Surely it has happened to you before: After dyeing or highlighting your hair, your color lost its intensity or acquired reflections of orange tones. That’s what’s called brassy hair.
This problem usually occurs in blonde or hair with highlights, although it might also happen to those using bright or fantasy colors. This coppery hue may appear immediately after coloring your hair – or it might take a few washes before you notice the color difference.
But, don’t panic right away!
The coppery hue can be removed with a few simple items found at the drugstore – or at home – and soon enough, you’ll be able to flaunt your beautiful blonde hair again.
We’ll explain how to get rid of brassy hair without toner – so keep on scrolling!
Why Does Hair Become Brassy?
When you lighten your hair, the original color of your hair is lifted to create a way for a new color.
But here’s the thing:
Since every hair has some degree of core warmth, removing your natural hair color accentuates yellow, orange, or red tones – unless efforts are made to neutralize it.
You’ll need to get rid of brassiness if you want to prolong the color of your blonde hair and keep it at a cooler tone.
How To Avoid Brassy Hair?
Better safe than sorry, right?
It’s preferable to employ preventative methods that to “repair” your brassy blonde hair. And here we’ve shared some tips you should consider when it comes to preventing your hair from turning brassy or “warm.”
Washing Hair With Cold Water
Our first rule of thumb when it comes to any color – even to prevent hair from turning brassy – is to lower the temperature at which you wash your hair.
It can make a big difference in preserving your hair color and fighting those warm undertones because hot water opens the hair’s outer cuticle and allows the color to fade faster.
Use A High-Quality Salt-Free, Sulfate-Free Shampoo
To keep your hair in the most satisfactory possible condition, consider switching to a salt-free and sulfate-free shampoo.
Why? It’s perfect for protecting your hair since it maintains moisture and nourishes the strands without eliminating natural oils.
Remember that your hair may take some time to acclimatize to the lack of salt and sulfate, but it will reward you!
Keep Your Hair Safe From Chlorinated Pools
Chlorine is not your friend when it comes to hair. This chemical is infamous for removing natural oils from your hair, leaving it lifeless and dry.
And the more damaged the hair, the more prone it is to turning brassy.
To avoid this issue, consider rinsing your hair with mineral water before entering the pool. Your hair will absorb any type of moisture, so it’s best to rinse it with clean, non-chemically-changed water before swimming.
Once you’re out of the water, shampoo and condition your hair to repair any damage.
Try A Color-Refreshing Gloss
Apply a thin glaze to freshly dyed blonde hair to seal your desired tone in – and prevent fading or brassiness. That could extend the life of your color by four to six weeks.
Use a color-refreshing gloss to reduce brassy hair and expose a brighter, cooler blonde tone for at-home color refreshment.
Removing Brassy Tones From Hair 101
For starters, determine the brass color tone.
When the hair color turns “warmer,” the tones can vary from yellow-orange to reddish-brown. In general, darker blondes will end up with reddish-brown tones, while lighter blondes tend to lean towards more yellowish tones.
On that note, it’s entirely normal for hair to have both yellowish and reddish tones.
Once you’ve determined which group you are in, you can more effectively combat brassy hair.
Obviously, the perfect solution to this problem would be the use of a toner. Unfortunately, if used in a salon, it could quickly become a costly maintenance regimen. On the other hand, if you do it yourself, you risk damaging your hair if you don’t know what you’re doing.
The best option in this situation is to apply a toning shampoo.
It’s less expensive than toner, easier to manage, and doesn’t require a developer. There are no chemicals in the shampoos that can harm your natural or artificial hair fiber or color, either.
Using Toning Shampoo
Every color has a complete opposite that cancels it out. Colorists refer to this as “neutralization,” and it’s pretty straightforward:
- Blue should be used if your hair is orange or brassy.
- If you have yellow hair, you need to use violet.
- If you have red tones, you should choose green.
So, in essence, toning shampoo features pigments placed on your hair fibers to eliminate those undesirable tones.
Because the pigments do not enter your hair fiber – instead, they’re deposited on it – you should apply it regularly to protect your hair from acquiring brassy tones.
Each time you wash your hair, switch your regular shampoo with the toning shampoo.
All you have to do is:
- Use the toning shampoo to wash your hair.
- Allow it to settle for 5 to 10 minutes.
- After rinsing with lots of water, apply your regular conditioner.
You’ll notice that the brass in your hair has vanished after two or three washes.
However, if you expose your hair to the sun, chlorinated water, or the sea, the toning shampoo’s effect can fade rapidly. So, depending on the product, you could apply it two or three times each week – or whenever you detect the brassy tones popping up in your hair.
Learn More: How to Get Rid of Brassy Hair With Toner?
Home Remedies For Brassy Hair
Home remedies for brassy hair – such as a DIY toner, purple shampoo, or hair masks – are very effective and inexpensive. They provide a natural alternative to combating brassy tones in your hair without the use of toxic chemicals, which could further damage your hair.
Here are a few recommendations:
Apple Cider
Apple cider vinegar is excellent for balancing the pH balance of your hair and combating brassy hues.
Combine apple cider and water and mix them well. While washing your hair, apply the prepared mixture immediately to your hair and let it sit for about three minutes.
Rinse the apple cider vinegar combination with regular water for the best effects and repeat the process twice a week.
Tea
Using three tea bags of any kind, make a strong cup of tea. Then, remove the tea bags and allow the mixture to cool. When the tea is no longer hot, apply it straight to your hair and gently rub it into the roots and head.
Let the tea do its magic for about 30 minutes before washing.
Virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil is one of your best friends for making brassy hair natural remedies to fix orange colors in your hair. Best of all, you can also use it to treat hair damage and boost development.
Heat a small amount of virgin olive oil in a pot on the stove. The amount of olive oil required here is determined by the length of your hair, of course.
Be sure to allow the oil to cool before applying. Massage the oil into your head and roots gently and let it sit for one hour.
Finish by washing the oil out and washing your hair with a sulfate-free shampoo.
Removing Brassy Tones From Bleached Hair
It’s pretty common for tones such as yellow or orange to occur in the hair after bleaching. Why?
Well, because the hair fiber fades with each application of the bleaching mix during the chemical process.
If you’ve bleached your hair and the effect is yellowish, use an ashy dye to offset it. The ash dye is the one with “1” as a secondary number. You can choose a Light Ash Blonde 1 or a Very Light Ash Blonde 9.1 if your hair is light to extremely light.
As you can conclude, the number after the point – number one – indicates an ashy tone.
You can also try applying a hair dye featuring iridescent or pearlescent reflections, represented by the number “2.” But the best thing would be to use a purple or blue shade that has number 2.
Why purple and blue?
Well, it’s pretty simple.
Yellow is opposing purple on the color wheel, whereas orange is across blue.
So, if you’re a blonde, you should use purple shampoo, and if you’re a brunette, you should use blue shampoo.
Here’s another reason to use those tones:
If your hair is excessively yellow after bleaching, and you use the ash tone, your color may have green overtones. Remember – when we combine yellow and blue, we get green.
Also, bleaching frequently results in yellow tones of varying intensities. Orange-yellow is not the same as light yellow. In this situation, any variation of yellow would be adequately neutralized by the iridescent or pearly tone.
Use your hair dye as usual, and you will remove the yellow.
Related Read: How To Fix Green Hair From Ash Dye?
Conclusion
So, let’s sum up – how to get rid of brassy hair without toner?
The essential thing here is to determine why your hair turned brassy in the first place. Once you know that, it’s easier to discover the most effective remedy and prevent it from happening again.
If your hair’s gone yellow due to bleaching or color fading, you can use a blonde dye with ashy highlights to cover it up. And if you used a hair dye and some brassy tones appeared, you might remove them using a toning shampoo.
Oh, and if you have time and believe in natural remedies, try the at-home tricks we’ve listed in this article.
You finally know that you can eliminate brassy tones from your hair without using toner. Which of these options is best for your situation?
Related Read: How Often Can I Tone My Brassy Hair?
