12 Tips for Colour Removal and Correction

1. A hair colourremover and a hair colour stripper are very different.  

A colour remover contains a sulphite agentwhich works only on destroying the artificial colour molecule so it can beflushed from the hair, it cannot affect natural pigments present.  A stripper contains a peroxide agent and isdesigned to gently remove both natural and artificial pigments so you canre-colour immediately to a different or lighter permanent shade.

2. Fading unintentionally dark hair colour.

If you haveapplied a colourant and it’s too dark wash it in baby or clarifying shampooseveral times immediately.  Most homehair colours contain an after colour conditioner which is designed to help thecolour molecules settle inside the hair. If you are not sure if you are happy with the colour, washing it willremove any barriers (from the conditioner) and unsettle the new permanentcolour.

3. Removing colour sooner rather than later.

If a colour istoo dark, try to remove it immediately or within 48 hours.  The fresher an artificial colour the quickerit will remove from the hair (especially if you have already washed andclarified it several times with baby or clarifying shampoo).  New unwanted darker hair colourants onlyrequire a hair colour remover, they shouldn’t need a hair colour stripper. 

4. Fixing hair colour that is too light.

If a colour hascome out too light (for your liking) try to do the opposite as to darkercolours and wait at least 48 hours before attempting to re-colour, ideallywaiting one week.  Lightened hair canlook brighter when first coloured and will often calm done over the followingdays, so judgement should be reserved before attempting to go darker.

5. Balancing warm tones in hair colour.

If a shade hascome out too warm, golden, coppery or gingery work out if you have applied acolourant which contains (gold, copper or red) as one of its tones or whetheryour hair has lightened in the colouring process and ‘kicked up’ your naturalwarmth.  If you have applied a neutral orash based colourant and are seeing warmth it’s because your own shade was toodark for the colourant applied and possibly needed pre-lightening or strippingfirst.

6. Use colour remover to remove unwanted tones.

If you haveestablished a shade applied and it has caused your hair to go warm, golden, copper orred due to the secondary tones featured in the product applying a hair colourremover should rectify this issue.

7. Options for covering unwanted shades.

If you haveestablished a shade applied has caused your hair to go warm, golden, copper orred due to the lightening of your natural shade you need to make a choice as towhether you want to strip the hair and apply the desired shade again (onto alighter base) or whether you wish to go to a slightly darker shade which wouldcover the unwanted warmth.

8. Do not apply aperoxide based colourant immediately after using a hair colour remover

Thechemistry of colour removal and peroxide contradicts - so you need to leave thehair ideally 1 week (to normalise) before attempting to apply a peroxide basedcolourant.  You can (however) use nonperoxide temporary colourants and toners after using a hair colour remover.

9. Stripper creates a blank canvas for recolouring.

Hair that hasbeen stripped has seen both natural and artificial colour pigment removed fromthe hair, therefore you should always have your selected subsequent colourantshade at hand to achieve your desired result after the stripping process.

10. Retaining a good base shade.

The key to asuccessful hair colour is mostly achieving a good base shade.  If you are looking to go blonde, obtaining adark blonde base shade can prove a good canvas for highlights.  If you prefer darker (brunette hair) alwaysensure you apply colourants only to your re-growth and do not apply throughoutthe hair.  This will prevent buildup.  Using toners and colour enhancingshampoos will also retain your shade and do not attempt to use severalpermanent colourant processes on your hair within at least a one monthperiod.  Very frequent exposure toperoxides, ammonia and PPD’s can cause the hair to become very porous anddamaged.  Once hair becomes damaged it isthen difficult to achieve a good colourant result as the shade could grabinitially and appear too dark (or patchy) and then fade fast over subsequentwashes. 

11. Fashion colours can be difficult to remove.

Be aware thatfashion colours such as pink, blue and purple (and often bright red) do notwork on oxidation (peroxide) technology to evoke a long term result; insteadthey are a ‘direct dye’ which stains the hair. If the hair is bleached these direct dye molecules can stain the hairand make the shade impossible to remove. A hair colour remover is not designed to remove direct (fashion)dyes.  A stripper may have more successbut always give a strand test first.

12. Clarifying hair to improve results. 

Prior to anyhair colour removal, stripping or correction clarify the hair fully.  Even if you have just conditioned the hair,there may be a barrier on the surface which will prevent removal, stripping orcorrection working effectively.  If yousee absolutely no hair colour change from a removal or a stripping treatment theremay be a chance your hair has silicone damage. Here the hair has been encased in a silicone which quite often has beenmoulded to the hair by heat.  In theseinstances follow the blog advice for ‘Hair Clarifying’.  

The Problems with Removing Black Hair Dye

Why is Black Hair Colour Difficult to Remove?

Whether by design or intention black hair can often prove to be a bugbear many people get stuck with when using home colourants and can prove very difficult to remove.

The creation of artificial black hair is achieved by a total saturation of pigment.  Basically, the hair is quite literally stuffed with a much higher ratio of artificial colour molecules than usual.   Remember, with an artificial colourant the lighter the shade the less base pigment present in the product.  With black and darkest brown colourants the shade is abundant in a very high level of artificial pigment molecules.  With black shades these can also include the pure black molecules (which are very large) and blue.

Black Hair Colour Due to Colour Build Up

A black hair colour can also be found in colour build-up of brunette shades.  This happens when the whole hair is continually subjected to artificial colour applications, rather than just the re-growth areas.  With each application, more and more pigments are introduced into the hair until it becomes so full it can literally take no more colour.  At this point the hair will appear black – which indicates complete colour saturation. 

The Problems of Removing Black Hair Dye

Even using a hair colour remover, black shades can be notoriously difficult to remove in one go, simply because the level of pigment in the hair is high and the remover has to work extra hard to extradite all of it.  Quite often, the colour remover will become inactive whilst it is mid-way through the removal and a second or even third application is required.

Removing only one application of a pure black colourant from the hair can be easier than people think, simply because the colour molecules have entered the hair at the same time.  The big issue is removal of colour build up.  Here the colour molecules can be sitting within the hair in layers and are of varying ages, therefore it’s quite common for a colour removal application to be required for each of the colour layers the hair has been subjected to during its lifespan. 

Top Tips on Removing Black Hair Dye

Work with Clarified Hair

Always clarify black hair several times before attempting to remove to make sure any barriers are shifted from the hair.  These barriers can quite often prevent a colour removal from working at all. To clarify hair you need to use silicone free products, something like a baby shampoo works well.

It takes time

On long term black use, don't expect the black shade to be removed in one hit.  Instead, try applying the remover once every couple of weeks to take a layer off at a time.


Black Colourants Contain Peroxide

Remember, with black colourants come peroxide.  Therefore, built up shades could reveal a coppery lightened base that will start toward the root and expose further down with each colour removal application until the ends reverse. 

Temporary Colour Camouflage

Use a product like Clairol Nice and Easy Level 1 (8 Wash) in medium brown to cover revealed copper whilst you are in a period of removal.  The Level 1 Nice and Easy has no peroxide or ammonia and will create a shade which will fade with washing.  Therefore, you can top it up in between colour removals and until your permanent black shade has been completely reversed.

Stripping black hair is ineffective for revealing a very light base.Simply because the pigment is so abundant the stripper has to work much harder.  It will quite often strip to a rusty brown shade.  However, if you just want to go to a deeper brown shade, you can strip the black and re-colour immediately with a 4.0 or 5.0 (medium and light brown) to achieve a rich true brown.

Silicone Damage will Cause Removal Problems

Some hair colourants use high amounts of silicone and if you use heat or irons on the hair this silicone can melt and cause the hair colour to become permanently trapped.  Silicone damaged hair will have a slightly synthetic appearance and the black does not shift with a remover, stripper or bleach. You will need to reverse this damage before any subsequent treatments can take full effect. I'll write a full post about silicone damage soon.