Yikes! You’ve dyed your hair with a stunning new colour that has added a pop of colour to your look and you’re not happy! Now, you would like to know what you can do to tone down your hair shade that’s too bright. We’re here to help you!
It’s not a difficult issue to solve, so do not fret. All you need is some common household items or basic supermarket products and you’ll be able to transform your hair’s colour absolutely gorgeous once more!
We’ve got five simple ways to get everything down a notch. Let’s go!
How can you fix a hair colour that is bright?
- Clarifying Shampoo
- Lemon juice
- Coffee
- Cool-toned hair dye
- Apple Cider vinegar
- Dish soap
- Toner
- Toning shampoo
What is the reason that my hair colour is too bright?
It happens when there are significant differences between your natural shade and the new colour of your hair. If you’ve gone from dark to light or from very intense to more subtle, you’re likely to notice that your hair looks brighter than it normally does.
It might be the professional-grade dye product you tried or perhaps you’ve decided to make your own new appearance at home using a box colour kit for dyeing. Maybe you’re going through a period of vibrant fashion hair colours!
It’s most frequent in blonde hair colours that are difficult to keep cool as well as non-brassy.
These are the top frequent reasons why the new hair colours can appear too bright
- The shade you choose is not suitable to match your skin tone. If the colour you picked does not match with your natural hair colour and skin colour, the shade could seem too bright for you. This is most common when those who have warm undertones opt for light, ashy hair colours as well vice versa! Be sure to pick the shades that match you well.
- Hair with excessive bleaching is the most vulnerable situation. It can take a LONG time for the hair to heal and therefore, it is best to avoid overdoing it with bleach! The results can be visible and disastrous even after toning down the colour of your new hair colour.
- Hair that is untoned – If you have bleached blonde hair, the most likely issue lies in the fact that toner did not tone down your hair sufficiently after bleaching. Or perhaps you didn’t even use it at all!
Hair Toner Before and After
Can you tone your hair to make it darker?
You sure can! The process of teasing your hair is a simple procedure.
In essence, the toner will correct your hair’s colour while at the same time protecting. The function of toners works by putting a dye pigment onto the hair to darken the dye job.
Toning is typically done using opposite colours on the hair colour wheel to cancel out and eliminate unwanted brassiness and tones.
For instance, if we need to tone down the orange tone, you can apply a violet toner which is the opposite colour that is on the wheel). Blue and green toners are often used to fix brassiness.
It’s called colour theory, and it’s a crucial element in finding the perfect hair colour for you.
How can I tone down the brightness of my hair?
What’s next? It’s time for toning down that hair colour! We’ve got our best 5 tips:
- Use A Toning or Gloss Shampoo
If your hair is too brassy or bright after applying a semi-permanent hair dye, consider the colour correcting gloss or shampoo to keep the hair cool.
If you’re a brunette, you can apply blue shampoo, which can darken and cool the colour of your hair.
For blondes, you will need purple shampoo in order to neutralize those nasty yellows.
Silver shampoos can be used for blonde hair on silver/white hair , or bleach blonde tones similar to platinum.
- Make use of a cool colour.
This is an excellent principle to follow in life: “If you are unsure, go with the ash-based hair dye. This is an excellent rule to follow. Why?
Because ashy hair tones will tone down and neutralize any yellow-based or brassy hair colour, creating a sophisticated, refined outlook that is simple for maintenance and flattering to your skin tone.
- Make use of a clarifying shampoo
A clarifying shampoo will be able to cut through the vibrant tones remaining in the hair and deposit only hair dyes as well as let the toner perform its work.
Clarifying shampoos are fantastic to remove any remaining traces of colour prior to toning down overly bright hair dyes, particularly in the case of demi-permanent or semi-permanent colour recently!
The result? More even tone on lightened or bleached hair.
- Dish soap is also effective!
Yes, it’s true. One wonderful tip we have learnt from our hairstylist was when there was a client sporting way too much red hair and had effectively used dishwashing liquid soap along with cold water to tone down the vibrancy.
We highly recommend that you should conduct an initial tiny patch test to ensure that your hair doesn’t get faded; however on the whole it’s a cheap and safe technique!
5. Lemon juice
Lemon juice is another alternative for toning hair that is too brassy or yellow.
Lemon juice can lighten hair in the same way as lemon juice can lighten your skin. This is due to a chemical reaction that happens when the acid has a reaction with the hair pigmentation.
Mix it with conditioner, apply it to dry hair and leave for 15 minutes before you rinse. Apply a final cold water rinse in order to seal off the cuticle.
6. Coffee shampoo
If you’re brunette, your hair can be toned by mixing coffee into the shampoo.
If you’re not averse to the scent from coffee this could be an excellent option to tone down the brightness of your hair.
- Apple cider vinegar
It could smell like a salad, but apple cider vinegar is packed with amazing clarifying and toning properties. It is also a fantastic substitute for conventional purple shampoo!
Simply apply it to your hair that is dry and leave it on for about 10 mins. Rinse it off with cold water (to make sure the cuticle is sealed) and voila!
- A toner is the most reliable option!
If you’re not quite ready for an entirely new hair colour but, then applying an ash-based hair toner on lighter or bleached hair can tone down that too vibrant or brassy hair colour quickly and easily.
How to Professionally Tone Hair At Home
What can you do in the event that your brunette seems too glowing?
If you’ve already tried any of the abovementioned hacks or tips to tone down the colour of your hair but it’s still too blonde and bright. Don’t fret!
If this is the case you may want to think about going darker with your locks.
This will tone down the overall appearance and remove any brassy undertones. It will give a cool toned and sophisticated style.
If you’re considering darkening your hair’s colour to platinum/silver hair, consider consulting an experienced colourist for fabulous style ideas!
We’re loving beige blonde and dirty blonde to create a more sassy muted look.
How can you tone down the brightness of red hair?
Red toners are an excellent alternative for those with ginger or red hair that is too bright. It’s similar to other colours. The result may be more noticeable and dramatic under specific conditions of lighting!
Our best suggestion? If you’re looking to transition from a bright vivid red hue to a light and pastel tone shade, just do it! It’ll tone down your hair’s colour wonderfully and create an ombre effect which isn’t just stylish, but also easy for maintenance.
Parting Words
If your hair is still too bright despite the five easy steps, take into consideration getting your hair toned by a professional colourist and not at your own home (you’re only a waste of time and money).
There are numerous methods to fix a particular hair colour that hasn’t turned out the way you expected, but they all require knowledge and expertise from the professional colourists.
They’ll be able to offer you great advice and suggest the appropriate products for your current hair condition and colour that your hair is in.
Best of luck!
This is all great advice, and It’s all using simple solutions that I would have never considered before. What about orange hair? My hair was just colored with a super bright shade of orange, (picture fire orange), and the front is ashy grayish blonde. I can’t have the orange color at work and I need to make them both look more natural, (or at least the Orange needs to be way lighter and less super shocking orange).
I am going to try some of your suggestions for toning down the brightness and see what happens. Thank you for the information!