They say blondes have more fun, but brunettes can certainly have plenty of fun too! If you’ve had blonde hair for a while and are ready to dye your hair brown, you may be thinking about some of the horror stories you’ve heard where others have ended up with green hair going from blonde to brown.
Dyeing blonde hair brown is not impossible, but there are definitely some precautions to take and steps to follow to keep your hair from going green. So, how to dye blonde hair brown without it going green? Let’s jump right in and answer this question.
Table of Contents
- How to Dye Blonde Hair Brown without it Going Green
- How Do I Get the Green Out of My Hair?
- How Do You Fix Brown Hair That Turned Green?
- Why Did My Hair Turn Green When I Bleached It?
- FAQs
- Dyeing Blonde Hair Without it Going Brown
How to Dye Blonde Hair Brown without it Going Green
Before we get into how to dye blonde hair brown without it going green, it is important to understand why blonde hair sometimes turns green when it is dyed brown.
Brown and blonde hair have different pigments. You can see this clearly when you look at the hair, since pigment just refers to the color of the hair. There are four different hair pigments: eumelanin (black and brown pigments) and pheomelanin (red and yellow pigments). All hair has some of each of these pigments, but the ratio will vary greatly between darker and lighter hair colors. For example, if you have blonde hair, you likely only have about 5% eumelanin (the darker pigments) and about 95% pheomelanin (the lighter red and yellow pigments).
When you add darker hair dye over your blonde hair, you’re adding an orange or red base with the dye over the yellow base of your blonde hair. Many brown dyes have blue and green pigments that are designed to neutralize the red tones in hair. But if you apply that same dye to blonde hair that doesn’t have those red tones, the green or blue tones can mix with the yellow tones of your blonde hair, leaving your hair looking green.
This is clearly not what you want. So, what can you do to dye your blonde hair brown without it going green? The first step is to choose the right hair dye. Avoid dyes that have those green or blue tones that could mix with your yellow base to create a green hair color. Rather, look for a warm brown shade.
Another alternative is to use color filling before trying to dye your blonde hair brown. By repigmenting, or filling, your hair, you will add some of those red tones to your hair. Then, when you use the brown dye, the blue and green tones will mix with red tones, not the yellow, preventing that green color you’re trying to avoid.
When filling your hair, choose a red or copper shade about one level lighter than the brown shade you are aiming for when finished. However, if you want an ash-brown hair color, choosing a red or copper shade that is about two levels lighter than the finished product you want can work better.
Semi-permanent dyes can work well as fillers. Another option is to try a colored protein filler. These fillers can help increase your hair’s porosity, which can help ensure that the hair dye you use gets applied evenly.
In addition to choosing the right dye to use with your blonde hair color, there are a few other steps you can take to prevent your hair from turning green. These include:
- Waiting two days before washing your hair after dyeing it and washing it less frequently than normal (using a color-safe shampoo) to prevent the color from fading too quickly.
- Minimize sun exposure.
- Limit the use of heated styling tools.
- Use a deep conditioner once a week to keep your dyed hair from getting too dry.
How Do I Get the Green Out of My Hair?
Understanding what to do to prevent your blonde hair from turning green when you dye it brown is important. However, it isn’t going to help you right now if you already dyed your hair and it is currently green. Don’t fret, just as there are some tips to help people get the green out of their hair after swimming, there are also some ways to get the green out of your hair if you’ve dyed it from blonde to brown.
On Naturally Blonde Hair
Will my hair go green if I dye it from blonde to brown? Possibly, if you don’t follow the steps we shared above. However, if your naturally blonde hair has turned green when dyeing it brown, there are a few things you can try to get rid of the green tone.
One thing to try is making your own shampoo. Mix tomato paste, white vinegar, crushed aspirin tablets, powdered lemonade mix, seltzer tablets, and a little water. This mixture will help to get rid of the green color. When you think about the color wheel and remember that green is opposite red, you can understand why the tomato paste is added to this shampoo.
Alternatively, you can make a baking soda and shampoo mix. Apply to the sections of your hair that look green. After mixing the baking soda and shampoo, apply it evenly to the green area. Then allow it to sit on your hair for 3 to 5 minutes. Then, rinse the mixture off using cool water and shampoo and condition your hair as normal.
On Bleached Hair
Keeping bleached hair from turning green in the swimming pool and from other causes can seem difficult. Finding the answers to “how do you get green out of bleached hair” or “how do you dye bleached hair back to brown without it going green” can be overwhelming. However, there are definitely things you can do to keep your bleached hair looking its best and get rid of the green color.
Try washing your hair with a clarifying shampoo (or chlorine removal shampoo if your hair turned green after swimming). You can also try soaking your hair in ketchup. Ketchup is red, which is opposite from green on the color wheel. The red will neutralize the green color and help return your bleached hair back to the color you want.
If you’ve started dyeing your bleached hair brown and begin to notice that the blonde is turning green, stop what you’re doing right away. Rinse out the dye from your hair and then use a neutral color at the same volume. This will help to neutralize the green color.
How Do You Fix Brown Hair That Turned Green?
If your blonde hair turned green, it isn’t the end of the world. Using some of the tips and techniques mentioned above can help you fix the green hair and keep it from coming back.
Why Is My Hair Green After Dying It Brown?
Why did my hair turn green after dying it? As we explained above, when you dye blonde hair brown, the yellow base of the blonde hair can mix with the green or blue tones in the brown hair dye. If you’re at all familiar with color mixing, you’ll know that when blue and yellow mix, they make green. This color mixing is the answer to the question, “why does blonde hair turn green when dyed.”
Why Did My Hair Turn Green When I Bleached It?
Bleaching may also cause your hair to turn green, sadly. Bleach works to lighten hair by taking the melanin out of the hair. The process of bleaching hair is quite damaging. It can create tiny holes in the hair and make hair extremely porous. This means that water and air are able to go through bleached hair.
When you use moisturizing products on your bleached hair, the hair isn’t able to fully hold them and lock in the moisture. This means that bleached hair doesn’t have the same nutrients and isn’t as healthy as unbleached hair. When you dye bleached hair brown, the lack of nutrients in the hair may cause the green tint to show through.
FAQs
What hair dye cancels out green?
Red is opposite to green on the color wheel, so using a red dye can cancel out the green color.
Can you put brown dye on bleached hair?
Can you color over bleached hair? Yes, you can use brown dye on bleached hair. But you will first want to fill in the color with a red or copper color. This is to prevent your hair from turning green.
How do you go from blonde hair to brown at home?
If you want to go from blonde to brown at home, you should start by using a color filler. This will add some red or copper tones to your hair. Then, you can use a brown hair dye. Starting with a red or copper color will prevent the yellow base of your blonde hair from mixing with the green or blue base of the brown hair dye. In turn, this will prevent coloring your hair green.
Will purple shampoo fix green hair?
No, purple shampoo will not help with fixing green hair. Since red is opposite green on the color wheel, you’ll need to choose a red shampoo or toner.
Does ketchup get green out of hair?
Yes, ketchup may help get green out of your hair. Ketchup is red, which is opposite to green on the color wheel. Therefore, it can work to neutralize the green color.
Why is my hair green after dying it brown?
When you dye blonde hair brown, the yellow base of the blonde hair can mix with the green or blue tones in the brown hair dye.
Why did my hair turn green when I bleached it?
When you dye bleached hair brown, the lack of nutrients in the hair may cause the green tint to show through.
Dyeing Blonde Hair Without it Going Brown
We hope you’ve found this article and our tips for dyeing blonde hair without it going brown helpful. So, are you ready to give it a try? Or, if you already tried to dye your blonde hair brown and ended up with green hair, do you feel like you learned some tips to help you get rid of the green? Be sure to come back and comment and tell us about your experiences coloring your hair!
Take a look at some of these related posts on our blog to learn more about coloring and bleaching your hair:
