We’ve all been there. You’ve just had your hair done with a gorgeous new dye job – and then your hair starts to turn brassy, losing the cool-toned blonde color that you wanted.
It can be incredibly frustrating when we lose our perfect blonde color. Here we investigate why our blonde hair turns brassy and how we can get our vibrancy back.
What Causes Brassy Hair?
Brassy hair is caused when there are too many warm-toned pigments in your hair and not enough cool tones. So, platinum blondes become more yellow and darker blondes become more orange. It can affect both natural blondes and also dyed and lightened hair.
There are lots of reasons why your blonde hair might turn brassy. For lightened hair, it might be that your natural warmer tones are starting to come through again. Some shampoos and other chemicals can also strip natural and lightened hair of its vibrancy, leaving behind brassy tones. Another cause of brassiness can be when your hair becomes damaged and the strands are weakened – again, the color vibrancy is lost, and brassy tones become more apparent.
How To Fix Brassy Hair At Home
Strawberry blonde can be a great look, but if it’s not what you’re going for, there are plenty of treatments and remedies to banish brassy tones from your blonde hair.
Use Glaze Super Gloss for a Deep Conditioning Treatment
Glaze Super Gloss has been created to help you achieve vibrant color and extraordinary softness for your hair. Our blonde shades - Pearl Blonde Super Gloss for the lightest blonde shades and Honey Blonde Super Gloss for darker shades – are perfect for when you need to kick out yellow tones and brassiness from your bleached and blonde hair.
They function a little like color-correcting toner, neutralizing any unwanted brassy tones. But unlike most other toners, our Super Glosses also deeply nourish your hair to make it super soft and shiny. They’re infused with Babassu Oil to condition your hair, plus our formula only is vegan and uses only clean ingredients. Glaze Super Gloss adds the vibrancy back to your hair and also eliminates damage, getting you back to your desired blonde color.
Add Purple Shampoo to Your Hair Care Routine
There are plenty of purple or blue shampoos available which can help to eliminate brassy tones from blonde hair. These shampoos will deposit a violet tint to your hair which will neutralize the warmer tones and get your hair back to cool-toned blonde.
You can still use your shampoo of choice – simply swap it for a purple of blue shampoo once a week or whenever you feel like your hair is starting to turn brassy. Most purple or blue shampoos will need to sit for around five minutes to deposit the tint properly before rinsing.
Wash Your Hair with Cool Water
It’s probably not what you want to hear if you love a hot steamy shower. But washing your hair in cool water can help to retain the vibrancy of your color and prevent brassiness.
Hot water will open up your hair cuticle, which causes your color to fade faster, but cooler water will close the cuticle and help preserve the color. Whilst you’ll need warmer water to dissolve any dirt and oil, finishing your shower with cooler water will also help to keep it smooth and shiny, helping to control frizz and pesky flyaways. And if that wasn’t reason enough to turn down the temperature, rinsing your hair with cool water can help to keep it cleaner for longer by keeping pores closed and less vulnerable to dirt. We’re definitely convinced!
Avoid Salt Water and Chlorine
We know it’s tempting to get straight to the pool or beach on those warm summer days to show off your beautiful blonde hair. But you should try to avoid chlorine and salt water, especially when you’ve just had your color done, as they can both strip the vibrancy out and bring out brassy tones.
But don’t fear – you can still make the most of the summer with a swim in the sea or pool and maintain your color! If you can, use a hat or scarf to protect your hair from the water. You could also get your hair thoroughly wet with fresh, cool water before you swim so that it absorbs less chlorine and salt water. After swimming, always make sure to wash your hair and use a color-correcting treatment to ensure you keep your preferred cool-tone blonde.
Install a Shower Filter
As well as in swimming pools, you can also find chlorine and other minerals that can turn your hair brassy in your shower water. An easy fix is to install a shower filter that can sift out all the minerals that might affect your hair color. A bonus to installing a shower filter if you live in a hard water area is that removing these minerals can also help to improve your skin and nails too!
Protect Your Hair from UV Rays
We all know that UV rays from the sun can damage our skin. But they can also damage our hair, as well as revealing the underlying warm tones and making blondes turn brassy. Protect your hair from the sun with a protective sunblock hair spray. Or use this as an opportunity to find your perfect summer hat – the wider and floppier, the better!
