When done correctly, coloring hair at home can save you money. But it can also lead to undesirable results, such as a yellow cast. We’ll tell you how you can remove it below.
Even uncolored hair can have a yellow tinge, especially if it is already graying. Stiftung Warentest explains that it often happens when the amount of white in the hair is already quite large. Aggressive oxygen molecules, so-called free radicals, which destroy certain amino acids in the hair, can be responsible for this. Strong sunlight, chlorinated water, nicotine or even hair products with chamomile extract can promote the destruction of amino acids. If you want to avoid yellowing, you should take good care of your hair, protect it from sun and chlorine or dye it if necessary.
However, yellow tint mainly occurs as a side effect when coloring hair. If you use bleach or lightening as a base for the color, yellow tint may occur if you don’t leave the product on long enough and wash it out too soon. It is also possible that the chosen tone is not suitable for your own hair color because, for example, it is too dark for the desired result. Dark or red or coppery hair usually needs to go through several lightening sessions to become platinum or silver blonde. In addition, the unwanted color can occur if your already colored blonde fades because it has not been cared for properly or the hair has been styled too often without heat protection. You can use different methods to remove existing and unwanted yellow tint.
To remove the yellow cast, you should first look at the color wheel: The complementary color to yellow is purple, so this counteracts the undesirable color and neutralizes it. It’s exciting to know: blue helps against an orange cast, and green helps against a red cast. These colors are contained in many products to specifically neutralize color tones. In the case of yellowness, it is silver shampoos, conditioners or treatments. But other resources can also help. We present three of them.
A helpful and popular way to remove unwanted yellow tint is silver shampoo. Some products are particularly intense and can leave your hair purple if left on for too long. It is important to always follow the instructions for use exactly. A popular brand for removing color casts from hair is Fanola. Both silver shampoo, hair mask and other products from the brand are widely recommended and described as very effective. Other recommended brands that help remove yellowness include Kérastase or Shu Uemura. In addition to silver shampoo, they also offer other products that help combat yellowness in the long term.
Important: Silver shampoos can dry out your hair quickly. It is therefore advisable to either use a nourishing conditioner after use, apply a care shampoo to your hair afterwards or use the products from a series, for example silver shampoo plus hair mask or similar, that is tailored to it. A nourishing oil that you can add to your hair as needed is also a good idea. And: You should use shampoo etc. regularly to achieve the best possible results.
If the blonde isn’t the way you wanted it, a toner can also correct the color. White, purple or silver toners are suitable for removing a yellow cast. But ash tones can also help you achieve the desired color. However, tints do not last very long and are usually only temporary solutions to the undesirable hair tone. They cover up the yellow tint and reveal it again when the tint is washed out. In addition to classic toners, there are also foam toners, but they are not as intense.
But it can also help to color your hair again, lighten it or bleach it blonde. Because now the hair is already lighter. To lighten the hair again, you should use gentle products so as not to damage the hair. For example, there are products recommended by Wella, Syoss, L’oreal, and even drugstore brands that are designed to prevent yellowness and cause less damage to the hair when lightening it. Find out about user experiences beforehand or ask friends with a similar hair type for recommendations on dyeing your hair yourself.
Tip: With a Flaconi voucher you can benefit from discounts on your purchase.
Sometimes home remedies are also recommended for removing yellowness. However, you should be careful here, as they can also damage the hair and, like the products mentioned, were not developed for this purpose and packaging etc. therefore contain no information about such use. For example, baking soda, lemon juice or Aspirin Plus C are often recommended. According to online instructions, they are mixed with water into the shampoo or, in the case of lemon juice, used pure. But there is no solid evidence on either the tolerability or the effect of these home remedies. If you want to try some of this out, it is advisable not to use too much in order to test the effect and to take good care of your hair afterwards.
Sources: Wella / Stiftung Warentest
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