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Whether you’re searching for a remedy for a botched D.I.Y ‘do, or you’re simply bored of your look, scroll for our 5 colour removal hacks…
By Alice Dawkins Published: Dec 20, 2023
Is it just us, or does everyone else get the urge to change their hair at least once a week? It’s an intrusive thought that we just can’t budge. But before eyeing up your next batch of dye, it is important to give your tresses a reset and strip any remaining colour from your last impulsive hair transformation.
Whether it’s a chestnut brown or an electric blue, the process of stripping hair dye can be a daunting task. With a multitude of different techniques shared online, which one comes out on top? Well we put a few of the most popular (and strangest) methods to the test on our extensions to answer your hair prayers.
Clarifying or Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
Us hair dye enthusiasts know that in order to lock your colour in for as long as poss’, it’s essential you avoid strong shampoos like the plague. Therefore, it totally makes sense to reverse this when you’re looking to remove your dye.
Whilst it’s not a quick fix, using a clarifying or anti-dandruff shampoo to strip colour is a much safer and healthier way to transform your shade compared to bleach or colour remover.
We decided to try out the Head & Shoulders 2in1 Classic Clean Shampoo and rinsed the hair around 15 times. We saw a little bit of a lift, but we can imagine that with more washes, the fade will be much more apparent.
Vitamin C Tablets
We’ve all heard of taking vitamin C tablets for a general health boost, but have you heard of using them for hair dye removal? The viral hack has taken over our screens lately, so we had to put it to the test…
We started by crushing 5-10 tablets and mixing it with shampoo before massaging into the hair. The acid works to break down the dye and gradually fade your colour.
Firstly, we found that you need waaay more than 5-10 tablets. To cover the whole head, we used around 30, and still, this left us with little to no lift. Safe to say, this was a bit of a fail.
At-Home Hair Colour Remover
This method is our two favourite things, cheap and easy. At-home hair colour remover can be picked up at most drugstores and it is noted to be less damaging than other products due to its lack of bleach and ammonia. Ideal.
However, before visiting your local Boots, we have to pre-warn you that this stuff smells BAD. Additionally, we found that the colour remover had little effect on the hair leaving a pretty unimpressive shade end result.
We found that to see an obvious difference, extra-strength formula was necessary, but this also came with some damage, leaving the hair feeling stringy and lack-lustre. It's a no from us...
*FYI: the last two solutions we would only ever recommend for natural hair only (defo’ not on extensions) Additionally, unless you’re asking for a doomed do’ we would highly recommend you book in with your stylist for these processes.*
A Bleach Wash
Now if you’re looking for a dye remover with a little more oomph, a bleach wash is for you. Involving diluting bleach powder with shampoo to lift dark hues, this is the technique used for a faster fix.
We didn’t try this one on our hair, but if you’re looking to give it a test run, we’ll give you the heads up that this hack may result in a brassy finish.
Professional Colour Correction
For those who have tried it all, leaving your hair in the hands of a knowledgeable stylist is often the wisest move. Whilst it may cost considerably more than the above routes, a professional will be able to give you a realistic idea of what’s possible and achievable depending on the condition of your hair.
Whether your hair has been over processed, or you’ve gone a little bit overboard on the black box dye, a visit to the salon will give you the best chance of saving your tresses.
For the vitamin C one: you have to leave it in way longer than 45 minutes, at least an hour to two hours. Only then you’ll see the colour faded. What also helps is mixing the the tablets with anti dandruff shampoo.
I had highlights yesterday and some of my hair came out with a purple white grey tinge from the purple toning shampoo. I obviously left it in too long. I searched Google and decided to try the easy option of head and shoulders shampoo to try and remove the lilac hair. To my surprise, it actually worked and now my hair is the blonde I wanted. Yay. Great tip.
My hair is dyed a dark red and I would like to go a shade brighter red. Would this work for me? The claryifing shampoo or anti dandruff. What do you think?
Fantastic article, do you think this would work( the anti dandruff approach) from getting dye out of grey hair, i've been putting a light blonde on the roots for years to disguise them?
We're glad it was helpful! This should still help to lift the blonde dye out, but we would advise checking this specific query with your stylist if you're unsure.
We would recommend checking with your stylist first for their professional advice.
The treatment we have recommended should help lift the toner to lighten the hair :)
Hi there! I died my blonde hair ginger with box dye a few months ago. It’s faded a lot and since then, I’ve even gone to the salon and gotten my hair bleached to return to blonde. But there’s still some red in there that I’d like to get rid of. Would these methods work without messing up the bleach/hair color my stylist did? (: thanks so much
We would recommend checking with your stylist first because you've had some professional input with dyeing so far - they may be able to tailor their advice specifically to the bleach they applied to your hair :)
hey, i recently had blonde highlights done on my hair but she put a toner that was a shade darker than i wanted.. will the dandruff shampoo and baking soda help get it to a lighter blonde ?
We would recommend checking with your stylist first for their professional advice.
The treatment we have recommended should help lift the toner to lighten the hair :)
Heyy,
I died my hair Monday 15th a dark brown witch was a base 3 and thought it was too “black” for my liking. Everyone els seems to like the colour on me but I’m not so sure my natural hair colour is a base 5 and was hoping to lift the colour I have now a little lighter so it looks natural. I’m not sure what clarifying shampoo to go for, also does anti dandruff shampoo work if so witch one should I get??
Thank you
Abbie x
We would always recommend checking with your stylist first for their professional advice.
However, if you were looking for a good shampoo to lift the colour slightly, our favourite clarifying shampoo is the OUAI Detox Shampoo.
i bleached my hair. dyed it silver then when it mostly faded i dyed it reddish/orange and brown but now it’s faint unequally and want to get ride of all the colour. what would be the best?♀️
Firstly, we would recommend avoiding any toners on your hair whilst you are trying to strip the temporary colour.
We would also suggest using a clarifying shampoo over the next couple of weeks to detox your hair; hopefully, the remainder of the colour will then fade.
Failing this, we would suggest checking with your hairstylist for their professional advice.
I had my hair which was grey with low lights. I wanted to try all over light silvery color. It came out too dark. What can I do to lighten it up. I used a regular shampoo and it did lighten it up a little bit, but a lot less than I thought. Andy ideas? I can’t get in to my colorist for at least a week!
We would always suggest checking with your hairstylist for their professional advice first, especially if you have a hair appointment coming up soon.
However, we would recommend avoiding any toners on your hair whilst you are trying to strip the darker colour. We would also suggest using a clarifying shampoo over the next week to detox your hair; hopefully, the remainder of the colour will then fade.
I used the vit c with shampoo it works great , I had jet black hair its now faded to brown. You have to mix 1 part vit c powder to 2 parts shampoo, shampoo must also be dye free or it's doesn't work. This process can be done once a week till it's faded to your liking. I don't recommend vit c tablets you can buy it in a powder form that is called acscorbic acid. If you leave it on for 60 min and wash your hair be sure to leave conditioner in for a good 10 min then rinse and apply Moroccan oil. Thanks to my Amazing hairdresser for this super healthy hack.... PS head and shoulders did not work
Fantastic article, do you think this would work( the anti-dandruff approach) from getting dye out of grey hair, I've been putting a light blonde on the roots for years to disguise them?
I’m 61 years old. My hair grows very fast. It’s thick . Of course a bit less thick than I was younger . I just don’t want to dye it any more . I’m all grey ( whitish in front and salt and pepper in the back ). I just want to go natural . I literally don’t have any patience in a salon . So , I’ve perfected the art of dying my hair at home by using Satin 20 developer and and Satin level 6N but stopped a few months ago . My hair grows fast and very thick . I don’t want to bleach my hair . Half of my hair is still dyed but fading into a brassy color . It’s hard to wait so long to go gray . I saw a video of someone who : washed her hair rigorously with head and shoulders , rinsed , then applied head and shoulders and left it on for 5 min , rinsed , washed it again with head and shoulders again . Her dark hair was more brown . Will her method of head and shoulders use help fade the brassy brown faster ?
I just get so tired of having to dye my roots almost every week . At my age , I still have a full , thick hair . It takes a long time to dye my hair . On the rare occasions that I’ve gone to a professional hair dresser , she gets frustrated because she needs twice as much dye to dye my hair .
This could help lift your colour out for sure, just be careful that you're not over-drying your hair in the process as these shampoos can strip some of the natural oils. If you want to go to your natural grey shade, it might be worth speaking with a stylist so that they can help you transition away from using dyes without there being such a drastic difference between your root colour and the dye you're using. I hope this helps!
Thanks for your feedback
Fantastic news! We're so glad you found our tips useful.
Best wishes
M+B xx
I think your stylist would be most helpful with this.
Best wishes
M+B xx
We're glad it was helpful! This should still help to lift the blonde dye out, but we would advise checking this specific query with your stylist if you're unsure.
Best wishes
M+B xx
That's great! We're so glad it works for you!
Best wishes,
M+B xx
We would recommend checking with your stylist first for their professional advice.
The treatment we have recommended should help lift the toner to lighten the hair :)
M+B xx
We would recommend checking with your stylist first because you've had some professional input with dyeing so far - they may be able to tailor their advice specifically to the bleach they applied to your hair :)
M+B xx
M+B xx
We would recommend checking with your stylist first for their professional advice.
The treatment we have recommended should help lift the toner to lighten the hair :)
M+B xx
I died my hair Monday 15th a dark brown witch was a base 3 and thought it was too “black” for my liking. Everyone els seems to like the colour on me but I’m not so sure my natural hair colour is a base 5 and was hoping to lift the colour I have now a little lighter so it looks natural. I’m not sure what clarifying shampoo to go for, also does anti dandruff shampoo work if so witch one should I get??
Thank you
Abbie x
We would always recommend checking with your stylist first for their professional advice.
However, if you were looking for a good shampoo to lift the colour slightly, our favourite clarifying shampoo is the OUAI Detox Shampoo.
M+B xx
Firstly, we would recommend avoiding any toners on your hair whilst you are trying to strip the temporary colour.
We would also suggest using a clarifying shampoo over the next couple of weeks to detox your hair; hopefully, the remainder of the colour will then fade.
Failing this, we would suggest checking with your hairstylist for their professional advice.
M+B xx
We would always suggest checking with your hairstylist for their professional advice first, especially if you have a hair appointment coming up soon.
However, we would recommend avoiding any toners on your hair whilst you are trying to strip the darker colour. We would also suggest using a clarifying shampoo over the next week to detox your hair; hopefully, the remainder of the colour will then fade.
M+B xx
I just get so tired of having to dye my roots almost every week . At my age , I still have a full , thick hair . It takes a long time to dye my hair . On the rare occasions that I’ve gone to a professional hair dresser , she gets frustrated because she needs twice as much dye to dye my hair .
Help . Thank you
This could help lift your colour out for sure, just be careful that you're not over-drying your hair in the process as these shampoos can strip some of the natural oils. If you want to go to your natural grey shade, it might be worth speaking with a stylist so that they can help you transition away from using dyes without there being such a drastic difference between your root colour and the dye you're using. I hope this helps!
M+B xx