By looking at color theory and choosing the opposite color of your hair in the color wheel, such as purple or blue shades, you can neutralize the yellow and orange. This method gives the impression of cooler tones without affecting the pigments in a permanent way.
Vinegar Rinse: Mix equal parts of white vinegar and water, apply it to the hair, leave it for a few minutes, and rinse. This can help tone down brassiness. Chamomile Tea Rinse: Brew strong chamomile tea, let it cool, and use it as a rinse after shampooing. It can brighten blonde hair.
Blue! Purple cancels out yellow, blue cancels out orange!
Red tones work great over yellow or darker hair in my experience. I also had pink hair that wasn't bleached very light, it faded to a coral color, so that would probably be a good bet as well. Just keep in mind that pastels need very light hair to work, so darker color is better.
If you are looking to tone down we would suggest you use blue based ash blonde colors. Blue based colors and toners are good at killing yellow-orange and will tone down hair very well. Use Ugly Duckling's blue based ash blonde colors (anything ending in "1b").
An easier way to fix yellow and orange tones is to use products made for home use. This type of product often contains purple or blue pigments to neutralize brassy tones.
When deciding how to tone yellow hair to ash, try using a violet shampoo first. As purple is the opposite of yellow on the colour spectrum, the shampoo's purple pigment draws out the yellow brassiness from your blonde, neutralises those unwanted tones, and makes your colour look cooler, healthier and more vibrant.
For warmer undertones (think hints of yellow or orange), your ideal hair color should give your skin a healthy, natural-looking flush. Go for hair colors that are cool, ashy, or have reddish tones, like honey or strawberry blonde hair, golden copper, cool beige brunette, and rich golden brown.
Sherwin-Williams Charcoal Blue SW 2739
To punch up the contrast, try painting walls (or a small accent area) in a cooler hue to help balance the space, Wadden suggests. Sherwin-Williams' Charcoal Blue has gray undertones that can cool off yellow undertones in surfaces like oak floors.
If you have light brown or golden blonde hair, there's no need to reach for the bleach: you can achieve an ice blonde hair colour without it. Simply choose a dye like Garnier Nutrisse Natural Light Ash Blonde, Shade 9.13 and you're ready to go!
During the lifting process, a mixture of ammonia and bleach, along with peroxide, is applied to the hair and allowed to process until the existing color is either diluted or removed. Then tones are added back into the now bleached hair in order to give it the desired color.
As a 2nd step, I use L'Oreal Excellance - 9A shade - light Ash Blonde to achieve platinum hair color. Ash cancels the yellow. But make sure to only apply the ash product on the hair that you bleached that are yellow. The ends of your hair are usually much light and will absorb the ash color much quicker than the roots.
PURPLE/VIOLET PRODUCTS
Purple/Violet Shampoos are super popular with blondes, and for good reason. They allow you to stay in control of any yellow tones that might appear without drastically changing your hair colour. Tint Department also stocks Purple/Violet Masks.
In the salon, your stylist can apply a low-ammonia toner formula to your hair after it is lightened. For example, if the goal is a pearly blonde shade, your stylist will use a lightener first, then apply a violet toner to cancel out the yellow tones that are exposed when your hair color is lifted.
One option is to re-bleach the roots to lift them to a lighter level before toning again. You need to get them to that very pale yellow - think the inside of a banana. This will help to ensure that your favourite toner can effectively neutralize any remaining yellow tones and match the rest of your hair perfectly.
The best neutralization of tones is achieved by using the opposite color. Remember the spectrum of colors in the shape of a circle: opposite to yellow is purple. So, for the opposite effect of yellow, use a purple hair tint. If you want to neutralize orange-red and reddish tones, choose a greenish or bluish tint.
For yellow, this opposite color is blue.
Darken: Black, Brown Black kills “brightness” of Yellow/Orange tone while darkening. Brown darkens while retaining Orange tone.
For example, blue neutralizes orange, green balances red, and purple tones down yellow hues. That means, in order to target yellow, you need a touch of violet in your formula.
Use a purple shampoo weekly to help tone your hair.
Purple shampoo adds tiny deposits of color to your hair to counteract yellow and orange shades.
Caramel or golden shades applied on top of yellow can sometimes appear overly warm – but not if you balance the base first. Counteract yellow brassiness with a cool, violet-tinted blonde toner, applied at the backbar then go in with your rich, radiant, sun-kissed blonde shades.
Use an apple cider vinegar toning rinse
Mix everything together and apply after washing and conditioning your hair by pouring the mixture gently over your head. Rinse thoroughly afterwards. You can repeat this process every two weeks to help tone down the brassiness in your hair.
For unwanted yellow tones, purple-hued products are recommended. Orange or brassy tones are best neutralized with blue, while red tones find their match in green.