How To Get Rid Of Grey Tones In Blonde Hair

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One day you comb through your beautiful bleach-blonde hair when you notice that it isn’t as blonde as you hoped it would be! And where did those grey tones come from!? There are many different tones in hair that can shift the overall color effect in different ways

The platinum and silver tones can look amazing on many people, but they may not be right for you. Sometimes they just look dull and grey! There’s only one solution: to get rid of them.

In this article, we will discuss how to get rid of grey tones in blonde hair. But we’re not just here to tell you how to get rid of grey tones. We’ll also tell you what might cause them so you can prevent them or take the necessary actions to correct them.

Contents

Why Does My Hair Have Grey Tones In It?

Graying tones on bleached blonde hair may be fine for some… but it isn’t for many. So what can be done about it?

The solution will vary depending on the circumstance and the cause of gray tones on your blonde hair. The common causes of grey tones are the following:

Due to the toner applied after bleaching
Due to ashy dye
Due to ashy toner
Due to your toning shampoo

Let’s zoom in on each of these.

Due To Toner After Bleaching

So you’ve mustered the courage to go to a salon and have your hair bleached so you can go blonde (or you did it yourself)!

Simply bleaching the hair may land you the exact blonde shade you’re looking for. There can be yellow or orange tones that have to be muted to get that beautiful blond hair perfectly on target.

To do that, the salon usually uses toner after bleaching your hair. However, sometimes instead of simply being a beautiful blonde, you end up with unflattering gray tones on your hair.

This does happen. And may be more common than you think! Don’t worry, there is an easy fix for this. All you have to do is be patient and let the greyish tones fade on their own.

With about 3 to 4 washes using shampoo and a conditioner, gray tones will gradually disappear.

If you just can’t wait and want faster results, you could wash your hair daily.

Due To An Ash Dye

Have you ever used a box dye kit before? Most of us have used them at least once in our life.

Did the color of your hair match the color on the box? It most likely didn’t because the color on the model’s hair might have been altered through the computer.

Instead of getting that ashy blonde look that’s been trending in various social media sites like Instagram, you end up with a very ashy color. Worse is when your hair already looks a bit greenish.

I know, the scenario is such a nightmare but there is a way to correct those undertones.

Taking a look at the color wheel, you’d see that the opposite of the gray, blue or green tones would be those that are a little golden or copper in color.

What you do is to buy hair dye that’s copper or gold. But don’t dye your hair immediately.

It is best to let 15 days pass before dying your hair again. With that time, the excess dye from the first one could be washed off and you may not need to dye your hair again after all.

If there are still dreaded greenish tones 15 days after you got your hair done, then you could color your hair again with dyes in the gold or copper color to cancel them out.

Using Ashy Toner

Ashy toners can help bring out the beautiful ash blonde color. However, sometimes the results are too ashy, or they fade. And your hair ends up being smoky in color.

When this happens, you should first try washing it out. About 4 to 5 washes may be enough to remove the smoky color.

If it doesn’t work, you may need to bleach the hair again. When you do, make sure you do it lightly, and be patient.

Only use a low-volume developer mixed with some shampoo. Allow the mixture to sit on your hair for about 5 minutes before rinsing it off completely.

If the grey tone is so stubborn that it still persists, repeat the process again but you should let a week pass before repeating.

Continue repeating the procedure until you don’t see the greyish tone anymore.

Using A Toning Shampoo

In order to maintain your blonde hair, most will tell you about using toning shampoo

They can come in various colors like purple, red, or blue. This will help cancel the brassiness of your bleached blonde hair.

You pick the shampoo color that is the opposite on the color wheel of the color you’re trying to remove.

These color toning shampoos work great and are easy to use at home. But if used excessively or incorrectly, they can cause your hair to slightly have a grayish tinge.

In that case, the best thing to do is to stop using it. Instead, you can just use a hydrating one. That can help remove the unwanted gray tones.

How To Get Rid Of Grey Tones In Blonde Hair

Sometimes, you may not really be sure what could have caused the grayish tones in your hair. So what do you do? Try the following:

Clarifying Shampoo

First, you can use clarifying shampoo . This is a type of shampoo that is stronger than the other shampoos.

It could remove the artificial pigments on your hair. It’s really simple to use because you just have to use it on your hair.

Anti-dandruff Shampoo

If you don’t have clarifying shampoo, an anti-dandruff shampoo should work too. Most of the time, the two have similar ingredients.

This can help remove grey tones from your blonde hair. Just like using clarifying shampoo, you should use a conditioner after.

Hydrating Hair Mask

Another thing you could do is to use a hydrating hair mask plus heat.

To do this, you simply need to apply the hair mask to your hair. Then cover it with a cap.

The heat from your scalp can help the mask be better absorbed by the hair strands. You need to let it stay on your hair for about 20 minutes before rinsing it out.

This method should be done two times a week to help gray tones to disappear.

Have It Corrected At The Salon

Tackling gray tones in your blonde hair may feel rewarding if you successfully remedy it. However, there are times that you could fail.

That could lead to a bigger problem especially if you did the wrong thing. If you really want to make sure that the correction goes smoothly, you may simply opt to go to a salon.

The hair professionals can assess your hair and tell you what to do to get rid of grey tones. If the problem can simply be fixed by clarifying shampoo, then they’ll let you do that.

However, if your hair needs another session of toning to cancel out the unwanted gray tones, they may do that. They are better at it because they can figure out exactly what tone to use so you don’t leave it to guesswork.

Home Remedies To Gray Tones In Blonde Hair

If you don’t have time to go out and purchase toners, hair dyes, or clarifying shampoo, you can still correct gray tones in your hair by using some home remedies such as the following.

Baking Soda

Baking soda can be used to help remove not only the stains and grease on your hair but the color too.

You just have to add a spoonful of it to the shampoo of your choice. Then shampoo like you usually do.

Gently rub your hair with this mixture. Don’t rub too vigorously because it might damage the hair strands.

After using the mixture, make sure you properly rinse the hair so that there isn’t any baking soda that’s left. Doing so prevents you from weakening the hair and damaging the hair follicles.

Lemon

Another home remedy would be to use citrus fruits like lemon. It contains acids that can help remove the grease from the hair.

Additionally, it can help remove some of the colors from your hair.

To use lemon, you should mix it with a conditioner and apply it to your hair. Using the conditioner helps prevent too much damage to your hair.

Dishwashing Liquid

Surprisingly, dishwashing liquid is useful in removing color from your hair. However, you should be careful using it. Dishwashing soap can be super harsh on your hair.

Those who have unhealthy hair should avoid using it because of the chemicals that are in it. Those chemicals are responsible for removing the color but they can be too harsh on the hair strands.