Just had a balayage. Looking a bit orange/brassy. Another session? And which purple/silver shampoo?

[Skinniesandconverse]

Hi,

Already had a thread about wanting one. Well, I have one and I'm reasonably happy, but as predicted, it's a little too warm and a bit brassy.

I think my hairdresser thinks the toner worked well and didn't suggest another session, but I can't say I love it....

Also, what purple (or silver...is this the same thing??) shampoo should I use? I hear they can be a bit drying and that's the last thing I want! Does it help with brassiness or just prolong what you already have?

Could I get another toner put on rather than having another bleaching session? Feeling sorry for my hair!

Many thanks

Anyone?? On my way out to boots

None from Boots!

The Fanola shampoo is excellent. Get it from Amazon.

Fudge violet toning shampoo and conditioner. From Amazon.

I'm a hairdresser! I swear by blue frosting purple shampoo. Absolutely amazing toner. Much nicer than fanola. I've converted so many clients to it now!

Damn! Just got back from boots and decided against buying anything, but I did just buy Shimmer Lights from Amazon. It seems to have good reviews on YouTube.

The Fanola one is ££££!!! Great reviews though.

Is it worth booking in for another toner?

Just giving this another bump, as could do with some advice

Bleach London from Boots, also the Lee Stafford blonde hot shots are really good.

When did you have the Colour done? I often find mine looks a little warm for the first week. I always wash with Go Blonde shampoo and within a week it tones down to a much cooler blonde.

I don't use the purple shampoos, tried it once and it toned down the top and dyed the ends blue!

The only silvering product I will use (I’ve tried them all) is this one. It works v well and is a great conditioner

Thanks!

I had the colour done on Wednesday and not even washed it yet.

I also had my base colour done to cover a few greys, but under bright lights, that looks quite red, with a slight orange tinge too! It's just supposed to be dark brown (my natural colour) so I'm hoping that fades. I think she put the toner all over my hair, but I'm not sure. I thought it would just be over the bleached bits, so it's all looking very warm, which doesn't seem to suit my skin tone.

Definitely the fudge one. It's amazing.

Ah, hiphop, I ordered some of that last night! 👍 Good to hear!

How long should I leave it on though? It seems to vary a lot in the reviews.

I had this issue recently. I purchased this.
From Amazon!
Excellent. I didn’t leave it on long and it really sorted out the brassyness.

Thanks, willow. I will bear this in mind if the other doesn't work out.

I'm booked in for another toner next week, but not sure if it's worth it, given it won't last long. Should I just wait for the next lightening session?

I've just started using the new L'Oréal Elvive purple shampoo and I absolutely love it. It's quite drying though so I use an intensive conditioner straight after. Got it on a half price introductory offer but it's not £££ full price anyway!

I've tried milkshake and L'Oréal and fudge and everything in-between! Fanola is best by far.

Well I tried the Fudge one, but wasn't massively impressed tbh. It's left my hair feeling very clean, but I can't really see a difference in terms of the warmth. I left it on for about 10 minutes. Maybe it wasn't long enough?...

What shade is your natural hair colour? If the blonde is still warm it's because it hasnt been lifted enough. Purple shampoo etc will only work if your hair is blonde enough to begin with (think banana shade). If the blonde is still orangey then unfortunately purple shampoo will do nothing and is a waste of your money. Toner can work but hairdressers tend to use demi/semi (as it's kind to the hair) and then it washes out.

The blonde areas may have not lifted enough because if your original hair colour is quite dark it will take several sessions to get light enough without causing loads of damage. You either need to go back to the hairdresser and get it lighter or accept the colour or keep your toner topped up.

I believe there are some "blue" shampoos which will help with orangey hair but they are just temporary. Think in terms of the colour wheel: purple cancels yellow... blue cancels orange.

I had several stages of balayage over about 18 months. I could never find a colourist who could properly conquer the brassiness and it got progessively worse and more orangey-yellow with each session. I eventually gave up and went dark again. It was a relief.

Ooh I wondered how you got on skinnies, pity it hasn't quite gone as you wanted!

I am still looking to get mine a bit lighter too - it's a tad orange - and perhaps get something done around the hairline to blend the dark with the grey a bit better (I didn't have a base colour done) - do they call that babylights?

How does it work though - balayage is woven/blended through natural hair and manually painted on, so how do they ever go over the same bits again to make them lighter?

I'm so simple about hair these days, in my day it was whack on some lightener, slap on some bright red vegetable dye, spray it so it stands on end and wallop, fanny's your aunt.

Hmm I'm nervous about going lighter, not just for the damage, but for too much contrast. I don't want it to look ombre and my colour doesn't start until quite far down, so it won't blend as well, I don't think. That said, I definitely don't want the orange to stick around

Thing is you're lightening the hair to lift past the orange to stop the brassiness (if that's your primary issue). A good colourist should then tone the hair to a suitable shade so you haven't got a marked contrast between your root area and lower down the hair.

No hair lifts ash blonde, it will generally always have an undertone of warmth and that's why toning is used to conteract but only if you've lifted sufficiently... and it's pretty temporary and warmth will always return.

There's a very talented lady on Insta who explains this all really well and knows her stuff about lightening hair - LisaLovesBalayage. This post from 19 Jan is worth a read.

My hairdresser recommended Osmo silver shampoo - I’ve not tried it yet though!