How To Avoid Brassy Hair Color

Avoid and Correct Brassy Hair Color – Advice from Salon Piper Glen in Charlotte, NC

We know that you’ll love your hair color when you leave our hair salon in Charlotte, NC, and we want to help you keep it that way. It’s so frustrating to see brassy tones spoiling your beautiful hair color. 

Why does brassiness happen? In this article we’ll discuss why we get brassy hair and what you can do to keep your hair color looking salon fresh. 

For more information, book a free consultation at Salon Piper Glen in Charlotte, NC. Call us 704-542-7386

Why Does Hair Color Go Brassy?

Brassy hair is the term that we use to describe unsightly warm tones that can develop in color treated hair.  All hair has a natural underlying warmth of color, but changing your natural overall shade can allow these yellow, orange and red tones to become more obvious. It can take a few weeks after your hair color service for the tones to creep through and spoil your lovely cool hair color, leaving you hair looking like you need a salon visit ASAP! 

Brassy hair color can become an issue when bleaching or lifting doesn’t get rid of all the underlying pigments in your hair, giving the warm tones an opportunity to show through. For lightened blonde hair, the underlying pigment is yellow and, for lightened brunette and black hair, the underlying pigments are orange to red.

When the brassiness starts peeking through it is your natural hair’s way of saying, “Hey, remember us?” 

The good news is however, there’s plenty you can do to avoid this happening and retain the beautiful color you left the salon with for longer.

Is It Just Blonde Hair That Turns Brassy?

It’s not just blonde hair color that can turn brassy, even brunette hair can develop brassy tones. If your hair is naturally a darker in colour and you go lighter, you will be more susceptible to the problem but blonde hair is also well known for developing an unflattering shade of brassy yellow without the proper care.  

Blonde hair has an additional problem with discolouration as it tends to be more porous.  This means it can easily absorb minerals in water and products which can turn it an unplanned shade (watch out if you are going swimming as chlorine can turn it green!)

What Can I Do To Prevent Brassiness?

• Check your hair care products – Make sure that you are using hair care products that are specifically designed for colored hair.  The wrong shampoo can contain chemicals that will strip your hair color, or coloring that will react with your hair to turn it brassy. At Salon Piper Glen in Charlotte, NC, we recommend Redken’s purple shampoo called Color Extend Blondage Color Depositing Purple Shampoo, which leaves your hair looking fabulous and smelling beautiful!
• Avoid sun damage on your hair – Direct contact with sunlight can fade your hair color and dry out your hair. The UV light speeds up the oxidation of your hair color, leaving brassy tones to shine through. Make sure that you use a UV protection for your hair and wear a hat or headscarf if possible if you will be in the sun for longer periods of time.
• Cut your swim time – Your hair color will not thank you for contact with swimming pool chemicals.  Chlorine is notorious for damaging hair, stripping it of its natural oils and leaving it dry, brittle and frizzy! Blonde hair can also react with the chemicals and turn a funny shade of green! Protect your hair by rinsing with bottled water before your swim and deep conditioning after exposure. You can even get some fashionable swimming caps now!
• Wash your hair less often – Every time you wash your hair, this risks fading your hair color. The minerals and chemicals present in tap water also risk turning your color brassy and drying out your hair. Make dry shampoo your new best friend and skip hair wash day every so often.
• Cool down – We are often told that rinsing our hair in cold water is good for shine and condition. It’s also a great idea for preserving your hair color as cool water closes the cuticles to trap the pigment into your hair. 

Book in For a Toning Service at Salon Piper Glen

If brassiness is an issue for you and you’d like us to remove any unwanted yellow or orange tones, visit our salon in Charlotte, NC, for a Redken toning service. A toning service in our salon will restore brilliance to your hair color and keep it looking fresh between your hair color services. Book your toning service now at Salon Piper Glen in Charlotte, NC, by calling us on 704-542-7386.

Should I Use a Purple Shampoo?

Purple shampoo is a fantastic little product designed to correct hair color in lighter hair at home. The shampoo itself is purple in color, but because it’s designed to neutralise brassy tones and add shine to blonde or grey hair, the results can appear silvery in color which is why the term silver shampoo is sometimes used.

Purple or silver shampoo is ideal to neutralise unwanted brassy tones from blonde hair when used as an “at home toner” two to three times per week. 

Redken’s purple shampoo called Color Extend Blondage Color Depositing Purple Shampoo is ideal to remove brassy tones from your hair.