WHAT IS BRASSY HAIR? Photo Credit: @redken_colorfactory. Brassiness refers to the unwanted warm tones that show up in colored hair. It typically happens in dark hair that gets dyed platinum or blonde, but it can also occur in hair that's been highlighted or in hair that's been lightened to brown.
Brass usually shows up as yellow or orange tones in blonde hair and orange or red tones in brunette hair. Brassy hair is caused by an overabundance of warm pigments in your hair, usually caused by bleaching and the hair coloring process.
To cancel out brassy orange hair, you should use a blue toner or hair dye. In color theory, blue is opposite orange on the color wheel, which means it can neutralize the unwanted brassy tones.
To tone down brassiness in hair, you typically want to use a purple shampoo. Purple shampoo contains purple pigments that help neutralize yellow and brassy tones in blonde, silver, or gray hair.
Hair stylists often tone bleached or blonde hair to neutralize brassy yellow and orange tones on bleached hair with a purple color. Purple shampoo is a great at-home solution for toning hair and preventing brassiness.
Remove orange and yellow tones simply by applying two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar mixed with water, using a cotton ball. After 30 minutes, wash your hair with cool water.
Nexxus Blonde Assure Shampoo
Our top pick for this category is Nexxus Blonde Assure Purple Shampoo Color Care Shampoo because it not only includes keratin protein but also effectively neutralizes brassy tones while nourishing strands.
If your hair is brown, you may need to bleach it more than once before you apply the grey dye. It's important you get your hair as light as possible before you attempt to turn it grey – this will help ensure a more even tone and vibrant, all-over colour.
Sun Exposure + Colour Fade
The sun's powerful UV rays can break down hair dye molecules, fading the cool tones faster than the warm tones. This can lead to the hair taking on a brassy, orange, or yellow tint.
Purple toners are the best for brassy blonde hair! As a blonde, if you're seeing brass you're likely seeing unwanted yellow - and purple counteracts this.
Benefits of Baking Soda for Gray Hair
Its natural pH-balancing qualities help neutralize brassiness or yellow tones in the hue while massaging into the scalp helps unblock hair follicles with dead skin cells, excess oil, etc., thus promoting better growth.
If you leave purple shampoo in your hair for 30 minutes, the risk of over-toning increases significantly. While purple shampoo is designed to neutralize brassy or yellow tones, leaving it on for an extended period can lead to overly cool or even purple-tinted hair, especially for those with light or porous hair.
Brassy tones in dyed or bleached hair can fade over time, but they often persist as the underlying warm natural pigments re-emerge with the fading of the dye or toning treatments.
Tone it up with blue or purple shampoo
You'll either need a blue or purple toning shampoo that helps neutralize brassiness to reveal the lighter hair color you're aiming for. The key trick here is figuring out which hair toner to use.
Purple shampoo is a toning shampoo specially designed for blonde hair. It features crushed violet pigments that neutralize style-ruining brassy and yellow tones. On the color wheel, purple is the opposite of yellow, which is why purple pigments cancel out brassy, yellow tones.
Use a purple or blue shampoo
Blue and purple shampoos neutralise unwanted brassy tones to reveal a cooler blonde or light brown shade. Examine the colour of your hair currently, and find the colour that is exactly opposite it using a colour wheel.
Washing hair with apple cider vinegar side effects
Scalp Irritation: ACV's acidic nature can irritate sensitive or broken skin. Dryness and Brittleness: Overuse can strip natural oils from the hair, leading to dryness. Hair Color Fading: ACV may lighten hair slightly over time, especially if used frequently.
It Won't Change Your Colour. One of the biggest concerns with natural hair care products is that it can sometimes fade or alter the color of your hair. It can make blondes look brassy and faded which isn't ideal. Instead, coconut oil protects color while it nourishes your hair and scalp.
"You want to stop using it two weeks before any lightening service. The purple shampoo can cause build up making the hair look dull and darker if overused." This makes the lightening process more difficult to create a seamless blend.
Blonde blends better with grey
Grey hair in blonde hair or grey roots in blonde hair blends better than with darker hair. So blonde is a good choice if you want to make your grey hair or grey roots less noticeable.
Nexxus Blonde Assure Purple Shampoo is our favorite purple shampoo that we tested. Every time we used it, our hair looked noticeably brighter, and the shampoo effectively cleaned our scalp while leaving our hair nourished and moisturized.