How to fix Bad Hair Color at Home

So now what? You let your friend, who went to Beauty School 10 years ago, color your hair. She swore she knew what she was doing and the resault...Um..Not Good. Here you can learn REAL expert tips to fix that 'BOX' mess. Discover what you can do and what you can not do to your hair when it comes to color.
Keep in mind that playing with color to often or changing your hue once a week, only leads to 1 thing...a color mess. So if you really did a job on your locks, call a stylist for corrective color, which can be very expensive.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Hair Too Dark- There are several things you can do here, depending on your case. If your hair is slightly darker than you wanted, you can mix baking soda (about 5 Tablespoons) to 2 cups warm water. Shampoo your hair with a clarifying shampoo 2 times, rinse well, and apply this mixture. Comb thru with a wide tooth comb and wrap your hair in a processing cap for 1 hour. Rinse, shampoo, condition and dry to see if this took away the darkness. If not, repeat these steps.
   If your hair was way too dark, do not buy a lighter brown color. This will only deposit more color and make you blacker. Instead try this fix. Follow the steps from above 2 times, condition hair with a protein treatment and dry hair. Purchase at a local beauty supply, powder bleach. Ask the clerk what brand is safe for 'on-scalp' applications. You will also need 10 volume developer, plastic tint bowl and tint brush. Next section your hair into 4 parts. Determine the darkest part of your hair. (usually the ends) Mix the bleach, following the directions and add 1/2 cup water to the mixture. This will dilute the bleach to give you extra time. Start with the darkest sections first, apply to these parts only, checking the color every minute. When you see the color fading lighter, apply the mixture to the middle of the hair and continue to the root. Most of the time, the root will not need to be lightened but if needed, it will lighten FAST. If you are not sure if the color came out, rinse and repeat.

2. HAIR TOO LIGHT- This shouldn't be so hard to fix unless you bleached your hair to almost white. If you just need to add a few shades of color, try this. At a beauty supply store, ask for a demi color. Select a just a few shades darker, staying clear of any ash shades. Neutral is usually the safest way to go. Mix according to the instruction, and section hair into 4 sections. Begin at the root and finish the roots all over before bringing it down the strands. Demi color usually works fast, about 20-25 minutes. If your hair is porous, spray the ends with a leave-in conditioner before you apply the color to the ends.

3. HAIR HAS A GREEN TINT- Not good! If it became green due to chlorine water, try the baking soda mixture first. This usually works. If you are green due to a color, you need to "neutralize" the green. At a beauty supply, buy a demi color in your level with an orange- red or red base. This will counter act the greenish hue. Example: If your hair is medium brown and has a slight green tint, you will pick a medium brown color and the bottle should say Base: Red or Red-Orange. Do not use a neutral or cool base. The base of this color should be warm.

Tips & Warnings

• The law of color stays the same no matter what. Think like you did when you finger painted.
• Over coloring your hair will leave your hair with a "muddy" color that is dull and damaged.
• If you are not sure, then don't take a chance at home.
• There are only 2 color companies in the world. They make the box color look simple, knowing you will most likely mess it up. The average person will attempt 2 times to correct it at home before they call a stylist. So they have a 50/50 chance that you choose their product.
• Color Correction costs a ton! I charge anywhere from $100- 500 for my services. Stylists depend on you trashing the color for us to fix.
• Only buy haircare products from salons. When you buy it in a store, they are NOT the real deal. The packages are usually stolen and filled with other products.
• Sulfates (in haircare products) can turn hair funny colors.
• If your scalp is sore, blistered or bleeding, DO NOT apply any chemicals. You must let it heal first to prevent any further damage.
• NEVER use a "frosing" kit to bleach your entire head. This bleach is made to bleach out strands and will cause severe damamge to skin and hair.
• Remember- once the damage is done...its done. There is no point in having long ugly and damaged hair or holding your hair in your hands because it was over processed. We call this a "chemical haircut"
• GOOD LUCK....and when in doubt, call a stylist!