To ask for urgent advice on how to lighten my hair that I've just dyed

[Twinkletoenails]

Have just dyed my hair and left it on too long!! Gone a dark brown and way too dark for my colouring! Is there a shampoo that I can buy at tesco this eve?? Thanks all

This happened to me and I used washing up liquid.

Harsh on your hair but I used tons of conditioner.

Doubt you’ll be able to get anything at Tesco. You’re best going to Boots or Superdrug.

Head and shoulders strips colour (never tried it though!)

Head and shoulders Ive heard strips the colour from hair

Use something like head and shoulders or vosene if it's still available, it will lighten the dye. You need to wash it s few times.

If its semi permenant you can get it out with Head and shoulders or washing up liquid , I kid you not .
If its a permenant colour I am not sure . Might need to have it bleached then your usual colour on top .

Permanent or semi?

Medicated shampoo can apparently speed up it washing out if it's semi

Head and shoulders does a great job of stripping out colour and leaves your hair less straw like than washing up liquid (which as PP says works too if not H and S).

Head and Shoulders or Johnson’s baby shampoo. Also some bicarbonate of soda mixed in with the shampoo.

My stylist told me never to use Head and Shoulders on my colored hair, so I'd say use that.

If it’s permanent or no luck with H and S or washing up liquid then colour b4 works really well but it smells like something from the bowels of hell!

When this has happened to me I've just dyed it again.

Probably not good for my hair, but it worked.

I have done this -- it's not magic but it made it a bit lighter (mine was semi permanent): www.superdrug.com/blog/tutorials/remove-hair-dye/

Thanks all! Have just got to tesco now!

H&S stripping colour is a myth.

This is on their website -

Examining the myths
The idea that Head & Shoulders fades colour more comes from a misunderstanding about how our shampoos work. People believe that dandruff shampoos must be harsh on hair because they need to include dandruff-fighting ingredients that ‘strip away’ dandruff.
However, our products are formulated to protect your hair and keep it in good condition, which will help preserve your colour.
You might be surprised to learn that Head & Shoulders shampoos aren’t harsh at all. They use many of the same cleansing and moisturising ingredients found in typical non anti-dandruff or beauty shampoos.
What makes Head & Shoulders special is the addition of dandruff-fighting active ingredients that protect your scalp in-between washes from dandruff-causing irritants. These active ingredients do not strip hair colour.
So, what is responsible for stripping hair colour?
The short answer is: water! It’s the biggest enemy of hair colour- simply washing your hair will inevitably cause your colour to fade over time, as it dissolves and washes away the dye molecules from inside your hair strands.

Have you tried it? I have and it made a very perceptible difference after a couple of washes. More than when I’ve used other shampoos after colouring. I dye my hair a lot and often make awful choices so I end up doing this a lot

Thank you all. Have washed it four times with H and S but am yet to dry it, so hard to tell as yet! Wonder if swimming will help...

Vosene sleays did the job for me in this situation

Head & Shoulders as advised by my hairdresser only lightened my colour mistake a bit. Left it on for 20mins first time washed then after that used it few more times, with no more lightening. .

I had good luck with lightening very dark red with Colourless dye remover - I used the max effect one. The resulting colour wasn't very nice so I had to re-dye to a shade I liked, but it definitely lightened.

You haven’t said what the box colour was that you used?

If it’s a semi/demi, it will fade from using a strong detergent heavy shampoo (and will leave you hair in a dry condition).

Otherwise, if it’s a permanent one, you need either a colour remover (best left to the professionals) or bleach (best left to the professionals). 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you ring the helpline on the box they will advise. I did this before and they recommended an ash blonde on top of that particular one and it helped a lot!

Can you buy a colour reducer?

I've heard tons and tons of horror stories with using bleach wrongly. Chemical haircuts, frying, ect. And sometimes bleach will turn hair green due to the reaction with the residue if the dyes. Had that happen on my own head but I'd seen it happen on other people so it wasn't a big thing to me.

However, if you use a color remover, that won't kill your hair. Or at least not as easily and dramatically. Something like Colour B4. It does stink. Have plenty of conditioner handy for after. And set a timer to wash, wash, wash.

Both those things will actually remove the dye not just lighten it.

I suppose you could try a bleach wash for 5 minutes but it would be difficult to do without help.

It smells sort of eggy but it definitely works