Yellow Blonde Hair

Blonde Tones Turning Brassy?

Blonde hair turning yellow or brassy is a common problem. When your hair is first coloured or highlighted the blonde is the perfect honey or ash blonde. A few weeks later, you’ve got bright yellow-blonde hair.

How to fix yellow-blonde hair

To fix yellow-blonde hair, treat your hair gently and use the correct hair products. Suitable products neutralise yellow, brassy tones and protect your hair to prevent further discolouration, for long-lasting blonde locks.

For in-depth information about causes, see our yellow-blonde hair FAQ below.

1

Yellow-blonde hair core solutions

A core, three-step process fights fade, eliminates yellow and brassy tones and restores amazing white, blonde and silver tones. A number of choices from different brands to suit your hair type, all catered for restoring the radiance of blonde hair shades.

2

Best shampoo for yellow-blonde hair

Choose a no-yellow, silverising or violet shampoo to neutralise and tone brassy blonde hair. It revives and whitens blonde tones while cleansing and brightening. Instantly reveals a brighter and cleaner blonde shade.

3

Conditioner for yellow-blonde hair

A moisturising conditioner counteracts the negative effects of lightening chemicals like bleach by hydrating strands, flattening cuticles and reducing porosity to slow down the discolouration process. The right conditioner creates a shield for maximum protection from environmental elements that cause colour fade.

4

Best hair mask for yellow-blonde hair

Use a mask to intensify the tone of blonde, silver and white-blonde hair. Choose a leave-in styler or mist with optical brighteners to protect and enhance blonde radiance. Treats the hair for a brilliant blonde, and nourishes the hair so colour looks better than ever.

5

Hair oils & treatments for yellow-blonde hair

Replenish lost moisture and counter yellow and orange hair pigment with a silverising or purple-based hair oil or treatment. Quick and easy to use when needed, perfect for sprucing up and reviving blonde shades.

6

Heat protection for yellow-blonde hair

Heat-protection products prevent fading and yellowing caused by styling tools and sun exposure. Hot styling tools and the environment can wreak havoc on sensitive blonde hair, so it’s important to protect and shield the colour from the elements.

Yellow-Blonde Hair FAQ

Causes

Wondering what causes unwanted yellow or orange tones in blonde hair?

When hair is dyed a lighter colour or highlighted, the underlying darker pigment is not completely removed. Over time, the lighter tones fade to reveal the warm undertones in your hair pigment. This results in a yellow-blonde, brassy or orange hair colour.

These are the main reasons why blonde hair turns yellow:

  • incorrect hair products
  • water and chlorinated swimming pools
  • UV exposure
  • environmental pollutants
  • heat styling.

Colour-treated blonde hair is porous. When you use the wrong hair products, it soaks up shampoo, conditioner and other hair treatments that turn it brassy.

The good news is you can fix yellow hair at home by using the correct hair products. Get ash blonde hair from yellow hair by using no-yellow, purple-based or silverising products. Purple, which is opposite to yellow and orange on the colour wheel, neutralises the warm pigment that looks yellow.

Use neutralising hair products to whiten yellow hair. These treatments are developed to fix yellow hair, combat warm tones and emphasise lighter tones like blonde, silver and ash.

Minerals and metals found in tap water can strip the hair of its natural oils to reveal brassy undertones. This is easily countered with good quality treatment products designed to extend the intensity of coloured hair.

If you wash your hair frequently, it flushes out the toner used to achieve ash, sandy and champagne hues. This leads to yellow pigments being visible. If you have darker hair, these will be brassy, orange tones. Wash less often and use a sulphate-free or neutralising colour-depositing shampoo and conditioner.

Chlorine has a very damaging effect on colour-treated hair, contributing to porosity. Regular swimming can cause hair to turn yellow or green. After taking a swim, rinse the hair with clean water. Shampoo and condition with no-yellow, silverising or purple-based neutralising products.

Harsh UV rays dry out blonde hair and expose underlying warm pigments. Always cover colour-treated hair with a hat when you’re in the sun.

Environmental pollutants penetrate porous hair, alter its chemical structure and cause colour to fade and become orange or brassy. Fix brassy hair with protective neutralising products and regularly condition with creams, serums, hair oils and masks.

Regular use of a hairdryer and hot styling tools can lead to dryness, contributing to fast-fading hair colour. Use heat-protection hair products to protect hair shafts.

Unfortunately, it’s common for brassy tones to come through after bleaching. The colour is stripped from your hair during bleaching and it goes through a few stages. Dark hair with warm undertones will turn red, orange and then yellow before becoming ash blonde.

If your hair is naturally brown or black, the red and dark pigments in the hair are almost impossible to eliminate just using bleach. You can end up with brassy, yellow and gold tones in your hair.

If you look in the mirror and find yourself wondering – why did my bleached hair turn yellow? – it’s probably because the bleaching process was stopped too soon.

Also, the bleach may not be strong enough to strip all the pigment from your shade of hair.

To avoid yellowing, go lighter over several sessions to ensure complete stripping of warm pigments.

If you’re not sure how to fix bleached hair that turned yellow, or to get your yellow bleached hair to the ash blonde tone you prefer, you can try to correct the results with a good quality toner.

Tips

When you know why blonde hair goes yellow you can treat or prevent it. Using the wrong hair products is the main cause of yellow-blonde hair. Of course, prevention is better than cure, so always use the correct products.

You’ve bleached your hair and now it’s yellow. How can you fix it?

First, don’t panic. You don’t have to visit a salon or spend a lot of money. There are many products available online that can be delivered to your door.

Don’t over-bleach your hair to try to get rid of the yellow. You may end up with damaged, broken hair instead of ash-blonde locks. Try alternatives to bleaching to fix the yellow.

Purple shampoo, conditioner and toning products are your best friends. They can turn yellow bleached hair to ash blonde.

The best way to fix yellow-blonde hair at home is using colour-correcting no-yellow, purple and silverising shampoos, conditioners and treatments.

A toner can fix unwanted brassy or red undertones and give you the perfect ashy or platinum colour hair.

A toner can be a permanent or semi-permanent colour that has the right undertones to cancel the yellow tones in your hair. Semi-permanent colours are preferable after bleaching because they’re less damaging to the hair.

A conditioning mask with purple pigments can fix yellow hair after bleaching and it’s a non-damaging solution.

Toner – think of it as a topcoat for your hair – is designed to remove unwanted colours and give your hair a glossy finish.

Toners have either a blue, green or purple base. Green neutralises red tones and blue neutralises orange tones. Toner for yellow hair is typically purple. A toner for brassy hair will have a violet base.

If you want to know how to tone brassy hair at home, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Mix the toner with the developer, apply to your hair and leave it in for the required time. Remember to follow with a silverised or purple conditioning treatment after rinsing.

Yellow-blonde hair toner won’t work if your hair is a dark shade. Make sure your hair is the correct level of lightness by checking the manufacturer’s colour chart.

If you want to get rid of yellow or orange hair tones without using toner, you have several options:

  • treat hair with purple-based products
  • dye hair darker
  • go lighter using bleach to strip the colour completely.

Blonde hair is fragile and porous. It requires a little extra care.

Exclusively use shampoo and conditioner designed for cool shades of blonde if your hair is coloured ash, platinum or silver blonde. Add a deep-conditioning treatment, such as a hair mask, to your care routine twice a week to keep your locks shiny, manageable and brass-free.

Products

Yes, purple shampoo is a trusted treatment to neutralise brassy, orange or yellow tones in colour-treated or highlighted blonde hair. It’s the easiest way to keep unwanted warm colours in your hair at bay.

Don’t leave the shampoo in for too long. Rinse properly to avoid hints of lilac. Follow with a silverising conditioner to lock in moisture and maintain your beautiful cool blonde colour.

Are you looking for products to treat brassy, yellow or orange hair?

We recommend specific shampoos, conditioners, masks and hair oils that are specially formulated to neutralise warm undertones.

These purple-based products are some of the best treatments available in South Africa. You can trust these brands to extend the longevity of your platinum, ash or cool blonde shade.

Yes. Purple-based or silverising products are designed to neutralise warmth, no matter how dark or light your hair is. Even if you have a few strands of lighter hair that tend to turn brassy, purple shampoo can and should be used.

Dark blondes and brunettes with cool blonde highlights will benefit from these hair treatments. They prevent the lightness in your hair from fading to yellow or orange.