What Color Highlights Will Stop Brassy Tones?

The right highlights should not make your hair look brassy.

Going from being a brunette or redhead to blonde comes with the risk of turning your hair into a brassy mess. Highlighting is generally safer than a full color, but even a professional stylist can do a poor job, creating brassy strands where the blonde highlights should be. Even with the advancement of coloring kits, it's best not to try highlighting at home. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to correct the brassy highlights. Also, increase the chances of your next highlighting job coming out right by following some basic guidelines for lightening brown and red locks.

Things You'll Need

• Blue-based toner
• Violet shampoo
• Blue base color
• 10-volume peroxide developer
• Highlighting brush
• Bowl

Instructions

1. Color your highlights with a product that contains blue pigments. Generally known as toners, these products help correct brassy strands by adding back in the blue pigment missing in your hair. There are yellow, red and blue pigments in hair. Lose the blue due to highlighting with peroxide and you are left with yellow and red, which combines to create orange. Blue is on the opposite side of the color wheel as orange, so it helps eliminate brassiness.

2. Use a violet shampoo. Violet shampoos have the blue pigment your hair is missing. Do not overdo the shampoo, though, or you could over-correct, causing your highlights to become dark lowlights. Ask your stylist how often you should use a violet shampoo, but do not use it more than three times a week.

3. Select a color with a level 9 or 10 blue base color when you next touch-up your highlights at home. Mix the blue base color with a 10-volume peroxide developer. Apply the mixture to your brown or red roots using a highlighting brush and leave for 10 minutes. Color the rest of the highlights, including any brassy areas, and leave for five more minutes, then rinse. Go to the best color expert you can find if this does not work.

4. Avoid spending too much time in the sun, overusing heated appliances and allowing styling products to build up in your hair. These can all contribute to a brassy look.

Tips & Warnings

• Selecting a blonde color that is only one or two shades lighter than your natural color is the most natural way to go. You are much less likely to get a brassy tone this way.

• If you are low on time and money, opt for a half-head or even a quarter-head highlighting job from a salon. You are most likely to achieve the right look by going to a professional. Redheads should especially consider fine blonde highlights as red hair is most likely to turn brassy.

References

• Hairfinder: Brassy Hair Color After Lightening
• Mail Online: How to Get the Right Shade of Blonde
• Beauty Editor: Brassy Hair: You Has It. But Here Are 5 Neat Things That Can Help Restore Your Formerly Blondelicious Locks