Hair nightmare- Orange roots

[mumofone100]

With no hairdressers open plus I'm getting married in 2 months I am really upset I've done this to myself.....

Look at my pictures attached

How do you fix bleached hair gone bad?

I've tried purple shampoo and masks but still no budging and my head feels so sore I don't feel I will have any hair left if I dye/ bleach it again.

Help....any hairdressers out there with advice would be very welcome x

Oh no!

I'm not a hairdresser, but maybe a temporary, light, ash blonde toner? Not another permanent dye, I wouldn't think. Otherwise... clever up do and accessories for your wedding? Something where the roots don't show. It isn't TERRIBLE either, but I can see why you don't like it!

Not sure if you're in the UK? (As you're in a vest and it looks sunny!) but try Lee Stafford bleach blonde purple toner from Boots. Towel dry after your normal shampoo, apply to roots and leave for at least my ten minutes, rinse and condition.. You'll need to use it regularly.

Alternatively, for a permanent fix try Bleach London White toner. It neutralizes all yellow tones and will give you the platinum shade you want. Apply only to roots and pull down to blend. Avoid the ends of your hair to prevent damage. There's a reincarnation mask included which is brilliant for the condition of your hair.

Good luck, it doesn't look that bad as it is but it's easily fixed.

It's too dark/orange for a purple toner to work, it needs to be lighter for that to make any difference.

The two options are:

Dye it all dark (but then you would possibly need to look in to pre toning with a red to stop it going green tinged, if it's all bleached - or look into specific hair dyes, brown box dyes you get in Boots often have red in them I think, even the ones that aren't supposed to be red, probably to get round this very problem!)

Wait a few days and bleach the roots again. If you want blonde it will definitely need lifting a bit more. If you are careful it will probably be OK, don't leave it on too long.

What did you use to bleach it initially? What is your natural hair colour?

I am not a hairdresser, but I do bleach my own hair at home fairly successfully. I

Be verrrrry careful, it would be very easy to snap all the white blonde hair by layering bleach. Toner requires the correct level of developer and you may need some sections corrected, we can’t tell from the photo. A light ash blonde toner comes in so many shades and you may end up with something you hate too, it’s not an all over whack it on process.

Honestly, I would leave this, let your scalp recover and see a hairdresser in a month or so, you would be heartbroken to ruin the length as well as the colour. Chewing gum/short hair would make you more sad!

Are you wearing a tiara/veil/flowers/hair up?

Light Ash blonde/white toners wouldn't work anyway because the hair isn't lifted enough. 'Ash' just means blue/purple tones to cancel put yellow, it won't make the hair any lighter, more bleach is needed for that.

I agree that it's probably best just to leave it, unless you want to risk going back in with more bleach which is very risky if you are getting married soon! Hopefully the hairdressers will open soon. In the meantime it doesn't look that bad anyway.

This is the sort of thing I meant:

www.boots.com/scott-cornwall-colour-restore-cool-ash-hair-toner-100ml-10140312

It won't lighten the hair, but it is supposed to get rid of the orange. That one gets a bad review though and it is semi-permanent, so maybe too much.

But, if you can leave it for the time being, hairdressers might reopen soon and you can get it fixed before the big day, or as I said up thread, a clever up do with accessories to hide the roots . Don't worry too much. I think brides always look beautiful, if they're happy (as every bride I've ever seen IRL has been).

I disagree about toners. Deeply pigmented purple toners completely neutralise the yellow tones in my hair. The ones I suggested take yellow hair to a white blonde and are definitely worth trying. The permanent toner with developer I recommended should be used after you've let your scalp recover a bit, you say it feels sore? All I can think is that you've burnt your scalp with bleach? It doesn't look red in the photo but do be careful.

I agree Barbara about the risks of using more bleach. Not only to your hair but you're risking causing damage to the skin on your scalp. Rebleaching your roots should be a last resort and you're right hairdressers should be open soon.

If restrictions are lifted enough to allow weddings/social gatherings then hairdressers should be operating with restrictions (masks, limited numbers) like they were when lockdown was eased last year?

The other problem is that the OP has 'hot roots' where the hair directly next to the scalp is quite light and yellow, but the hair further away from the scalp is still very orange. It happens because the heat of your scalp causes the hair to lift quicker near the root than further away (my YouTube hairdressing education coming through here! 😂)

So even with a toner it will still be an uneven result, because it won't be able to tone the orange and might actually make it worse because then she will have really bright white blonde roots where the toner has taken, and then a band of orange.

Blue does tone orange, but I think blue toners are more supposed to be used with darker hair with brassy orange undertones, because if you use it on hair that is 'blonde orange' then the yellow in the blonde mixes with the blue and makes green! And as I said, the very root of the hair is yellow so you could end up with green roots.

Yes, I think you're right that it will still be uneven with a toner and waiting for a pro is probably more sensible.

But IF you do anything, I'd go non permanent. No more DIY bleach! Toners can be really temporary.
You could even maybe use something you can wash in wash out. Purple or cool ash blonde to make it less orange (but it will still be uneven). But even that might be too much for your very bleached hair tbh. I bleach mine too btw, but am having to give mine a big break. No more bleach or dye for me for a while. But I'm not about to get married, so easy for me to do.

Yes a toner might take in an uneven way. You'd have to be careful to apply to the roots only. As mentioned, toners are a temporary fix, even the Bleach London one I recommended is semi permanent. I think if you want to try something at home, a purple or "white" toner is the way forward.

However, I'm quite gung ho about DIY hair. I've been cutting, bleaching and toning my hair at home for years and have learnt from my mistakes. I would second using You tube tutorials and trawling the internet for reviews and recommendations before proceeding.

This is my hair after using Lee Stafford toner on fairly yellowish bleached roots. It's not completely even, but I quite like the multi tonal look!

I also think your hair would benefit from a good chop.

You can still keep a decent length but have a few more layers and several inches off. The ends will be much lighter than the roots anyway after years of bleaching and sun so that'd give you a more uniform look. I'd love to get my hands on your hair Op but probably best to let a professional cut it.[ wink]

Yes, I agree that just a few inches off the ends would make your hair look and feel a lot healthier! You would still have lovely, long hair for your wedding, even with a good bit off it.

Thank you so much all for your input and advice, I am so scared of going near a bleach kit again.

Hairdressers all the way!
Until then il order some nice hats and cross your fingers hairdressers are open ahead of my big day. Looks more ginger when I tie my hair back unfortunately 😂

Just wish there was a definitive easy to use product that's not harmful to correct this.

You are all so lovely helping x

Leave it for a few days. Sometimes it lifts itself. If you hate it being orange spray your roots with some dark blonde roots cover