How To Fix Brassy Hair at Home With Purple Shampoo

February 24, 2023   |   Author: tonyshamas   |   No comments   |   Categories: Blonde Hair Care Toronto • HAIR CARE TIPS   |   Tags:

Picture yourself leaving your Toronto hair salon after a cut, colour, and style. You’re looking your best, striding down the street with your gleaming mane catching every eye. You’re at the top of your game.

You’re confident you’re going to feel like this every time you go out and face the world, but a few weeks later, you notice that something is off. Why does your hair look like it’s orange? Can you recover from what hair stylists call “brassy hair”?

What Causes Brassy Hair?

Brassy hair is essentially the lighter tones of your original hair colour peeking through. In the colouring process, your original hair colour is lifted out, and your new colour is applied. However, the lighter tones of your original colour remain in your hair, which appears as brassy hair. It will look yellow or orange in blonde hair, orange or red in brown or black hair, and a faded look in red hair.

The possible causes of brassy hair are:

  • Overuse of hot tools such as blow-dryers, flat irons, or curling irons.
  • Repeated chemical treatments such as bleach or highlights.
  • Exposure to the sun.
  • Immersion in chlorinated water, in the concentration found in swimming pools.
  • Washing with hard water, which contains minerals that can build up on the hair.
  • A mistake made by the colorist, usually failing to use a toner.

Preventing Brassy Hair

It’s said that “a gram of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” While brassy hair isn’t an illness, it can hold you back from living your best life. Here’s how you can keep those brassy tones at bay:

  • The next time you have your colour done, ask your colourist to use a toner after the dye has been washed out.
  • Use a heat-protecting product if you’re going to be using heat to style your hair.
  • Don’t wash your hair with hot water. If you can tolerate it, use cold water. If that’s too much for you, try tepid water.
  • Wash your hair less often.
  • Protect your hair from the sun while you’re outside by wearing a hat or using a hair care product with UV protection. If you opt for a hat, make sure it has UV protection, and tuck your hair up under it. A bonus to wearing a hat is that it will also protect your face from the sun’s rays.
  • If you’re swimming in chlorinated water, wear a swim cap or wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo as soon as possible after leaving the pool.
  • Always use a colour-protecting shampoo when you wash your hair.
  • Add a hard-water filter to your shower head. If you’re unsure if you have a hard water problem, you can purchase a testing kit inexpensively or have it tested professionally.
  • Ask your colourist to use a demi-permanent dye instead of a permanent one. Your colour won’t last as long, but using products that prevent fading will maximize that time.

Fixing Brassy Hair with Purple Shampoo

Prevention is all well and fine, but you’ve issues now! Fortunately, there are brassy hair fixes you can apply at home, the most effective of which is purple shampoo.

Purple shampoo is used to reduce brassy tones in blonde, gray, and white hair. It’s usually a deep shade of purple or violet and works by depositing small amounts of purple pigment onto the hair. The pigment helps to neutralize yellow or orange tones.

Use it once or twice a week as a toning treatment, in addition to regular shampoo and conditioner. Purple shampoo can help to maintain the cool, ashy tones of blonde and grey hair and prevent them from becoming overly warm or yellow. Avoid using it every time you shampoo, as overuse can cause hair to become dull or grayish.

How a Stylist Can Help Reduce Brassy Tones

Not everyone is comfortable fixing their own hair colour. If you’re not sure you’re getting it right, book an appointment at our Toronto hair salon for a consultation or a colour correction. After assessing your situation, your colourist will treat your hair to restore its beautiful colour.

Methods of correcting colour professionally include toning, which neutralizes the colour of the hair using a colour opposite to the brassy tones on the colour wheel; using a corrective colour formula to balance out the unwanted tones; and bleaching the hair to lift out the brassy tones. Because brassy hair is often dry or damaged, your stylist may also want to deep condition it. This treatment will restore moisture to your hair and improve its overall health so you can leave the salon feeling brilliantly confident.