It happens often enough that there are more than 5 million results for the Google search ‘dyed hair blonde turned orange’.
“There are two primary causes of your hair color turning out too red or orange,” says Papanikolas. “Either the color you chose was too light, or you picked a color with warm undertones.
Why does hair turn orange?
Hair colour is a combination of various colour pigments, including the visible colour and underlying colour. The darker your natural colour, the more pigment it contains.
All hair has red within its base colour. Black hair has a large quantity of dark red base pigment, while brunettes and blondes have an orange base pigment.
When you lighten your colour, you reveal pigments which usually are not visible in hair. They are all predominantly red or orange. The cool-toned colour pigments within your hair are the smallest and they are the first to be lifted out of your hair during the lightening process. The warmer (red and orange) molecules are larger than cool colour molecules, so they are the last to be lifted out of hair.
Natural contributing pigment is the varying degree of warmth exposed during the lightening process.
As hair lightens, melanin is removed in order of the size of the molecule, which ranges from darkest to lightest, and as a result the underlying tones are exposed. The brassy/reddish/yellow colours are the largest colour pigments, and the most difficult colour pigment to remove, which is why all colour always gets warmer when it is lightened.
The natural pigment left in the hair at the desired level is referred to as Natural Contributing Pigment (NCP).
As all NCP is warm, typically the best option to manage unwanted warmth is to select a cool colour which will neutralise warmth. All our colours are identified by their colour level and tone on our colour chart and on the colour product pages:
Understanding and accounting for NCP is critical in correct colour selection for colouring, and NCP must be considered to achieve a successful colour outcome.
Your hair turns brassy/orange when you lighten it because the warm colour molecules are the last to be lifted during a lightening process.
For a successful, balanced lighter colour outcome, you need to first lift out all the warm colour pigments.
HOW TO FIX ORANGE HAIR – 3 WAYS
FAQ
Why does my red hair dye look orange?
How do you tone orange out of red hair?
What cancels out reddish orange?
Why is my hair orange after coloring?
Why does red hair turn orange after dyeing?
The darker the hair color, the more pigments it contains. So, for example, when you choose a red shade lighter than your natural hair color, the underlying (red or orange) pigments become visible, which causes your supposedly red hair to become brassy or orange-ish. Can You Fix Red Hair That Turned Orange After Dyeing?
What causes yellow and orange snot?
The discharge that comes from the nose is called snot. It is also called nasal mucus. Snot can be clear, green, black, yellow, or orange depending on the underlying condition. Yellow snot is a sign of viral infection. It is a sign of the body fighting back the virus. The yellow color is from the white blood cells. Orange or brown-colored snot could be a result of old blood exiting rhe body.
Why does my hair turn orange & brassy when dyeing?
Your hair can turn orange and brassy when dyeing due to a few different reasons, depending on the starting color of your hair and the type of dye used. Let’s take a closer look.
Why does my hair look Orange?
“Hair is made of keratin protein, which in its natural state is orange in color,” says Rez. “The darker the hair pigment naturally, the more pungent the orange and red tones will be when lifting.” If your colorist didn’t or wasn’t able to lift the color past a certain level during the coloring process, it can look orange or turn orange over time.