You've just stepped out of the salon, and you are in love with your new colour! Your blonde hair is amazing, shiny, and yellow-free. Fast forward 1 week, and you are staring in the mirror noticing the yellow tones are starting to creep up on you!
What do you do? Do you run back to the salon and ask for something to sort it out, do you have a go at bleaching it yourself, or do you follow this tutorial and invest in a toner shampoo?
People often think that the yellow tones in their hair
means they automatically need to bleach/colour their hair again. It's not true.
Brassy yellow colours come from the violet pigments in your hair being lost when you wash them. Why does this happen? Well, when you have your hair done at the salon, you are likely to have a toner done at the end to get rid of the yellow, and make it a nice blonde colour. These toners are semi-permanent, and are really conditioning for the hair, but they don't last long (usually 12-24 shampoos, but they start to fade long before then).
So you don't need more bleach, you need to fix the tone, and you do this, at home, using a purple shampoo.
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| If you look on this colour star, violet counteracts yellow. |
Purple Shampoo:
Purple Shampoos come in all different makes and models, but they all essentially do the same thing. The purple pigments in the shampoo counteract the yellow/orange (warm) brassy tones in the hair, calming them down, and sending them a nice ash (cold) blonde colour.
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| Misha Barton and Katie Price with their brassy blonde hair! GET THEM SOME PURPLE! |
The stronger the shampoo, the more tone you are going to get. Purple shampoos are highly concentrated so you don't need to use a lot! They are great for doing this at home, and they are so affordable, with most being under £10 (and they last a long time).
How To:
- In the shower, squirt a grape sized amount into your palm and massage it between your hands to warm it up, starting to activate it.
- Apply evenly to the whole of your hair, being very quick about it.
- Depending on how brassy your hair is, depends on how long you will leave it on for. If your hair is really yellow, then you can leave it on for anywhere up to 5 minutes. If your hair is very platinum and only needs a bit of toning, then I wouldn't exceed 2 minutes. If your hair is very damaged and dry, then the hair will absorb the shampoo faster, so just keep an eye on it and massage it around your hair to keep it moving.
- Repeat this 1-2 times a week, or depending on how ash you want your hair!
WARNING: Be aware, that if you leave it on too long, your hair WILL turn purple.
TIP: If you want to leave it on longer, then mix the shampoo in a bowl with normal shampoo to weaken down the concentration. I usually do 1 part purple, 3 parts normal, and then I leave it on for about 15-20 minutes. I find being able to leave it on longer, gives a better result because it works slower, toning deeper, without the fear of it turning the hair purple.
What To Buy?
There are lots of different toner shampoos on the market, but ones I recommend are salon professional brands. My favourites are Colour Endure by Joico, and Solutionist: So Silver by Matrix. You can pick up both for around £8, and they will last you 2-4 months.
Good luck!
Good luck!