How To Fix Orange Hair After Bleaching – Tips For Brass-Free Hair

“How to fix orange hair after bleaching” is a phrase many people search for when they, unfortunately, get a carrot-like hue because of hair color mistakes.

You can be extremely disappointed if you get it after one bleach, especially if it’s uneven and patchy. 

Don’t panic and rush to the salon since it is easily fixable at home! This article gathers knowledge and simple tips to help you get orange dye out of your hair.

What Is Brassy Hair?

Brassy hair refers to an orange tone, which is the unwanted warm tone that shows up in colored hair.

When your hair turns some shade of red, orange, or blonde, it means a brassy tone is forming. You may notice the warm tone color spreading unevenly on the hair.

How To Fix Orange Hair After Bleaching                 

Fortunately, you can fix orange hair at home with the following simple methods:

Method 1: Use Natural Remedies

Coconut Oil And Salt

Coconut oil helps shield your hair, while salt can manage the orange hair color you get after bleaching. These two components work effectively on your hair when mixed together. 

They are easily available components, which are one of the most effective and inexpensive methods that you should try. Let’s start:

• Mix well ¼ bowl of coconut oil with 2 teaspoons of salt.
• Apply the mixture evenly to the hair and leave it within 30 minutes.
• Wash your hair with a gentle shampoo and cool water.

Baking Soda And Lemon Juice

For those who own an oily scalp, try baking soda and lemon juice. Lemon juice brightens your hair and eliminates build-up products, and baking soda acts as a mild cleanser. 

In general, these are two safe and appropriate bleaching, and their combination will live up to your expectations. Here’s how to do:

• Prepare 5 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of baking soda.
• Mix lemon juice and baking soda with water.
• Apply the mixture into a comb, then brush well and gently on your hair from the roots to the ends.
• Leave the mixture on the hair within 15 minutes, then wash your hair with a soft shampoo.

Tea Bags

Tea bags support you to reduce hair sticking, as well as to correct orange hair color mistakes. Tea will improve the texture and add color to your hair. Not only that, it leaves a pleasant scent in your hair.

To conduct this method, you need:

• Prepare a bowl of boiled water and drop 2 or 3 tea bags into the bowl; wait until the water is dark brown or black.
• Wait for the tea to cool a little, then take a brush and put it into the water.
• Apply this water evenly to your hair.
• Use your hands to massage the scalp, from the roots to the ends of the hair.
• Leave the mixture within 15 – 30 minutes.
• Wash your hair with a soft shampoo.

Apple Cider Vinegar

You can absolutely use apple cider vinegar to get rid of orange and yellow tones that you’re not happy with.

This ingredient will not only fix orange hair color mistakes but also help your hair more smoothly, balance pH concentration on the scalp, and maintain its health.

Note that the apple cider vinegar might cause your hair to turn a slightly earthy color, but it may be cleaned after some shampoo. To apply this mixture, you comply with the following steps:

• Prepare ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar and ½ cup of water.
• Mix them together.
• Embed a clean comb into this mixture and then apply it evenly to your hair.
• Incubate your hair for 15 minutes and wash it with cold water.
• This method may not be effective immediately, so you need to repeat it several times to recognize the difference.

Method 2: Use Chemical Treatments (Purple/Blue Shampoo)

Purple or blue shampoo works as a toner, neutralizing unwanted orange and yellow tones in your hair and bringing your hair a cold-toned color.

If your hair leans to the yellow rather than orange shade, a purple-toning product will effectively eliminate light yellow tones from it. 

In contrast, if you have a more orange than yellow tone, you should use a  product containing the blue molecule to remove orange hue from your tresses.

The science behind this application is the color theory, in which complementary colors will offset each other.

Prepare:

• A proper toner
• An applicator brush
• A plastic bowl
• Hydroperoxide 20

Steps to implement:

• Blend toner and peroxide dyes at a ratio of 1: 2.
• Apply the mixture to your tresses with the brush evenly. When the mixture covers the entire orange section, leave the toner on your hair for exactly 45 minutes.
• Rinse your hair thoroughly with shampoo that does not contain paraben or sulfate. These substances can strip out the color and leave your hair dry.

Method 3: Use Box Dye       

Dye It A Bit Darker

If you, unfortunately, have yellow hair after bleaching with orange or yellow patches, it is best to fix orange hair to brown.

Choose a dark-brown hair dye that’s closest to your natural hair color or dark enough to cover the orange, and you’ll feel confident again.

Lighten It Up Some More

If you’re still brave enough to bleach your hair again, why not lighten it up some more to get the perfect blonde you’ve been waiting for? 

But do not rush to bleach your hair too soon. Let it be for around 10 days to restore the natural moisture balance of your hair; otherwise, your hair will be severely damaged.

After this recovery period, you can use a cooler ash-blonde dye for a lighter blonde, or you can use purple to neutralize the yellow in your hair.

After re-dyeing, you should use a hair mask for dyed hair to strengthen and protect curls that have been damaged by bleaching.

Follow the steps below to fix your orange hair with box dye:

• Get enough dye volume to cover your entire hair.
• Divide your hair into small sections for easy manipulation.
• Apply the dye to your hair carefully to ensure even coverage.
• Leave the dye on your hair for about 30 minutes.
• Finally, wash and condition your hair.

Why Does My Hair Turn Orange?     

Not Enough Red Pigments Were Bleached Out

Hair color is a combination of many different colors including visible color and background color. The darker the hair, the more pigment it will carry.

Warm color molecules are larger, more abundant, and almost any hair color contains them than cool color molecules. Therefore, they will be the longest-lasting pigments in your hair. 

If you bleached your hair and got a yellow or orange hue, you most likely have dark hair. Dark hair has many of the basic pigments that give depth and dimension to your brown or black strands. 

In particular, red and orange pigments are the most prominent pigments in dark hair. Unless you bleach enough red or orange pigments, what you end up with is unwanted brassy hair.

When you apply color to your hair, it will deposit the artificial pigment in your curls while removing some of your hair’s natural color. 

Therefore, if lifting or bleaching does not remove all of the basic pigments in the hair, giving the warm tones a chance to reveal themselves, a brassy color will appear.

And if you have blonde hair and still have this problem, it is because your hair has accumulated chemicals or minerals, the result of previous curls, dyes, or straightens. 

It also occurs when your hair is exposed to saltwater when you go to the beach or swim in a chlorinated pool and forget to cover your hair.

Usually, you will see this brassiness in your hair about 15 days after coloring. You can get a mix of pink, orange, or blonde shades that are non-uniform in your hair.

It usually occurs in dark hair that is dyed platinum or blonde, but you can also spot it on hair that is highlighted or lightened to brown.

Remove the Bleach Too Soon

Another cause of your hair turning orange is because you removed the bleach too soon. There are many people who can’t be patient, and they remove the bleach after only a few days. 

This is extremely harmful to the hair because you do not give the scalp the minimum time needed to restore the natural moisture balance to nourish and repair each strand. As a consequence, your hair is badly damaged and turns orange.

What should you do?

Wait about 10 to 14 days before you want to remove the bleach because your hair is still very weak. You can also shorten the waiting time to 7 days if you regularly use a hair mask.

Using Sulfate-Based Shampoos

Sulfate is one of the leading substances that take away the vitality of blonde hair. The cleansing process of sulfate-based shampoos removes the hair’s natural oils and leaves them coarse, straw-like, and more prone to brassiness.

Thus, don’t forget to invest in quality sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners. These products are more moisturizing and good for your hair. They provide necessary moisture, nourish hair, and clean hair without drying. Remember that hair needs a lot of moisture, so give it what it craves.

Environmental Factors       

The sun is considered the enemy of brass-free hair. Over time, exposure to sunlight weakens the hair, making it brittle, damaged, and brassy. 

In particular, the chemicals in pool water, namely chlorine, and UV rays from the sun working together during the summer, can damage hair strands no matter what color they are, especially harsh on porous blonde hair.

Therefore, never forget to cover your hair with a hat or a cap when outdoors or swimming, and regularly use a hair mask to help it recover quickly.

Tips To Prevent Orange Hair After Bleaching           

Be Careful With Hard Water

There is a good chance that minerals in hard water will interfere with your hair color.

You can handle this issue by boiling water before washing hair or equipping a shower filter to eliminate the minerals in the water.

Avoid Contact With Pool/Sea Water

Chlorine in swimming pools and salt in sea water will alter the hair color.

Remember to wet your hair with an oil coating and wear a swimming hat when enjoying in pools or beaches.

Avoid Contact With The Heat Impact

Heat also causes the hair color to fade, so it’s better to minimize heat exposure to your hair. Using hot water to rinse hair, blow-dryer, flat iron, or curler is not recommended.

Also, you will want to stay away from chemical-based products like hair styling products or those with sulfate.

Do Not Overwash

Overwashing your hair will make your hair dry, lose the moisture balance on the scalp, and hinder the process of improving hair color by the ways you apply above.

3 times a week is enough for you to have the desired hair.

Do Not Use Hot Water

Avoid washing your hair with hot water, or you will see your hair tending brassy. Instead, use cold water for washing and rinse your hair.

Do Not Use Chemical-Based Products

Stay away from chemical-based products for hair because they will strip out the natural oil of your hair, making your hair brassy, dry, and prone to damage.

Moisturize And Protect Hair

Using a deep conditioner and a good oil hair massage with natural, safe, and gentle ingredients every week will help nourish and keep your bleached hair healthy while minimizing harmful environmental factors.

You can also select a leave-in conditioner and add a serum treatment to your hair care routine for a better moisturizing result.

To fully protect your hair, always wear a hat or umbrella when outing.

Conclusion

Thanks to the above information and instructions, you certainly know how to fix orange hair after bleaching effectively.

Of different ways to fix orange hair to apply, from natural ingredients to box dyes, toning shampoo, or toners, choose the method that feels best to you. Just follow the instructions and fix your orange hair.

Besides, don’t forget the warnings that we have raised to know how to protect your hair after bleaching. Your hair will thank you for this!