How To Get Rid Of Orange Hair

Maffew is a hairdresser, marketer, and dabbler in many things who enjoys sharing knowledge about the science of hair coloring and hair care.

Tried to bleach or lighten your hair and ended up orange instead? Here are your three options.

Daniel Christensen, CC-BY-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons; Pxhere; Canva

I Dyed My Hair and It Turned Orange. How Do I Fix It?

Have you tried to lighten your hair only to end up with a disastrous shade of orange instead? Orange is certainly not the most appealing color, and unless your stylistic muse is an orangutan, it stands to reason that you might want to know how to fix orange hair and regain your confidence so you can once again leave the house.

Luckily, it's easy to fix orange hair and achieve the color you really want. Read on to find out how!

Why Does Hair Turn Orange?

Your hair isn't one solid color. In fact, the color you see when you look in the mirror is a combination of many different pigments blending together to create a natural hair color. If your hair is dark, there is already an abundance of red pigment that is hidden underneath, giving depth to your brown or black hair. When you lighten it with dye or bleach, you may inadvertently reveal this base tone, and this is where things can start to go awry.

Not Enough Red Pigment Was Bleached Out

Hair turns orange for one key reason: It wasn't lightened enough to reach blonde. In order to dye hair blonde, you first need to reach the yellow stage where the majority of red pigment has already been bleached out. This result is then toned with a violet-based color to neutralize the yellow and dye your hair a natural shade of blonde.

In most cases, if you haven't reached the yellow stage, you can't dye your hair blonde because it simply isn't light enough. You can tone out the base tones, but your hair won't tone to blonde. Orange hair can be toned to light brown, however, and this is one choice of correction available.

You Removed the Bleach Too Soon

People who are intimidated by the use of bleach or have fairly dark hair and remove the bleach too soon often end up with orange hair. When they try to tone it with a blonde dye, the dye doesn't cover it or have much of an effect because there's just not enough color in it to work as intended.

Luckily, there are three simple ways to correct orange hair. Each of these is outlined in detail in the sections that follow.

3 Ways to Get Rid of Orange Hair

Tone the orange out of your hair.
Dye your orange hair blonde.
Dye your orange hair a darker color.

This infographic provides a brief overview of the three main ways to fix orange hair. Each is discussed in detail in the sections that follow.

1. Tone the Orange Out of Your Hair

You can tone orange hair just like you can tone blonde hair. The only real difference is that orange needs to be toned with a blue-based dye instead of purple-based dye, and the toner needs to be stronger than a typical blonde toner in order to cover the darker orange hair.

What Neutralizing Tone Do I Need?


Unwanted Tone	Neutralizing Tone
Yellow	Violet
Orange	Blue
Red	Green

No amount of toning will correct dark orange hair to blonde because the overall pigment is still too dark. Should you wish to tone your hair to correct the orange, you'll end up with a light brown color as a result.

While this might not give you the blonde hair of your dreams, it can be worth it to avoid any further damage to your hair if it's already at its limit. Settling for a darker color with toning is a choice you'll need to make based on the condition of your hair and the amount of time and effort you have available to fix the problem.

Supplies Needed to Tone Out Orange Color

Dark ash-blonde dye or light ash-brown dye to tone out the orange color
A tinting bowl and brush
10 vol developer
Sectioning clips and a comb

Preparation

To prepare the dye, use a tinting brush to mix the chosen color with 10 vol developer in a bowl.
For ease of application, your hair should be sectioned into four quadrants, which can be achieved by parting the hair down the middle from forehead to neck, then again from ear to ear, clipping each section away. This allows you to work quickly and ensures even color coverage as you apply the hair dye systematically to each quadrant.

Application

Once the dye is in, leave it until the orange is effectively neutralized and your hair reaches a natural shade. You can leave the dye to process for the full development time if you want an ashier color, but it's perfectly fine to wash it out at any point earlier during development if you reach a shade of brown you particularly like. Just keep in mind that your hair looks ashier when wet with the dye, so the result will be slightly warmer than what you initially see.
After rinsing, condition your hair thoroughly to correct any dryness your bleaching escapade has caused, and you'll be ready to style your hair and head out into broad daylight once more.

When fixing color mistakes, it's important to give your hair time to recover before hitting it with more bleach and dye.

Photo by Charis Gegelman on Unsplash

2. Dye Your Orange Hair Blonde

You've come this far, and you're only a level or two away from reaching the blonde you desired. If your hair is orange, it either didn't lighten enough, or you removed the bleach before it reached yellow. You can resume this lightening process by applying more bleach.

Note: This should be performed at least a week after you first bleached your hair in order to allow the hair's natural moisture balance to be restored.

How to Fix Orange Hair With Dye

If your hair has been properly rested and you've managed to survive the waiting period and anticipation, you can dye it blonde now using the following procedure.

Apply More Bleach: Mix and apply more bleach, and this time, let it remain in your hair until it reaches the yellow stage. From your current color, this will typically take about 20–30 minutes, and you can rinse out the bleach as soon as it happens.
Tone Out the Yellow: Now that you're showcasing a dazzling lemon yellow, you will need to tone this color out with a blonde dye. In most cases, this will be either an ash, a pearl, or a natural shade. If you want a beige-blonde hair color, you will still need to use a cool-toned dye to counteract some of that yellow tone first in order to reach it. Even beige and golden blondes need cool tones to balance out the color and make it look natural.

How to Choose the Right Blonde Dye

Your bleached hair is porous, and you need to tone it gently to avoid ending up with an overly intense ash (and potentially another color-correction problem). The blonde dye you use should preferably be a pearl or ash shade and at least one level lighter than the color you want.

If you want medium natural blonde, use a light ash blonde to tone it. A lighter tone gives you more control over the toning process, and you won't have to rush to rinse it out two minutes after applying it. You can leave this dye in to process for the full development time if you want an ashier blonde hair color, or you can remove it at any time once you've reached your desired shade of blonde.

How to Maintain Your Blonde Hair

After that, it's just a matter of maintaining your new blonde hair. You'll want to buy a decent purple toning shampoo to keep it from becoming yellow again. If you choose a good purple shampoo, it will be the only form of toner you need. This will greatly simplify your hair-care routine.

3. Dye Your Orange Hair a Darker Color

If your orange hair ordeal has turned you away from any further pursuit of blonde, and you simply want to rinse your hair of the problem, the easiest way to fix orange hair is to dye over it with a darker color.

You can choose to return to your previous hair color or switch to a new color entirely. The only stipulation is that the hair dye needs to be darker than your orange hair in order to cover it. Ideally, you should use a neutral or slightly ashy tone for good results.

Accidental orange hair isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you like it, go with it!

Mert Kahveci via Unsplash

How to Prevent Orange Hair When Bleaching or Lightening

Once you've achieved your perfect, lightened look, you'll want to make sure it stays that way. Luckily, there are easy ways to keep your hair from turning brassy or showing orange tones again after correction.

What Is Brassy Hair?

Brassy hair refers to tones of a deep golden hue that develop in dyed blonde or lighter shades of brown hair as the dye color begins to fade. This is in essence a very similar situation to the original problem of orange hair and happens because the cooler tones in dye fade more readily and reveal the warm base tone again.

Note: In lighter hair, brassy or orange tones can also be the result of mineral buildups from hard water, and it's important to know the difference because the fix for this is to use clarifying or chelating shampoo to strip the minerals, whereas you'd typically want to actively avoid these kinds of shampoos in dyed hair.

What Causes Warm Tones in Hair and How Do You Prevent Them?

Warmth has two primary causes—loss of color from fading and mineral buildup. Luckily, it's easy to prevent orange hair from reappearing by avoiding the following:

Washing your hair too often or with heavy shampoos
Excess sunlight
Saltwater
Chlorine
Mineral deposits in water (e.g., from the shower)

Other Ways to Prevent Orange Hair

Shampooing less often
Using blue or purple shampoo
Installing a water softener or water filter in your shower
Reducing how often you use heated tools like blow dryers, straighteners, and curling irons

If your hair is already brassy, check out my article about how to get rid of brassiness in hair for more tailored fixes and tips.

Coloring Mistakes Happen, but There's Always a Solution

Hair-dye mistakes aren't the end of the world, and you'll probably make a few more in your lifetime. There is always a way to fix any coloring mistake, and orange hair is no exception. It's all part of the learning experience that comes with the territory. If you enjoy dyeing your hair, there will always be an adventure waiting.

Did you end up with a disastrous dye job? Do you need help to fix your orange hair? Do you have a funny color mishap story? Leave a comment below for tailored advice and share your insights with other readers.

How to Dye Hair Blonde
Dyeing your hair blonde is a little more complicated than most colors, but with the right preparation and knowledge, you can achieve a beautiful and natural result.
How to Tone Blonde Hair
Blonde hair looks its best when it's properly toned. Find out how to tone blonde hair and maintain your look.
How to Bleach Hair
Do you dream of blonde hair? If you have dark hair, you need to use bleach, and bleach needs to be used properly. Learn the tricks of the trade for stunning results.
How to Keep Dyed Hair From Fading
If you want to dye blonde hair brown, you can't just apply a brown hair dye. Doing so could result in green hair or other mistakes. In this article, you will find out how to dye your hair brown properly, no matter what shade of blonde you begin with.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Chrissy on July 22, 2020:

If i use colour opps will it take out orange tones ?

May on July 19, 2020:

Just used B4 col removet and my hair is now orange on the length znd more yellow on the greys...can i use a grey dye to ged rid of the orange and yellow as my hair is 80 percent grey

Peacedove on June 10, 2020:

Thank you for all you do to help us. You are awesome!

Sarah on May 27, 2020:

Ok I need some help. I naturally have very dark glossy and thick black hair. I bleached it but now parts of it are orange. Which dye is the best to cover up the orange and get back to my natural black ?

Susie Andrews on May 24, 2020:

My hair was salt and pepper. More salt than pepper and I went to a salon to have it colored a medium Auburn and it turned very orange on top where most of the grey is how do I fix it I really don't want to go back to him as he thought it was right ugh it is so ugly

Sam from NH on April 30, 2020:

I've read most of the comments and I know the feeling on orange hair..I've had dark auburn hair with blonde stripes for about 4 years now and I love it, but I like it lighter in the summer. But, I tend to get the orange as well...I found a trick on pinterest and swear by it..I color just the dark red when my roots need to be covered...if I get some one the blonde where I want to keep it blonde..I make a homemade toner...I take 2 oz of toner...20vol baking soda, I just use about a tablespoon, its a natural stripper, I used shiny silver shampoo...and a squirt of a real good conditioner..I pour it all over my head and I let it sit there for about a half hour, I've even done it more than that..keep checking it...it can get to be a bright blonde, but with the red, it's beautiful..I keep the back the dark auburn, but I tonight decided to keep it the strawberry color and I stripped it to a very pale orange/yellow...Dried it..and threw in a boxed dark blonder, but I left the blonde stripes alone and let the dark blonde develop! What a beautiful color! I have nice light blonde highlights in the front and the stripes on the sides are about and couple inches apart, so it's about 3 or 4 stripes on each side and the back is a strawberry blonde..I can't see the back but it blended well together...I have a few small strands of strawberry blonde going thru the top..I have it very short in the back, pixie style and I curl the top to the side, which blends it to combine the blonde and dark blonde together in a curl..I know me..I'll end up putting the dark auburn back underneath and thru the top a little and leave the back dark auburn again, but this was a fun change! It's a good summer color and as it fades, I add in the shiny silver shampoo and it takes all the brassiness away! I use John Freida blonde highlights conditioner and about once a month I put a good hair mask on and leave it on while watching a tv show and when I feel like it I rinse it out..My hair is very fine..it's not dry, and it stays soft...I use ION replenishing mist before I dry my hair..use a good mousse and it stays soft and shiny...a few times a week I run apple cider vinegar thru my hair for shine, and it takes out any hairspray or hair product build up out in no time!, they say it helps it grow but my hair grows like a weed!! I've even used a coconut oil mask and it grows quickly as well..I swear by my homemade toner...it's always soft to touch.Tonight I stripped it twice with the blonde highlight kit..comes with two packages..then colored with the dark blonde...conditioned it and it's so soft! Good Luck..Hope this helps someone that can't stand the orange but loves red and I'm gonna love my strawberry blonde back for the summer!!

Kellie Sidwell on April 28, 2020:

My daughter bought splat hair dye and bleach. She applied the bleach. Her hair was orange in sections, blonde in sections, and her orginal brown in sections. She bought a lightener at walgreens and we applied it to her hair. It is still orange but it does blend better than looking splotchy. My question is what can she do to get it the blonde she needs for the pink dye? How long will she need to wait before applying anything else?

Virginia Anne Levy on April 22, 2020:

Hi there I have just recently bleached my hair, it was a brassy red colour as the dye was fading out, but I had grey regrowth growing threw and had decided too bleach out what colour I had, and now have decided to go au natural grey, do I rebleach it then dye it a grey colour with blue hues, pleas waiting for response. Thanks Anne

Pie on April 10, 2020:

My hair is naturally dirty blonde with silver. I dyed my hair brown but it came in way too dark, almost black. A few days later I used a color remover & now my hair is bright orange. Please help me fix this nightmare

Jessica on February 17, 2020:

I was removing color and midshaft turned orange where i was coloring over virgin hair. Ends are yellow Should i just carefully bleach to even out ends or any possible color removing method?

Rachel on February 04, 2020:

I had my hair lightened from dark brown that had previously had balayage highlights and I wanted light ash brown. The stylist stripped the colour which then turned orange and put a light ash brown over. The colour came out better then I expected but washed out and went back orange and yellow. She has since tried 4 different colors which are all beautiful to start. One of them was so ashy it was the hair I had always dreamed off. They have all washed out in 2 washes to the orange yellow. It really is disgusting and I don't know which way to turn now.

Mitch wort on January 22, 2020:

Was going for a blonde and came out orange. I want to scratch the idea all together and go back to dark brown. What color dye should I use, and how long should I wait?

wendy on January 21, 2020:

my question is. hair is brown highlighted hair turned light orange should i tone it or use blue shampoo and purple?

Maffew James (author) on December 30, 2019:

Hi Stefany, by Goldwell blue ash you don't mean the A-mix shade do you? If so, don't use that it's just straight blue meant to be added to other shades to intensify ash tones.

As you have dark brown hair, you need to lighten that 3 levels and tone to get to dark blonde. You can do this using a dark ash blonde dye with 40 vol as the developer but it'd be more reliable to pre-lighten with bleach and then tone separately when dealing with dark brown or black hair. Lighten to a golden-orange colour and then tone using dark ash blonde with 20 vol as the developer.

Stefany Parker on December 25, 2019:

Trying to dye a dark blonde that is already dark brown using a blue ash by goldwell do I need to strip away color? 1level....

Starting with dark brown color

JulieMCR on December 03, 2019:

I've been reading these posts and all I can say is...wow. There is a reason hairdressers go to cosmetology school for two years, y'all. It's presumptive to think you can just grab a box of dye off the shelf at Walmart and come out looking like the girl on the front of the box. Otherwise, EVERYBODY would do their own hair and half the salons would shut down. And if you didn't do a strand test first, you have no one to blame but yourself.

That being said, it's not impossible to learn to do it at home. It's going to take HOURS and HOURS of reading however and you're still going to make mistakes. When I first started bleaching at home, I probably spent as much on color corrections as I would have had I just let a professional do it from the beginning. I'm a stubborn DIYer, though, and I kept studying blogs, videos, etc. until I got it right. Again, lightening hair to where it actually looks good is DIFFICULT. That's why salons charge a lot...they spend years of training to learn how to do it right. Unless you're willing to put in the time to study and practice at home, you're just better off leaving it to the professionals.

Maffew James (author) on November 06, 2019:

Hi Kathleen, bit of a late reply to your question here but highlights in general tend to be more of a difficult thing to touch up in these situations.

Unless you can specifically isolate the hair that was highlighted by meticulously sectioning it out again, your only other option is to work with all your hair, which presents its own problems, principally that anything you can do to brighten the highlights is going to cause a bit of lightening to your base colour and thus make that your hair look warmer overall.

I can say that one possible easy fix is to apply a semi or demi permanent medium ash blonde to take warmth out of the blonde highlights as it's possible part of the apparent darkening is due to it becoming warmer-warm tones often make the hair 'look' darker vs cool tones in a sense.

The semi or demi products will have either no, or minimal affect on your base colour respectively because the dark brown is too dark to be affected by the ash tone present. A permanent dye can also be used to tone, though there's more risk that this will produce a slight lightening to the dark brown hair at the same time, bringing out some warmth and changing the overall look of the hair unfortunately. Ideally, the less permanent, the easier it is to affect only the lighter highlights, but it will also wash out over time quicker.

Apart from that, if you have the patience to section the old highlights out again you can put either a very mild bleach in foil (5 or 10 vol at most) for 10 - 20 mins to brighten those, then tone with a light ash shade to deal with any yellow tones. You could alternatively, section the highlights out and put a light ash blonde with 20 vol over the highlights and leave for around the same period of time, checking often in case the previously bleached hair is a bit porous and soaks up a lot of colour. This will both lighten and tone the highlights enough to refresh them.

Kathleen on October 25, 2019:

I have dark brown hair. I used to get it "frosted" ( with the cap.). I had my hair bleached with foils. Top sides and halfway down the back. No color was added. Just the bleached hair. It lightened perfectly. I loved it. The after a couple of weeks the the bleached hair start darkening. It is still lighter than my own color but just looks light brown. Not light blonde any more. I started using a claifying shampoo, but it hasn't helped. I want want the light blonde look back. Any suggestions? Thank you... Thanks

Eugenie on September 08, 2019:

My hair is a lively coppery blond ..but I would like to know if I could reduce the yellow with a ash blond hair dye and what would the result be ?

Leah C on August 02, 2019:

To anyone who is brave enough to bleach their hair at home should do a STRAND TEST before doing your entire head. As someone who has had many hair dye disasters, I would 100% recommend doing this. You can find out how your hair is going to look and if it is a disaster, it wont be as noticeable as if you jump right in and dye your entire head. I did this when I attempted to give myself blonde highlights. Like most, the bleach turned my hair a tint of brassy orange. I tried again and left the bleach on for an additional 10 mins and it made such a difference.

Tammy on July 05, 2019:

My hairdresser used colour remover twice and then a bleach wash. She then put a golden copper mixed with a copper on my hair and it is now orange.

The orange hair I am now left with was supposed to be a color correction from black/purplish red color to a nice medium brown with blonde highlights.

How can I possibly fix the orange hair colour I have now and get it to a brown colour. (My hair pulls red and black when it is coloured [which I have told her].

Reem on June 24, 2019:

My hairdresser made a mistake of rinsing my hair with blue+violet dye mixes with shampoo and 20 developer and it transformed my hair from ashy sand blonde hair to orange. How can i fix this with least damage and going back to ash sand blonde?

Claire on June 22, 2019:

I have dark hair with a ombré effect but my hair is a mixture of orange, orangey brown and yellows. My hairdresser has been putting a toner on it but it still stays orange. I have a few greys so she normally does my roots a dark brown every six weeks. How do I get rid of the oranges and yellows please?

Lora Mancusi on June 19, 2019:

I ended up with "strawberry" hair after my hair dresser did a colour correction in an attempt to transition my grays. How do I get an ashy look?

Brandi M Hammond on May 30, 2019:

Is there any way to post a couple pics or a video and get a little advice on whether my next step should be a color remover or a lightener?

Becca on May 12, 2019:

So, I'm confused. I want to tone out orange hair. I understand that as using a toner, but it says to buy an Ash brown DYE and mix it with developer. So, do you make up the whole dye and add developer or just part of the dye and developer. Also are we using DYE here or TONER. I'm really confused?

Beccaboo-231 on April 29, 2019:

I have naturally dark blonde hair, which was dyed an aubern red. In December I had it re-coloured with a Wella red, which turned out purple. Since then I have decided to grow my hair long and grow the colour out. I went to the salon as it was driving me mad, and they were going to lift the red twice, and then bleach it - at the cost of £265 I didn't have it done. Two days ago I used a home hair removal kit, which has left my hair an orange/copper colour. I don't really want to go too much darker than my original colour, and I'm not confident enough to use bleach at home. I can use a wig until I get this sorted out. Help!!

Brittany on April 24, 2019:

Does it matter if your put permanent or Demi permanent hair color over the orange?

Kavita Mevada on April 18, 2019:

There are a number of ways to fix orange hair but the basic logic following fixing it is to neutralize the color.

Jennifer on April 16, 2019:

I tried to put highlight ln my hair my hair was a dark brown and when I tried to highlight my hiar it literally turned orenge ant I just wanted to put highlights in it and it turned out as a master I don't want to do I'm in imbarist to go anywhere

Kim on February 24, 2019:

So yesterday i colored my hair a meduim brown and it was to dark so this morning i went and got color oops and now my hair is red at the roots and like a brown at the end need fix asp help

Debrah Kay on August 10, 2018:

My hair is long about mid waist and naturally dark blonde. It costs me a fortune to have it bleached and highlighted with 3 colors. I recently went on my first cruise and LOVED it. My husband said if I can cut corners we can cruise every year. So, I decided to do my own hair. I'm a DIY person. I pay close attention, learn and do it myself. So, I should have done more research. I bought a box color from Walmart thinking I used to do this all the time. Well, my hair turned slightly orange yellowy. It was ugly. The people at Ulta laughed at me, belittled me and made me feel stupid. Well, tell me I can't do something and it motivates me to prove you wrong. After research and trial and error, I learned my hair turned orange/yellow because I tried to go too light. You can only go 1-2 shades at a time. I could go back to a darker color with no guarantee the orange tint would disappear. Most everyone told me to live with it. No way. So, I researched a little more, went to Sally's and the girl there was so sweet. I got the Wella Color Charm Toners T-18 and T-14 with a 20 developer. I mixed all 3 bottles together, put it all in my hair, saturated it and left it on for 15 minutes. I was a little scared because it was turning dark purple, but I left it on. Rinsed it out in the shower and conditioned with the stuff the girl gave me at Sally's. Finally my hair is the pale, ash blonde I was hoping to achieve 3 weeks ago. I was so stressed out yall. I am a singer here in Nashville and my hair is a big part of my charm, (at least I think so). I'm back and beautiful! I learned from my mistakes and now I will be able to do my own hair correctly. Its very liberating. Now I can save $300 every 6 weeks to put toward and to have fun on my next cruise (April 2019). Don't be afraid to do your own hair. My advice is to do alot of research. First, understand that going from a dark blonde or browns to light CAN NOT happen in one bleaching without turning orange. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. So, be prepared to have to do 2. Remember, you can't go more than 1-2 shades lighter without turning orange. Also, know your level first off so if you buy color from Walmart you'll know what shades and levels work with your hair. You need to know if you have warm tones or cool tones. Apparently mine are cool. But my biggest suggestion is don't buy from the drugstore or Walmart. GO TO SALLY'S first. You can avoid 3-4 weeks of stress by just being honest with Sally's girls and letting them know what you want. I took my phone and showed her a photo on pinterest and said, "This is what I want to achieve." I should have done that first. Also, if you have very dark hair or black hair, don't even try it. It takes a pro several sessions to get your hair to blonde. So, I totally recommend the Wella Toners and advice from the Sally girls. Hope this helps! I am happy with my hair and feeling confident and beautiful once again!

Domonique on July 17, 2018:

Just wondering cani use grey dye on orange hair from high lightening

RadiumGrrl on May 14, 2018:

People panic too easily; there's (nearly) always a way to fix it! After bleaching & dying hair many many years you learn not to fear 'disasters'! Lol *These are great tips for toning, which do work. I keep a lilac dye handy for reigning in orange, it's amazing how just applying the a toner makes it look lighter, or at least blonder. Weirdly, I've found that altho' immediately after bleaching there's an orange hue, it usually goes away on it's own within a few days; not sure how..!

Zoe on March 17, 2018:

in august of 2017, i had dyed the bottom half (almost my whole head except for the top) red and i instantly hated it. But i let it fade until march when i decided to pick up my natural color hair dye from sally's and dye the whole head...it turned out orange. so 3 days later i went to the salon to fix it and it turned out pretty much black. it's been a little over two weeks since then and now i feel like it's fading back into that orange color. Is it just in my head because i'm parinoid the orange will come back? or is this possible?

Jack on March 14, 2018:

Had blonde and copper highlights put in at hairdressers yesterday and it looks orange can I put a wash in wash out colour on to tone it down a bit

Barb on March 10, 2018:

I bleached my brown hair and now I have a little orange highlights,can I bleach it again or dye ash blonde

Elle on March 05, 2018:

Good advice.

Claudia. on February 25, 2018:

Yes. I want change color hair

Orange bland

Sam on February 22, 2018:

I always wanted blonde hair and I thought you can just dye it blonde. My hair was a dark purple because I love dyeing my hair different colors and trying new looks. I went to the drugstore and bought a blonde color. Literally nothing happened, so I went back to the drugstore and the specialist told me I needed to bleached my hair so I did. My mom messed up and she needed to buy a second bleach bottle. That made my hair even wrost it turned orange. So I dyed it one last time. That didn't help my hair was orange and dark purple. I kept it like that for around the month but I got sick of tired of getting called Carrot and Garflied. I'm in high school and having orange mixed with purple hair isn't the best thing. Back to the story I went to the hair salon and they said the best thing to do is do streaks and just keep lighting my hair. It didn't even work my hair is now orange, blonde, white it's looks like grey it's so really bad. My hair is so long but now it's pretty much dead. So I decided I'm going to dye it one more time and go back to my natural brown hair and get a fresh haircut. So if you decide to bleach your hair just know it won't be blonde right away. It will be orange and you'll have to keep bleaching it until it gets blonde. Just stay with your dark hair color and love it because if I knew it would be this hard to get blonde hair. I would just stay a brunette and now I want my brown hair back more then ever. So please don't bleach your hair. If you do just get highlights and keep lighting you hair. It will take time but look on the bright side your hair won't be like mine

michelle on February 21, 2018:

I have dark brown hair. I bought a drugstore golden brown and in the sun its orange. what do I do.

Adrienne Beck on February 07, 2018:

Color mishap Queen here! I wanna cry right now.... I studied and read for 2 days on what to do with my orange hair so of course it says I have to bleach it so today I have proceeded to bleach it to the orange, yellow that I needed to be , did that rinse washed twice then I added Wella toner the lightest Ash blonde color toner I forget the number maybe t18 but maybe my developer wasn't strong enough it was only a 15 because of the bleaching I just done....after all that process still Orange mainly on roots ,did the whole process all over again the bleaching and toner and I'm still Orange and don't know what to do, tone with a 30 volume tomorrow, I can't go out looking like this and starting a new job Monday please help thank you!

Lori on January 22, 2018:

Did argh! Get an answer because this is exactly what happened to me

argh! on December 26, 2017:

I have bleached my hair many times in the past.

Last time I did was about 2 years ago, and I noticed it was much more difficult to get the orange out, though my hair is baby fine and naturally a level 6.5 or so, with natural highlights in the summer that become almost white.

After 2 years of letting my hair go natural, I decided to bleach again. Started at about a level 6 or 6.5, with natural highlights around level 9. What happened makes no sense.

Using a 20 developer and quick blue bleach, the crown of my hair turned almost white, the back of my head bright yellow, and some parts on the top/front a very pale orange. So I actually bleached AGAIN and though the roots and many parts of my hair turned a very pale yellow, the middle shaft and back of my head became a darker orange! It doesn't make sense, as the overall lightness is about a level 9, so there shouldn't be ANY orange left at this stage. What could be making this happen??

The orange is like a strawberry blond, very pale, but definitely orange. Before I burn off all my hair with another bleaching, does anyone have advice/ ideas about what would be causing this orange? And why it would've worsened after a second bleaching??

Abbey on December 15, 2017:

i want to die :)

Audrey on December 06, 2017:

I have short hair and have highlighted my natural hair color (between level 6 and 7) with bleach. I also used a Hi-Lift Natural Blonde for lowlights. I loved the outcome, however, there was a slight brassy tone. So, I toned using t11 and my entire head, even my natural turned to a light honey strawberry blonde - I do not like this at all! I need help and want to shadow my roots and add highlights back in. Would the Wella 7AA/632 be acceptable to shadow with and then add additional highlights using a blue-violet bleach?

Siena on November 16, 2017:

After about 4 years of boxed black dye on naturally ash blonde hair and 6 months of letting the roots grow out i decide to jump into bleaching.. an hour later and i now have yellow roots with bright orange hair! its fantastic! so i read up on what others have done and found that Feria blonde dyes are great for lightening so i buy 2 boxes and get to work. "Lightens up to 7 shades" my ass. My hair is now lemon yellow at the roots and tangerine orange throughout the length. I love my life!!!! :) Needless to say i called off work.

Rhoda Bennett on September 21, 2017:

I have an auburn color hair, I want blond high lights, every time it's been coloured professionally my hair turns orange.

What can I do , this is costing me lots of money, or is this possible

Darin on September 18, 2017:

I applied 7.1 loreal to my level 6,7 virgin hair with some highlight and it turned orange and I don't understand why ??

Darlene on August 25, 2017:

I dyed my hair light blonde the lady at sally"s told me to use purple shampoo now I have patches of light color purple in my hair. What should I do or why did this happen?

Adriana Ruiz on August 23, 2017:

I dye my hair with revlon plattium and I started to panic when I saw it turn orange. So I wash my

Maheen on August 19, 2017:

I've been to this salon who have shitty workers , they've no talent at all . The people coming there don't have an idea about hair dyes and diff Styles so the workers put what so ever colour on their hair. I asked for a brown Black Balayage and ended up with tiny but many orange streaks all over my hair c:

I literally cried for an hour and for the money I spent there . Definitely won't be going again -.-

Thank you for your help ❤️

Christy Wood on August 17, 2017:

I used rise blond and it fixed the orange it's beautiful

Brandie haggard on August 06, 2017:

My hair is black and cherry red. How do I get it almost white?

Belle on August 03, 2017:

Ooof. I totally forgot to tell you the most important thing. I just wrote to you about the henna hair and 4 and 5 level dyes. My hair is about 3/4 white. So most of the roots are white. That was probably relevant to mention!

Belle on August 03, 2017:

I have long hair (mid-back) that I had henna and indigo in it. I did not want to use those anymore. I get sick feeling when they are on my scalp and I was tired of fighting the orange plus the inconvenience. So I decided to switch to conventional dye. I was afraid of trying to lift the henna plus my hair is frizzy to begin with so I decided to just go dark. My natural color is somewhere around a 4 or a 5 anyway.

I used a 4 ash from a salon brand that I managed to get my hands on. I like the result. I want your advice on maintaining it. I have done the roots a couple times with the same 4. Now I am thinking about mixing 4 and 5 together to do the roots from now on. If I do that for three months or so, could I then start doing the roots with just the 5 and have it not look weird?

I am wondering if by then the color might have faded enough from the rest that I could do an all over gloss with the 5 and maybe it would all blend. I have dry, thick hair so I usually wash it only twice a week. I don't know how long it takes generally for a salon dye to fade. Should I stick to using a mix of 4 and 5 for at least a year?

I am trying to avoid doing any lifting of color because of its frizzy curly texture but I want the option to maybe go a shade lighter someday. Do you have any advice for me?

Renee on July 26, 2017:

Hi. My son had beautiful dark brown hair.. he wanted to bleach it (?) i don't know why but i said ok.. my sister in law is a hairdresser, or was, and she did it. I guess it came out with a lot of orange so She toned it after and it was a whitish color with a hint of orange. It's been a week now and it's starting to turn more orange. What can i do to help get the orange out without damaging his hair with more bleach?

Drb on July 17, 2017:

Hi I lightened my dark brown hair then put a red on and it's gone a orangey colour what can I do to make it red

annie on July 08, 2017:

By mistake I got my hair golden how can I get rid of it

Mary on July 07, 2017:

After using red color for a year and black for the last 2 times I have decided that I want to go blonde. Let my hair grow and used efasol (color remover) used bleach twice after color remover and looks orange between level 7/8 how can I shoot the orange? Would a natural or neutral color help?

Hayley Calder on July 07, 2017:

the light yellow then used same toner twice with 30 developer but it hasn't worked this time what do I do?

Prettyclosebutnotenough on June 28, 2017:

So i had dark red hair, I used Wal-Mart extra strength color oops to remove deep red to light brassy (nearly orange) Brown. Waited two days and bleached my hair for fifteen minutes (just the middle to ends) before doing a soap cap on the roots. I wanted my roots to come out a slight but darker than my ends. The desired look was achieved except none of it is light enough for my ion 9a-9.1 color and there's little bit two mich brassy color for my taste . Do i full on bleach it again ? Would a bleach wash lighten it enough ? Can i do it without a toner ? All ive got is light ashy blonde because i wanted a mediumish ashy blonde .

VGar on June 28, 2017:

My hairs original color is Black. As I've gotten older it turned to a mostly grey some black

I thought I would dye it myself ( wrong move) and it turned out too black. I planned for that needing a cut anyway so off to the Salon I went.

After getting it cut, the stylist tried everything. I'm not sure of the procedures but I know it involved at some point Peroxcide and bleach in varying attempts. After about 4 1/2 hours and at least 7 shampoos ( I stopped counting) , my hair is a nice reddish Golden Orange color. Nice if I was going for the ginger look. BUT seeing how I was looking for salt and Pepper. It is an enormous departure.

It being Summer there is a lot of things on my list of events I want to attend. Not looking forward to sitting in someone's chair for another 4 hours is there anything I can do home to rectify this situation?...... Victor..

Sheela on June 27, 2017:

Hey. My natural hair is jet black and I chose a very very dark reddish-brown.

Although almost immediately it turned light brown and is now turning orange. It hasn't even been a week and I cannot go back to the same salon as I got this done o vacation. I'm regretting this already and am desperate to find a way to fix this. Please advice.

Josie on June 26, 2017:

Had my hair professionally color and highlighted. I asked for thin caramel color highlights but ended up with very thick orange highlights. The base color is like a medium brown. I hate my hair and don't trust my hairstylist to correct it.

I want to do it myself using a Nice and Easy ash color to be applied all over my hair. What would be the best ash color to use to correct the orange, a light ash brown or a medium ash blond?

Ryn on June 18, 2017:

Good to know us gingers are hideous and shouldn't even leave the house.

Tina on June 14, 2017:

Hi! I hope you still see this comment over a year lol. So my natural hair is medium brown and I've was dying it 6RV for a few months.

I recently did 2 bleach baths and it left most of my hair orange and some yellow.

I tried used Ion 9NA demi permanent color with a 10 volume and it was still orange and yellow.

Then I used Wella T28 toner with a 20 volume developer. The yellow parts turned ashy blonde, but the orange remains persistent.

I am not sure what to do now, my hair is a little dry, but not so bad. I bought purple shampoo as well and I don't see a difference yet.

I was thinking about using a darker color maybe a level 7 or 6 Ash tone, but I would like to have dark strawberry blonde hair that is less coppery.

Carina on June 10, 2017:

Hi i hope you can help me my english is not the best but in germany everyone says i do not get an ashtone.I had dark ash blond hair the hairdresser make me red brown I was totally dissatisfied and went after a few months to a hairdresser who has brightened My hairline was grown up to my eyebrows then were the hair orange yellow he said that he make me a ash brown on my hairs but I did not believe that because my hairline was brown orange now my hair is light brown with dark orange (caramel) but in the sun orange I really dont like this and I do not know what to do I ask for an answer thank you

Carina on June 10, 2017:

Ana on June 08, 2017:

I did a 6:52 with 9% and came out quite ginger can i cancel out the ginger using 7.1 permant and 6% with out it going to flat?

Nisj on June 07, 2017:

Hi Maffew,

My hair has turned a dark orange. Not sure if I should use dark ash blonde or light ash brown. I do want a nice light ash brown. Which one of the two can give me a more ashier look? Thanks for your help!

MG on June 06, 2017:

Hello, I recently stopped the salon and started coloring my own hair. I have a light brownish color naturally. I had highlights done professionally. They were grown out to about my ear. I did an all over color of natural blonde which resulted in very red/orange brassy tone (prominent at the crown) I then put a dark ash blonde over that. It helped some, but still seeing way more orange red tones than I care too. I am trying to achieve a cool brown. I loved the highlights but don't want the upkeep or damage anymore. Warm colors look terrible with my skin tone. I was going to try a light brown next but would like some advice before. Thank you for your time.

Lis on June 03, 2017:

Hi,

Question... My hair was bleached blonde and always toned, but then I decided to be a hair model. Unfortunately, the girl decided to dye me a light Orange blonde. It's almost washed out but I have a stain lingering - a faint orange tint. Do you think I can tone out thr orange using an ashy toner or do you think I need to bleach again? I'm really trying to avoid bleaching again.

Thanks!

Jannn on May 27, 2017:

I died my hair red and I didn't like it so I died it darker and it just won't stay, it always returns to a orange color, help please. I died darker twice btw just doesn't stay

Sharron Garn on May 16, 2017:

So far I've gone from dark brownrl, to one with Orange hair....and the other Fraud to stsrt.

Help on May 14, 2017:

I have naturally dark brown hair. Last month I used a burgundy hair dye. I wanted to remove it and yesterday used the Prismalytes blue to remove the color. I then tried to dye it brown but ended up with a coppery orange color... please help me get it back to a light brown which I can eventually turn blonde.

Amy on May 12, 2017:

What a great article! So clear! Thanks the mystery out of blonde! Thank you!

Amber Mccane on May 10, 2017:

My hair is a cooler red and I want a strawberry blonde how can I get the right color

Tifany on May 08, 2017:

Hi! Not sure if you answer on here any more, but I got salon highlights that were bleached twice, which left them a bright gold/yellow. I originally wanted a caramel or even a lighter brown since my hair is already dark like a level 3. Well, they tried to tone it and it kept coming out a red orange. It's now a copper/orange/red. I tried to use a 7A in ion and a 5N in ion because I still wanted the highlights just to get rid of the red/orange! I used 2 parts 7a and 1 part 5n with a 20 developer, still left with the same damn color. I have pictures if that'll help. Any and all suggestions are welcome! I still want my highlights, but wary to go back to the salon!

Michelle gibb on May 07, 2017:

Hi just a question I have used a dye to go blonde and its left the ends of my hair orange I am wanting to put a golden brown through it will it be ok

Yolanda A on May 04, 2017:

Hello, My hair is normal a brown with golden highlights, I tried to go blonde and now my hair is orange with blonde tips. I want to achieve a caramel look. Should I use a dark color over it?

Dian on May 04, 2017:

Hi, I guess I have asked this question somewhere else. But after reading this article, I think I was supposed to ask here. My question is short and quick: If reaching orange stage, what level of permanent dye can I use to tone the orange out? Will ash level 9 be strong enough?(Demi permanent isn't commonly sold in my country so that's why I opt for permanent color).

Thanks

Hayley on May 03, 2017:

My hair is orange I want lighter blonde how can I achieve this please any advise given to me. Would be much appreciated

Upset on May 03, 2017:

I think what you said about orange hair is horrible. Orange hair is beautiful and you shouldn't make fun of it. I it came out orange when you didn't want it to there is no reason to call orange hair orangutan.

Mirz on April 27, 2017:

Finally figured how to write a comment for you MAffew.

Ok so I have white hair and I was dying my hair with inoa 6(natural) and a 6. Something warm gold and a bit of red undertone. It was a beautiful colour. I lightened it for summer and went with an 8 and 8.31. I like a golden glow but I was left with a lighter orange hair. I don't mind it as much as the baby hair I have that is now a shiny bright orange. Horrible! How can I fix that? I have to dye my roots again (white is out) I was thinking of 8 and 8.1 (inoa).

Pls help!

Hopefully you can help! on April 21, 2017:

Hi there!

I recently got highlights put in my hair. My natural color is a dark brown. The first bleach job didn't work very well, it wasn't consistent. The second time she did it, it lifted to a bright gold/yellow, but she toned it with a gold (I think) which turned it orange. I asked her to add some ash, that didn't happen obviously, (that's why I'm on here asking for your help!) I tried to tone it with blue shampoo, that didn't work. I originally asked for a light golden brown, not too drastic from my natural color. I understand that my hair will lift red/orange tones. Well I tried a gloss in light ash brown and that helped some, but I don't want to cover them up. It's lightened up some since, but now I'm left with a coppery color and other ones are a sort of gold. I like the gold, just not the copper! They're not all over highlights either which is helpful. Is there a way to actually just "fix" the copper, but keep the golden color? I've been researching and looking everywhere!

Thanks for your help!

selena on April 13, 2017:

Hi. I got my roots done. The guy added new highlights and it was yellow, i didn't like it. So i dyed it all again a light brown but it just turned it orangy. Howcan i tone down the orange in my roots but not turn my more blonde highlighted hair on the bottoms green. i want to dye it again a brown to get rid of the orange but i dont want my highlights to turn green. Any suggestions?

Joann on April 11, 2017:

This is a great read! So I am trying to go a lighter shade after years of continuous dark brown & black dye due to the the overwhelming growth of gray hair at my front hairline.

My first step was to remove the dark color from my hair slowly as to have the least amount of damage because i have thin fine hair. I decided on a bleach bath, and the first time i did it, the color went from black/brown to a light brown with a hint of red in it. I used the Prism Lites Blue

So I waited a week, and did another bleach bath. This time I used the Prism Lites Violet. My hair is now the color of a shiny new penny, very copper red/orangey.

My goal is to go maybe a [Perfect 10/Shade 7-Dark Blonde], or [Age Defy Shade: 8G, Medium Golden Blonde], So at this point, I dont know if i should stop, or do one more bleach bath in about a week or two.

My regimen after doing the bath has been in repair mode with alot of conditioner and coconut oil. Thank goodness my hair is naturally oily after two days without washing, but im noticing my hair is thinning out more.

I have not put no heat to it, and let it dry naturally. My hair is really funky now, with orange/copper hair, blond roots on my natural black hair, and at least 2 inches of gray growth on my hairline....

Any advice on how to correct it and continue to bleach it again. Any comments will be appreciated :)

still orange after ash dye on March 30, 2017:

hi, my hair was on a level 8. I toned it with strawberry toner (Schwarzkoph toner) and there I made the mistake because yuo should only use toners on yellow hair I know. My hair turned orange gold, I panicked and bought an ash dye 8.1 L'Oreal Excellence which is an light ash blond colour. I mixed it with 20 vol and left it for 10 min. But my hair is still orange. Could it be because I didn't let it process for the whole 45 min? How can I fix this now considering I already have an ash dye processed in it? Should I re-dye with ash blonde color? Or would a blue toner help on orange tinted hair? Thanks to let me know.

Janina on March 11, 2017:

Question, I bleached my hair and it turned to orange color so what I did I bought t18 to remove the orange . But then now it's just too golden yellow. What dye should I use to tone it to a Barbie like blonde.. Thanks.

Lupita Andrade on March 09, 2017:

I decided I'd go from black to a really light brown , needed a change in my life lol

So I started off with the color oops by removing any black I had from when I had color boxed it 9 months ago. I then bleached my hair 2x's . Yes I let it rest between those 2x's . I was left with an orange yellow hair . The lady at Sally's recommended I get it to the brightest orange I could possibly get it to so I did. After I used Wella T15 pale beige blonde mixed it with Vol10 to tone , my roots remained orange , my hair looked like it was getting the brown I wanted UNTIL I blow dried it and my hair is now Dark/Light Orange all over its a complete mess ! What should I do ?

emma on March 08, 2017:

hi i have a question i bleached my hair on monday it came out a bleautiful blonde color but i wanted it a bit darker so i added a darker blonde color to it my hair turned out to be like a shiny mustad type of color and yesterday i tried to fix it but its just yellow now i only have the blue bleach not violet would that work to fix it? if so how long would you recomend i leave it in?

Sally on March 03, 2017:

Well I have used the Redken 7ncr with 6rr abut 1/2 of the 6rr to 1 of the 7ncr, but my is very dark. I think I just might need to keep in the 7 nor alone, I used a 30 v. I want to remove this color because it's very dark, I might mention that I am over 50 per cent gray. What type of stripper would you recommend

Nisma on February 19, 2017:

(im.Naturally a brunette with very dark brown hair) My hair is a bright orange/yellow and I've bleached it twice already. I don't wanna repeat it anymore because my hair is already very dry. What dye should I use in order to get rid of it? Is dark purple okay

Lee on February 12, 2017:

I am half Chinese and half Caucasian. My natural color is darkest brown that looks black. I have too many varied colors in my hair and need something that is easy to maintain and that the grays don't show as much. How do I get my hair to a dark brown. I just used color oops. First issue is what to use for the parts of hair that are brownish orange to get the orange out and what developer and how long for hair that may be porous due to the color oops. The next issue is my underneath hair looks black and has grays.What do I use? Third issue is grays at the top through the hairline in the brownish orange hair. How can I blend this all, get rid of gray and get rid of orange. I have pics but don't know how to attach on this phone. Thanks for your help.

Sunday on January 29, 2017:

I got impatient and tried 6AA lowlights and chi blondest blonde highlights and it didn't do much except break up the solid color ginger color and made the orange more gold. I also toned it with T14. Any suggestions? Really want light ash with a dark ash. And have way too much dark so I need a formula for highlights that will cause the least amount of breakage. The highlift chi that I use leaves my hair with not much breakage but it doesn't lift that much with a 20 and I have just a lot of colors of brass or gold going on and ginger/orange or if I use a dark rinse more auburn orange/red gold. And when I highlighted I only did it through the 1st 3 inches. Help. And the provana probably won't cover the gold parts either, and now I have some grey coming through the roots. I liked the idea of Provana because it seems so easy. Anything like it that would cover or tone down all of the mess? It looks ash in some lights but in the sun it's a total disaster. Help. And thank you again.

Sunday on January 28, 2017:

Hi. You're really good! And so generous to give all of your knowledge. You are a Hair Angel. I've read all of your advice and wondering if you could help. I normally foil my own highlights using chi blondest blonde with 30. I started using 20 and it wasn't lifting as much so I tried foiling in a bleach and 7NA and I got orange ginger about 3 inches worth with really hot roots after trying to cover it with 6AA and then I toned it to death which didn't do much. I've rested it for 1 1/2 mo. using fanciful midnight on my roots blending about 3 inches down to cover daily and rest and was thinking of either trying to highlight again with the chi 20 and maybe do it in steps highlighting and then doing it again 2 weeks later and low lighting with 6AA and 10 again in between or trying pravana silver to counter the red orange since it's blue green based but it may not have any effect on the dark but seems so easy and I saw a woman whose hair I loved greyish silvery with dark highlights and bluish silver very ashy tones in the highlights. My natural hair is a 5 and I have many areas of my hair in front that are very blonde 9 and 10. My hair is very fine and very porous. I want Ash, the dark, dark ash and the light light ash level 10. I also have a little grey starting to come in scattered in the root and that's why I always have highlights so it's not that noticeable blended with my natural color and less maintenance. What do you suggest? Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Linda on January 22, 2017:

I coloured my hair blonde and it has turned out yellow underneath and orange mid lenths and ends what can I use to tone it down to a natural blonde

Dana on January 15, 2017:

My daughters hair color i about a six or seven level . It's been highlighted and is turning that brassy yellow , how would you reccomend getting it back to it's more natural color? I was going to tone it with a Wella T15. I have been thinking that it's not the right color for her could you give any other suggestions on how to get her hair back to its natural light brown blonde color

Maybe mix two toners?

Johnna Leigh Watson on January 14, 2017:

Hello my sweet! I'm rocking hot pink over bleached platinum and though I love love loooove the shade I have decided to go back to blonde. However my hair has decided it loves the pink more than I and will not let go of the slowly fading pink hue. I bought a brand name boxed bleach that rhymes with hysTERIA and only the spots where the pink was remain unbleached...How,if its even possible,can I counter the pink a bit by toning rather than another harsh bleach? Trying baking soda paste now and so far too subtle is the degree of fading. Will update. In the meantime would I use a green base or even an actual green dye (i have one n only emerald here) or am I barking up the wrong "shade" tree? Hurry doll...hair waits for no one..or doesn't it? Adieu and I will be eagerly awaiting your answer in 10000 maniacal characters or less...