Your precious chevelure can gain that unnatural green tinge because of different reasons. All of them can be united in one: you had your hair colored in a lighter shade, something went wrong, and now you are scrolling the Web hoping to understand how to remove green tones from the hair.
If you are not ready to make a statement in public, this article can come in handy. Here you’ll find the reasons for such a transition, what to do in each particular case, and how to prevent the problem in advance. Read on and get your locks fixed.
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Guide on How to Correct Green Tones in Hair
If your blond locks turned green, you might have used a toner incorrectly, bleached your ashy chevelure, dyed the hair into a cooler shade, or your strands contacted harsh water in a pool or shower.
To remove the green from the hair, I advise chelating/clarifying shampoo or apple vinegar mixture as a more natural solution.
Why does hair go green?
There are various reasons why you can spot chaotic patches of unwanted green hue in your strands. To remove the green tint from the hair, you should be well aware of all of them, since the treatment largely depends on the cause. Let’s delve into the topic so that you can neutralize those sporadic greenish highlights in your mane.
Toner problem
If you recently toned your sun-kissed locks and ended up with a mermaid mane, the reason is obvious. You either picked the wrong shade or didn’t manage to comply with the proportions recommended by the manufacturer. More on that below.
Incorrect shade
The green tinge can appear as a result of using a product of the wrong shade. Beware of the blue when opting for a toner for your blonde hair.
Any product with blue or green tones in it, including ashy shades, penetrates your yellow-tinted hair and results in a subtle or eye-catchy green tint.
Wrong amount
Another reason why you have to grapple with green coloration in your strands now might be wrongly mixed green toner and developer. If you fail to adhere to the right ratio, you can face this undesired outcome.
I advise you to mix a purchased toner following the manufacturer’s instructions.
You let it sit for too long
If you let a green toner contact your locks longer than half an hour to get rid of the undesired shades such as red, your hair can soak in too many pigments. The excessive time won’t do any good, and your strands might turn green.
Bleaching an ashy color
If your strands were initially ashy, and you bleached them to go blonde, you risk seeing a mermaid-like chevelure in the mirror. Once you apply the bleaching mixture to your strands, they will lighten to yellow.
The underlying shade in the ashy tone is blue, so the combination of the blue pigments in the ashy hue and your yellow hair will create the green color.
Dyeing the hair cooler
Depending on the color of a box dye applied to your freshly bleached strands, you can also face the necessity to remove ash green from the hair. Let’s view the most common ones.
Ashy blonde
Since an ashy blonde color contains blue-green shades that interact with the yellowish tones of your light hair, it can present you with a green tone.
Blue
If you intend to dye your hair blue, you risk getting a greenish undertone instead of the pure shade. The cause lies in the bleaching process. To get the blue tone, your hair should be between white and gray.
Cool brown
Keep in mind that your strands can become green if you dye the newly-bleached hair brown. A cool brown shade has yellow, red, and blue undertones, and your bleached hair contains no red pigments to neutralize the green.
Swimming/showering
This is the common reason for sunny-haired women to notice green strands after visiting a pool or taking a shower. Chlorine in the pools reacts with the hair, and it turns green. A subtle greenish shade can also slowly accumulate if you shower with hard water.
How to fix green hair after chlorine
To remedy the situation after going to a swimming pool or showering with hard water, women can get extremely creative. Various methods are vigorously discussed on the Web, which might seem a perfect solution instead of visiting a salon. I’ve read about baking soda, ketchup, lemon juice, aspirin, etc.
However, I don’t advise any of them. It’s all about chemistry and science when it comes to the color transition. Though the temptation to take a bottle of ketchup and fix the mess on your own in an old-fashioned way might sound convincing, no one can give you a guarantee the situation won’t worsen.
A chelating or clarifying shampoo is a more reliable and hair-friendly remedy for the froggy problem. It can fix your locks after the chlorine invasion. Apply it like your normal shampoo.
Since the formula of any clarifying shampoo is supplied with harsh cleansers, you have to take the necessary precautions so that not to harm your hair:
- wash your hair with a clarifying or chelating shampoo no more than once a week. It will help you reduce the dryness of your strands and monitor your hair color state. If you need to wash your hair more frequently, use your regular shampoo in between;
- let the product sit for a while but keep it on your hair no more than the time indicated by the manufacturer (the usual time is 1 minute);
- thoroughly rinse your hair with lukewarm water after each wash;
- apply a deep conditioner to moisturize your strands afterward.
How to get rid of green hair naturally
If the chemicals in clarifying shampoo make you look for lemon in your fridge, I can offer a more natural alternative, apple vinegar. Studies show that natural apple cider vinegar can be an effective clarifying hair rinse since it removes all traces of product buildup on your scalp.
To make the procedure more caring for your locks, never use undiluted apple vinegar. Follow the next steps to do everything correctly:
- Prepare a bowl with one part vinegar and one part water.
- Mix them thoroughly.
- Wash your hair with shampoo and conditioner.
- Rinse your chevelure with water.
- Apply water-vinegar mix to your locks and scalp. You can massage your head for extra treatment.
- Let the solution stay on your strands for several minutes.
- Rinse it off with water.
This method is also beneficial for the oil balance in your strands. If you don’t want to deal with the smell of vinegar, you can add a few drops of essential oils to the mixture before applying it to your mane.
How to prevent hair from going green
Several actionable tricks can help you protect your hair from chlorine.
In a pool:
- wear a swimming cap;
- apply some conditioner to wet hair beforehand. It will prevent your tresses from absorbing chemicals from the water in a pool;
- use a high-quality clarifying shampoo to rinse your locks after a swim. It will remove chlorine from your hair.
In a shower:
The best decision you can take to prevent your blonde hair from turning green is to install a shower filter to remove chlorine and copper from the water. It will help you minimize the negative effects of chemicals on your light hair.
FAQ About How to Neutralize Green Hair
Do you have any questions about how to neutralize the green shade in your blonde locks? Find the answers here or ask me in the comments!
Can you tone green out of your hair?
Yes, it can help if you choose the right tone according to the color theory. Warm-based shades such as auburn, mahogany, or copper will introduce the red pigments to combat the green in your strands and neutralize it.
Does ketchup get green out of your hair?
I’ve already explained why this solution is doubtful. However, some believe that pigments in ketchup can balance out green tones. A red shampoo will do the same.
Will orange dye cover green?
If you want to get green out of the hair after coloring, you can also dye it in shades with warm undertones. I would rather go for the red range, but such orange tones as ginger or copper can also cover the green.
Make sure to avoid yellowish hues as they can make the green show up more.
Give Green Light to the Change
Now that you know the reasons for your green look and the affordable measures that you can apply, you can avoid common mistakes in the future.
Keep in mind that green might be pretty cunning as it can stick to your hair for long if you don’t cope with it fast. The sooner you act, the easier you will fix your hair color and get back your luminous locks.
Have you managed to identify the cause of that stubborn green in your strands? Which solution on the list resonates with you the most? Write your thoughts in the comments, and I will view them as soon as possible.
