Skip to Content
Home › Hair Color

How to Fix Red Hair That Turned Orange After Dyeing

By Janella Diaz • Updated on

Janella Diaz
Janella Diaz, Lifestyle Content Writer

Expertise: Hair Styling & Hair Color Trends

Experience: 10+ years

Janella is a registered pharmacist with over a decade of experience as a professional writer, specializing in hairstyles. She researches hairstyle & hair color trends, tests the latest haircare tools and products to help people take the right decision.

Red hair is classy and timeless, but did you know that red is one of the most challenging hair shades to achieve?

The biggest challenge you’ll encounter is too much warmth which causes red hair to turn orange!

But before you give up on getting the desired red shade, know that you can eliminate that unwanted brassiness and get rid of the orange tone!  

So, can I fix red hair that turned orange after coloring and achieve the desired red shade?

Yes, you can! We will discuss how to fix and also why your red hair turned orange in the first place after dyeing.

Why Did My Red Hair Turned Orange?

Why does red hair turn orange

This hair color problem generally comes from choosing the wrong shade of hair dye.

Specifically, are two common reasons why your red hair turned orange. Here they are:

  • The red shade you chose is too light (or lighter than your natural hair color).
  • The red shade you chose has warm undertones.

To have a better understanding of this, we need to take a look at how the pigments in our hair work.

Our hair color is made up of different pigments, categorized into two types— visible and underlying (or invisible) pigments. The critical thing to note is the most dominant underlying pigments in almost all hair color is either red or orange.

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?

Yes, you can fix red hair that turned orange by getting rid of the unwanted orange tone. There are three ways you can fix and get the right red hair shade.

  • Bleach Your Hair
  • Get In Salon Toner
  • Use Toning Shampoo

Method #1: Bleach Your Hair

If you want a red shade lighter than your current hair color (brunette, black, or brown hair), you must bleach your hair before applying the dye.

This is because the bleaching process is designed to lift off all the pigments from your hair. When going down this route, you should work with a hair color expert to ensure that:

  • Your hair will be lightened to the level where all hair pigments, especially the warm ones, will be eliminated.
  • The bleaching process won’t cause your hair to dye, frizz, or break.

Method #2: Get In-salon Toner

Fixing Red Hair That Turned Orange After Dyeing - Get In Salon Toner

Get professional toning services in a salon if you want a foolproof and effective way to get rid of brassiness in your hair.

With this service, you can get a custom toning formula made of bleach and toner mixed by a hair colorist tailored to your hair color needs.

For example, this toning formula can help neutralize your hair’s specific shade of orange.

Method #3: Use Toning Shampoo

So what kind of toner cancels out brassy orange hair? Your best bets are purple and blue toners.

Why is this so? The concept follows the logic behind the color wheel. Since the blue and purple colors are opposite against oranges and other warm colors in the wheel, they are expected to cancel out one another.

These toning products come in shampoos, and you can use them a few times weekly. Generally, it’s recommended that you let the toner sit in your hair for about 10 minutes.

However, some shampoos only need 2 to 3 minutes to deliver the desired result, so you should follow the instructions.

How to prevent brassiness in the future?

How to prevent brassiness in red hair

There are two ways to prevent brassy hair for future coloring sessions.

First, make sure to choose a shade that’s within two levels lighter than your natural or current hair color.

Second, go for a hair color with cool undertones to neutralize the unwanted warmth in the hair.

How to prevent red hair from fading?

Aside from brassiness, another biggest problem you’ll encounter with red hair is fading. Since it’s highly pigmented, it washes out easily, getting less vivid faster than other shades.

Luckily, there are lots of things that you can do to care for your red hair and make it stay longer. Here they are:

  • Wait for 24 to 48 hours before shampooing your newly dyed hair.
  • Wash your hair less frequently.
  • Use sulfate-free shampoos.
  • Minimize sun and heat exposure.
  • Maintain hair shine with a hair gloss treatment.
  • Invest in regular touch-ups (preferably every 6 to 8 weeks).

The Bottom Line

With all the challenges of achieving and taking care of red hair, we can say that it’s one of the high-maintenance hair colors. But with its classy and beautiful look, we can say it’s worth it!

Follow all the above tips about fixing red hair that turned orange so you can finally achieve the red hair shade of your dreams!

You May Also Like