Hair Color

Applying semi-permanent green hair dye will cancel out pink tones in a single step, unlike green shampoo. So, if you don’t have the time – or patience – for the shampoo approach, maybe this is a better option for you.

The most crucial thing here is to choose the right shade of green.

The green-colored pigment is as intense as black and red hair dyes. And you could end up with green hair if you apply a darker shade of green than the pink you already have in your hair.

How to apply semi-permanent hair dye?

Here’s a quick overview:

Start with dividing your hair into sections and pin them up.
Apply the hair dye from root to ends and repeat the action section by section.
Leave it in for 20 minutes.
When washing, don’t apply shampoo or conditioner and rinse until the water is clean.

That will remove all the pink traces you had in your hair – so, enjoy your pink-free hair!

Other Remedies

In addition to the main solutions for removing pink-colored dye from hair without bleaching, you can still try a few other tricks to remove it. Granted, they’re more abrasive for hair, so it is better to use the methods we’ve covered earlier – but we’ll mention these alternatives, nonetheless.

But, again, use these with caution.

For example, you can use:

Bath Salts: Prepare a mix of water and bath salts, leaving your hair submerged as much as possible or until the fantasy dye disappears. Then, you should wash your hair with regular shampoo and apply a good conditioner.
Dishwashing Detergent: Another DIY trick you could try is mixing a few drops of dishwashing liquid with your shampoo and washing the hair as instructed in the previous sections. It’s advisable to let the mixture do its thing with the shower cap on for ten minutes max.

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Conclusion

Women are experimenters by nature. They change their appearance constantly – and the one thing they especially like to change now and then is their hair color.

You should always think before dying your hair, though. If this is a momentary desire, then you should use a tinted shampoo or something less permanent. Also, it’s worth trying on a wig of the corresponding color.

But let’s assume the damage is already done – and your hair’s now full of pink tones. You must be wondering how to cancel out pink tones in hair, right?

One of the fastest methods – but also the most damaging one – is hair bleaching. But if you don’t want to resort to that solution, other products could help you tone down pink hair or cancel it out altogether.

Start with clarifying shampoo – and if that doesn’t work, try green shampoo or some of the tricks we’ve shown you in this guide. Good luck!