How to Remove the Yellow From My Hair When I Bleach It

Using a toner will remove yellow and brassy tones from bleached hair.

Bleaching your hair can sometimes leave it brittle, damaged and a weird, unnatural shade of yellow or orange. Using a toner with a blue or purple base found in many beauty supply stores will help to remove those ugly tones, and give new life to the hair. Toners are deposit-only, which means they sit on top of the hair color and give it back a natural tone without lifting any hair color or damaging the hair.

Things You'll Need

• Old towel
• Shampoo
• Wide-tooth comb
• Toner
• Developer
• Gloves
• Plastic applicator bottle
• Deep conditioner

Instructions

1. Wash the hair completely and rinse out so there is no residue or dirt left behind. Do not apply conditioner; that would seal the hair, and the hair's cuticles need to be left open for the toner to take effect. Towel dry the hair and wrap the towel around your shoulders to prevent any staining.

2. Comb the hair smooth with a wide-tooth comb to remove any snarls or tangles. Empty 3 oz. of 20 volume developer into a plastic applicator bottle and pour in 1.5 oz of toner. Shake the bottle well with gloved hands. For longer and thicker hair, two bottles of toner should be used with double the amount of developer.

3. Squeeze the contents of the bottle all over the hair, coating it completely. Mix it in with gloved hands to make sure all of the hair is saturated. Leave this on for 5 to 10 minutes, no longer. After 10 minutes, the hair can begin to absorb the base color in the toner and leave behind a purple or blue tone.

4. Watch the clock and rinse the toner out after a maximum of 10 minutes. Rinse it out completely with warm water and apply a deep conditioner for around five minutes. Use a bit more conditioner on the ends as these are the most fragile after bleaching. Rinse it out and style hair as usual.

Tips & Warnings

• To avoid staining on the skin, apply a light layer of petroleum jelly around the hairline, ears and back of the neck.

References

• Hair Color Info: How To Apply The Blonde Toners