My hair is orange on top!

by connie
(alabama)

I am so mad, I went to a stylist and paid over 100 dollars to have my light brown hair colored and then highlights put in. Well now my top is orange, and they won't refund the money! How in the world can I get the orange out? I wanted a kinda blonde highlight.

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My hair is orange on top!

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Nov 04, 2007

Too common...
by: Michelle

Hi Connie,

This is, unfortunately, a very common hair coloring error. I've mentioned before that it takes time to develop an eye for when lightener is ready to come off. The same is true for at-home hair colorists and professional hairstylists.

If the salon won't refund your money, they should at least offer to fix the problem (although many times people are hesitant to let a stylist who messed up at their hair again). Perhaps they have a more experienced colorist who could help out.

Without a photo, it's difficult to offer solutions, because I can't tell exactly what went wrong. But, if it's what I'm thinking, then you have two options...

1) Use a darker, ash based color (semi-permanent would be best) all over, essentially bringing you back to your starting point (or darker, which may be necessary to combat the orange).

2) Have the highlights re-lightened. This is tricky (and should probably be done by a professional) because only the sections that were previously lightened should be re-lightened. If the bleach gets on hair that wasn't lightened before, then by the time the other hair is lightened, the new pieces will be at the orange stage and you'll have a similar problem.

This is considered corrective haircolor and does require a certain amount of skill. It's also the priciest of hair services. To reduce the expense, you may wish to only have the very top sections re-lightened, so that you have highlights visible, and have all the hair underneath colored back to a darker shade.

Sorry to hear that this happened to you. I hope this helps a bit.

All the best,
Michelle
Editor, SHM.com

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Nov 04, 2007
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Submitted by: Michelle

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Comment
Hi Connie, This is, unfortunately, a very common hair coloring error. I've mentioned before that it takes time to develop an eye for when lightener is ready to come off. The same is true for at-home hair colorists and professional hairstylists. If the salon won't refund your money, they should at least offer to fix the problem (although many times people are hesitant to let a stylist who messed up at their hair again). Perhaps they have a more experienced colorist who could help out. Without a photo, it's difficult to offer solutions, because I can't tell exactly what went wrong. But, if it's what I'm thinking, then you have two options... 1) Use a darker, ash based color (semi-permanent would be best) all over, essentially bringing you back to your starting point (or darker, which may be necessary to combat the orange). 2) Have the highlights re-lightened. This is tricky (and should probably be done by a professional) because only the sections that were previously lightened should be re-lightened. If the bleach gets on hair that wasn't lightened before, then by the time the other hair is lightened, the new pieces will be at the orange stage and you'll have a similar problem. This is considered corrective haircolor and does require a certain amount of skill. It's also the priciest of hair services. To reduce the expense, you may wish to only have the very top sections re-lightened, so that you have highlights visible, and have all the hair underneath colored back to a darker shade. Sorry to hear that this happened to you. I hope this helps a bit. All the best, Michelle Editor, SHM.com

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Nov 06, 2007

I Cant believe they won't fix/refund on this!!
by: samanthair

Hi Bonnie,
I too am sorry to hear this happened to you. I cant beleive they arent fixing this for you or refunding your money! The options that were written before me are great ideas.. (these are adding even more damage and money towards your hair though!)
So incase your on a budget or if the highlights arent badly placed and you just dont like the orangey color in them and maybe you like the base color still..
I suggest trying a purple/blue-based shampoo, you can usually find these anywhere, they are usually meant to take brassy tones out of gray/blonde hair, But this will work wonders on keeping you brunette w/ amazingly not-orange higlights! The more you use or the longer it stays on, the less brassy/orangey they get!! its a little stylist secret I dont mind passing on to you! ;) Make sure that the liquid inside is actually purple or blue though, these are the best! Hope this helps and Good Luck!

Jun 02, 2008

HAIR GONE ORANGE AFTER DOING A HOME KIT
by: CHANTAL C

please can anyone help me ive just dyed my hair with a home colour kit to lightener my hair roots which are a dark brown and the rest of my hair is highlighted but the top of my head has gone ginger , what do i do iam getting married this week !!!

Jun 02, 2008

orange top help
by: Samanthair

Hi there,
If your getting married this week, its an emergency! :P If you cant get to a salon or just really that bad,
I suggest going to your local store and grabbing a box that covers gray(not sure if u have grey or not but these cover old bleaching or highlites like your ends, great!)
Get a color thats close to ur natural color (it should probably have a #6 on box) and then also buy a highlighting kit while ur there (some brands have both these steps in them already also)
Now, the idea is to get ur hair back to all one color and then redo the highlights like a fresh start over...

Jun 02, 2008

Corrective color
by: Michelle Schill

Right before your wedding is not a good time for you to experiment with home hair color. Go to a professional and have them correct it. Keep in mind though, that not all professionals will know what to do so make sure you find someone who is experienced with corrective hair color.

If you absolutely can't afford to have it professionally done, then you can attempt to fix it yourself, although, you could end up with even worse results (and more damage to your hair) if it's done improperly.

I wouldn't suggest doing an all over color and then re-lightening. There's no reason to cover up the highlights on your ends and using a permanent color on them, then bleaching will give unpredictable results because you'll end up bleaching out both pre-highlited pieces AND the hair that wasn't lightened.

Here's what I'd do for a client in your situation. I've broken it down into 3 separate-but-equally-important steps. (Ask a friend to help you out. An extra set of hands will be useful. And expect it to take at least 3 hours.)...

1) Get a bleaching kit from the drugstore. Weave out the sections that have highlights on the ends and place the section on foil. Apply lightener to ONLY the regrowth (don't overlap onto the bleach, but don't leave a blank space either or you'll have a band of ginger). Also, be sure not to fold the ends up into the bleach when you close the foil. Do this throughout and let it process until the sections are pale yellow. then rinse and shampoo.

2) Dry the hair, then go back through and weave out the pieces BETWEEN the highlights. Set them on a foil and apply a shade that matches your natural color. Don't go with a "gold" shade though, or it won't neutralize out that ginger color in the regrowth. Apply the color from roots to ends. Let those sections process fully, then rinse well.

Ordinarily I'd do steps 1 & 2 at the same time, but it takes a while to get all the foils in, so you're better off to do it in two stages so that you don't overlighten the hair while you're applying the low-lights.

Take the time to read the section on foiling hair!

3) Apply a "toner." Read about toner here.

I sincerely hope you get it fixed before your wedding!

All the best,
Michelle
Editor, SHM.com

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Jun 02, 2008
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Submitted by: Michelle Schill

Title

Comment
Right before your wedding is not a good time for you to experiment with home hair color. Go to a professional and have them correct it. Keep in mind though, that not all professionals will know what to do so make sure you find someone who is experienced with corrective hair color. If you absolutely can't afford to have it professionally done, then you can attempt to fix it yourself, although, you could end up with even worse results (and more damage to your hair) if it's done improperly. I wouldn't suggest doing an all over color and then re-lightening. There's no reason to cover up the highlights on your ends and using a permanent color on them, then bleaching will give unpredictable results because you'll end up bleaching out both pre-highlited pieces AND the hair that wasn't lightened. Here's what I'd do for a client in your situation. I've broken it down into 3 separate-but-equally-important steps. (Ask a friend to help you out. An extra set of hands will be useful. And expect it to take at least 3 hours.)... 1) Get a bleaching kit from the drugstore. Weave out the sections that have highlights on the ends and place the section on foil. Apply lightener to ONLY the regrowth (don't overlap onto the bleach, but don't leave a blank space either or you'll have a band of ginger). Also, be sure not to fold the ends up into the bleach when you close the foil. Do this throughout and let it process until the sections are pale yellow. then rinse and shampoo. 2) Dry the hair, then go back through and weave out the pieces BETWEEN the highlights. Set them on a foil and apply a shade that matches your natural color. Don't go with a "gold" shade though, or it won't neutralize out that ginger color in the regrowth. Apply the color from roots to ends. Let those sections process fully, then rinse well. Ordinarily I'd do steps 1 & 2 at the same time, but it takes a while to get all the foils in, so you're better off to do it in two stages so that you don't overlighten the hair while you're applying the low-lights. Take the time to read the <a href="http://www.style-hair-magazine.com/highlighting-hair.html">section on foiling hair</a>! 3) Apply a "toner." <a href="http://www.style-hair-magazine.com/hair-toner.html">Read about toner here</a>. I sincerely hope you get it fixed before your wedding! All the best, Michelle Editor, SHM.com

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