How To Handle Hair Color Fiascoes

Sometimes the sun can play havoc with your hair color. But sometimes it goes awry all on its own.

More gray coming in can have a lot to do with it too – it changes the hair quality at the root, which can mean it reacts differently to hair color.

We turned to Johnathan Gale, Creative Color Director for Couture Colour for some quick solutions for hair color gone wrong.

"Oftentimes when color needs fixing, sometimes it's just a matter of time. Having played around with my color in my 20s, 30s, 40s, if I had only just waited for color to fade, instead of redoing, it would not have gone from bad to worse (i.e., too red: red fades fast, so a ton of washing or a weekend at the beach may be a slow way, but sure to cure)."

Sometimes the look you were going for just needs to evolve."

But if that's not the case and your dark has been colored over so many times it just looks like a chalky black mass, your brunette has gone too red at the roots, or your gray has shifted to ochre (eww), Gale offers a few ways to color correct quickly.

Color fades too fast.
Make sure you are not swimming. If so use a cap, or Couture Colour's Pequi Oil to protect before you get into the water.

I am a big fan of color glosses and shampoos with color in them. The problem is, they're normally too loud and bright, so use them for 5 minutes rather than the 20 minutes they suggest. Remember to use a shampoo designed with color in mind.

Color has gone too dark.
If it's way too dark, no amount of washing or beach trips will budge dark hair to fade. I suggest buying the very lightest blonde color you can get. On damp hair, turn your head upside down and rub in the color on the ends for a few minutes, then all the way through for no longer than 5 minutes in total, then super condition after.

On color fixing red:
If red isn't the color desired, use an ashy light brown color like Couture Colour's LUXEBLEND Crème Hair Colours, dilute it with a splash of water and run it through your hair for 5 minutes.

If its only red on the roots, which often happens — we see a lot of what we call hot roots — next time add a little brown to the mixture (formula for roots only).

For grey hair that has yellowed:
There are many brands of blue shampoos that cut yellow. I always dilute by mixing with a normal shampoo - half and half — and really once a month is good. Don't over-do as that blue haze can put you in a whole other category.

Voila! Another problem solved.