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How To Fix Hair That Turned Green After Dying Silver

Getting the perfect silver hair can take some trial and error. If you’ve found that your hair turned green after dying it silver, follow the steps below to achieve your ideal shade.

Why Your Silver Hair Turned Green?

hair turned green after dying silver
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Minerals build up on your hair and oxidize over time, tinting your strands green. Blondes are familiar with the issue of chlorine turning their hair green, but it can happen to any shade of light hair, including white or silver.

Swimming in chlorinated pools can exacerbate the problem, but that’s not the only culprit. Copper and magnesium also bind to hair protein; many residential water systems contain these minerals.

If your silver hair turned green, you need to remove the mineral buildup and neutralize your hair tint. There are several different approaches to try.

How to Fix Hair That Turned Green After Dying Silver

You don’t need to worry about another salon visit to fix your silver hair when it turns green. You can try different methods to get back to your ideal shade without damaging your hair.

#1. Use a Red Toning Shampoo

red toning shampoo to fix silver hair that turned green
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Red toning shampoos apply less color than red gloss or tint, so you don’t have to worry about changing the shade of your silver completely. You can use the red toning shampoo long enough to neutralize the green tones.

#2. Apply Ketchup

using ketchup to fix silver hair that turned green

Ketchup has a red tint needed to cancel the green, but since it’s a food product, you don’t have to worry that the red hue will overpower your silver.

Saturate the green portions of your hair with ketchup, and then cover it with a shower cap. Leave it on for 30 minutes before shampooing.

#3. Make a Baking Soda Paste

Use 1/4 or 1/2 cups of baking soda, depending on the length of your hair. Add water to the baking soda until it creates a thick paste. Apply the paste to the green parts of your hair and work it into the strands. Let it sit for up to three minutes before shampooing your hair.

If the baking soda doesn’t eliminate the green on your first try, you can do it again. Baking soda is natural, won’t harm your hair, and is affordable. It’s worth trying this method several times to see if it makes a difference.

#4. Saturate with Lemon Juice

Saturate all your hair with lemon juice. The acidity removes the mineral buildup and other impurities that impact the color of your hair. Let it sit for up to ten minutes before shampooing it out.

You can also use lemon Kool-Aid if you don’t have straight lemon juice. Mix the Kool-Aid packet with water only, not adding sugar as you would if you were to drink it. Then use it just like you’d use lemon juice.

#5. Use Clarifying Shampoo

using clarifying shampoo to fix silver hair that turned green

Clarifying shampoos will remove minerals from your hair to remove the green tint. However, you should use them sparingly because some formulas can cause the dye to fade quickly.

Since swimming in chlorinated pools can also tint light hair green, you can use swimmer’s shampoos. You shower after swimming to remove chlorine from your skin, so you can also use the special shampoo to remove the mineral from your strands.

Prevent Green Tint

You can take steps to prevent a green tint on your silver hair. If you have copper pipes or mineral deposits in your water, you can install a shower filter.

Anytime you go swimming, coat your hair with a hydrating product like conditioner or coconut oil. This method keeps your dry hair from absorbing chlorine.

Final Thoughts

If your hair turned green after dying silver, you don’t need to go to the salon for a new dye job. One of the natural methods above can neutralize it.

You can try several different approaches over time to see what works best with your hair to keep it the right shade of silver.

FAQs

You’ve learned how to fix hair that turned green after dying it silver. If you need more information, check out the answers to the following questions.

Why did my hair turn green after dying it silver?

You might notice your silver hair turned green due to oxidized mineral buildup. Chlorine, copper, and magnesium bind to your hair and change the tint of the dyed strands.

What cancels out a green tint in hair?

Hair colors work just like mixing paint colors in art. The shades across the color wheel from each other cancel each other out, so red cancels out green.

Will ketchup fix my green hair?

Yes, as strange as it sounds, ketchup fixes green hair if you don’t have a red toner. Ketchup contains vinegar that eliminates the mineral buildup, while the red color neutralizes the green tint in your hair.

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