Toners are often used with hair glazes and glosses to maintain your ideal hair color and keep those unwanted shades at bay. It does wonders to eliminate yellow and orange brassy tones—but what should you do if you accidentally left your toning shampoo for too long, and got that over-toned purple hair?
To remove the over-toned color, you can use clarifying shampoos, baking soda, dishwashing liquid, lemon juice, and hydrating masks. If you want to cancel the purple color, you can use a yellow toner and bleach as your ultimate fix.
Your Guide to Fixing Over-Toned Purple Hair
1. Clarifying Shampoo
Washing your hair multiple times with a clarifying shampoo can help to strip the over-toned color. The more you wash your hair, the faster the unwanted tones will go away. Any kind of clarifying shampoo will do the trick, but it’s better to opt for color-safe ones with keratin to avoid damaging your hair.
Step 1:
Just take a decent amount of shampoo and massage it over your strands.
Step 2:
Leave it for 5 minutes and wash your hair as usual.
Step 3:
Repeat the process until you get the desired color. Ideally, 3-5 washes will start to remove the color stain from your hair.
Step 4:
Apply a leave-in conditioner after washing your hair. Over-shampooing strips out the natural oil in your strands, so it’s best to hydrate your hair afterward.
2. Baking Soda and Vitamin C Powder
Do you know that baking soda and vitamin C have brightening qualities to help bring back your natural color?
Step 1:
Prepare 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda and 2-3 crushed vitamin C pills.
Step 2:
Shampoo your hair as you normally do.
Step 3:
After washing your hair, apply the mixture to your strands.
Step 4:
Leave it for 10 minutes and rinse.
Step 5:
You can repeat the process once or twice a week until the unwanted tones disappear.
3. Dishwashing Liquid
Stronger than clarifying shampoos yet gentler than detergents, a dishwashing liquid can be a great fix for your over-toned purple hair.
Step 1:
Take a moderate amount and lather up into your hair.
Step 2:
Massage it as you normally do with your typical shampoo.
Step 3:
Leave it for 15 minutes and rinse thoroughly.
Step 4:
Follow up with the conditioner to bring back the moisture to your strands.
Step 5:
You can repeat the process three to four times a week, as long as you deep condition your hair properly.
4. Lemon and Conditioner
If you find the previous options too drying for your strands, make use of conditioner instead. But mix it with lemon juice. The natural acidity of lemon juice can strip the unwanted tones from your hair.
Step 1:
Prepare a mixture of lemon and conditioner into a small bowl. One part of the conditioner can be mixed with four parts of lemon juice.
Step 2:
Apply the solution to your freshly washed hair.
Step 3:
Massage and comb through your hair, and leave it for 30 to 45 minutes.
Step 4:
Wash your strands thoroughly.
Step 5:
Repeat the process once a week until you achieve the desired color.
5. Hydrating Hair Mask
If you’ve got a damaged hair, a hair mask will restore the moisture your strands need. Just opt for ones with keratin and healthy oils like argan, coconut, sunflower, and so on.
Step 1:
Prepare an aluminum cap, a head wrap, or a nylon bag that you’ll use to cover your hair—and your favorite hair mask.
Step 2:
On damp hair, apply the mask evenly, then, cover it with an aluminum cap to trap the moisture.
Step 3:
Leave it for 30-45 minutes, then rinse.
Step 4:
Repeat the process thrice a week until your hair goes back to the color you had.
6. Bleach and 20 Volume Developer Cream
The bleaching process is quite aggressive so it should be the last option to fix your over-toned purple hair. However, you can only use bleach if your hair is in a healthy condition.
Step 1:
Prepare your bleach powder, 20 volume developer cream, and a plastic bowl.
Step 2:
Mix 1 part of bleach powder with 2 parts 20 volume developer until the mixture has a smooth consistency.
Step 3:
Apply the mixture to your hair from ends to roots.
Step 4:
Let it sit for 5-10 minutes then rinse.
Step 5:
You may apply hair serum or coconut oil as a nourishing treatment afterward.
What Color Cancels Out Purple Hair?
Yellow cancels out purple since it’s the opposite hue on the color wheel. After you remove the over-tone color though one of the above methods, you may also apply a yellow toner. There are classic purple and blue toning shampoos, but a yellow toner will add warmth to your hair color rather than toning it into an ashier shade.
Here’s how you should use your toning shampoo in your hair care routine:
Step 1:
On wet hair, massage an ample amount of shampoo to your hair.
Step 2:
Follow the instructions on the packaging on how long you should leave the product in your hair. Some will require immediate washing after a quick massage, while others need to be left on your strands for a few minutes.
Step 3:
Rinse thoroughly and follow with a conditioner.
Step 4:
Wash your hair as usual, and repeat the process once a week to maintain your ideal color.
Also Read: How to Dye Your Hair Purple Without Bleaching it?
FAQ
Do toning shampoos work for all types of hair?
No. Most drugstore formulas are designed for blonde hair, which can be tough for darker hair colors. If you’re dealing with dullness or brassiness, it’s best to ask help from a professional on which toning products to use. More than that, some toning products are overly drying, and overusing it will cause more harm than good to your hair.
Can toners lighten your hair color?
No. Toners cannot replace the bleaching process, and it won’t lighten your fading hair color. It might prevent your hair dye from oxidizing and changing over time, but it cannot alter the shade itself. If you’ve got a brighter color, it is usually cool in a tone that can be corrected with the help of toners. You may think of adding shine to your strands by using toners in conjunction with glosses and glazes.