It’s pretty common for women who want to transition hair from green to teal, and who can blame them? Teal is a gorgeous shade and gives off those coveted mermaid vibes. But is it as simple as dying teal over green hair?
If you’ve ever colored your hair, you’re familiar with the risks you take if you aren’t a professional. DIY jobs can go wrong, leaving your hair a weird color that you might struggle to either get rid of completely or just cover up as much as possible.
Before you run out and grab what you think are the ingredients for coloring teal over green hair, review our guide to see if it’s even possible.
Can I Dye Teal Over Green Hair?
It depends on your current hair color shade and the teal dye you’re using.
If your current hair color is light or faded green, the teal dye should cover it pretty well. But if your current hair color is dark or vibrant green, the teal may not show up as you wanted. Or, you may end up in a completely different shade. Whatever dye you put over green hair needs to be the same darkness or even darker to cover it up completely.
You should do a strand test before applying teal over green hair to see how the color will turn out. We suggest you consult a professional hair stylist or colorist.
If your current hair color is dark green and you want to dye your hair teal, lighten your hair color first or use another color that mixes with green to create teal. The most common way stylists take a person’s hair from green to teal is by coloring over the green with blue.
How to Transition from Green Hair to Teal Hair
The color wheel theory is something many hair stylists use when learning to color hair. If you look at the color wheel, green is next to blue. This means that dying your hair with blue will result in a mix of blue and green, also known as teal.
The other way you can get to teal hair is by first fading your green hair. The lighter your green hair is, the better a teal hair dye will show up.
How to Fade Green Hair Dye
Luckily, there are at least two different methods for fading green hair that has been tried and proved successful.
Clarifying Shampoo
After getting your hair wet with lukewarm water, lather up your hair with a quarter-size amount of clarifying shampoo. Then put on a shower cap and wait for at least 15 minutes before rinsing it out.
Do this process 1 – 2 times a week, following up with a conditioner, and you’ll start seeing the green fade.
Hair Color Remover
Color Oops Extra Conditioning Hair Color Remover is gentle and hydrating, and one of the most recommended hair color removers on the shelves. The smell isn’t that great, but you’re only using it for 20 minutes, so give it a shot.
Red Hair Dye
On the color wheel, red is the opposite to green, meaning red will cancel out green tones. Only resort to this method if you don’t mind your hair turning brown, though. If your green hair has a bit of blue in it, you can use a red-orange hair dye.
Can you dye your hair teal without bleach?
You need to lighten your hair for teal, a pastel shade. Lightening often involves bleach, which can damage your hair significantly.
If you already have bleached hair or super-light white-platinum blonde, you have a good base for teal.
For darker hair, you will need to bleach it. This ensures the bright teal color stands out.
Remember, teal is a color that lasts. It can be tough to remove. So, be ready for a long-term commitment!
Permanent vs. Semi-Permanent Hair Dye
One important thing to remember when you’re getting ready to dye teal over your green hair is taking into account whether your hair was dyed with permanent or semi-permanent hair dye.
If it was semi-permanent, you’ll need to use another semi-permanent or permanent teal hair dye to cover it. If it was permanent, only another permanent hair dye would work.
What Other Colors Cover Green Hair?
These are some of the most popular colors people color green hair with.
- Blue – navy or midnight blue
- Purple – maroon or burgundy
- Brown – chocolate or chestnut brown
Summary
Teal is a blend of blue and green. So if you have light or faded green hair, dyeing it with a teal could indeed cover it and result in a teal shade. However, if your hair is a darker or more vibrant shade of green, dyeing with teal might result in a mixed color. For example, a darker shade of teal or even a blue-green depending on which shade of teal dye is used.
FAQs
If you wanted to color your hair with gray, white, or platinum blonde, then yes. Since you want to cover it with teal, you don’t need to bleach your hair first.
Caramel, brown, and of course deep auburn (which has red in it), are all dark enough to dye over green hair. Steer clear of light brown dyes, however, since it is too light and will leave you with a little green.
When washing your hair, use cool or cold water and a sulfate-free shampoo. Water at higher temperatures will fade the color more quickly.