How to remove hair dye at home. 5 proven methods

What is hair dye removal?

Human hair color depends on the ratio of melanin pigments. Brown-haired women and brunettes have more eumelanin, while redheads and blondes have more pheomelanin. In hairdressing, this is called the tone depth level (DTL).

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It is a rare woman who is satisfied with the natural balance of melanins. In search of the perfect look, we constantly apply makeup and repaint. To change your hair color, you need to remove the pigments in your hair. If chemical paint is used, the place for the cosmetic pigment is “cleared” by ammonia or its substitute monoethanolamine. If it’s natural, organic acids work.

During dyeing, the hair acquires a so-called background lightening (FO, the dominant residual pigment). This is the color of melanin that still remains in the hair.

When too much cosmetic pigment accumulates and it sits very tightly in the hair, recoloring does not give the desired result. If, when dyeing, the shade is applied unevenly or you don’t like it, you need to return to the lightening background, that is, do a wash.

Washing (or, as professionals say, decapitating) is the removal of cosmetic pigment from the hair and a return to the base color.

Washing is not an independent procedure. This is not a hair mask. You cannot destroy dye molecules without giving anything in return. If you don’t color your hair after pickling, there will still be voids in it, and due to excessive porosity it will break.

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In what cases is it necessary to remove black color from hair?

Raven-colored hair looks stylish and mysterious, but only if it is harmoniously combined with the color type of appearance. Such an experiment is unlikely to beautify the owner of porcelain skin with freckles or an overly young lady.

Often, an intense black color scheme looks very rough, sometimes vulgar, and in many cases visually adds several years to a woman.

Therefore, the surest way to avoid getting into an unpleasant situation is to correlate the desired color with the features of your appearance. For anyone who suits black hair, we recommend reading it on our website.

If the job has already been done, and the result is not pleasing, you will have to think about how to wash off the black dye from your hair without causing much damage to it.

This is necessary not only in the case when the shade did not suit you, it turned out to be richer than expected, but also if after several weeks, months or years of regular coloring you are already quite tired of it.

If you want to become at least a few shades lighter, get ready to wash out a dark color. The procedure is also required for girls who want to experiment with the fashionable techniques of bronzing, balayage, and shatush and at the same time look as if their strands were bleached by the sun.

Attention! Of course, raven-colored curls are not a contraindication for complex coloring, but still the contrast of black and the natural range of light shades is too striking to look natural.

Do you always need to wash the dye out of your hair?

Washing is often confused with bleaching as both typically involve the use of bleach powder and an oxygenator. But these are two different concepts.

Decapitation is a rollback to the base color, and lightening is a change in the UGT for subsequent tinting to the desired shade. Let's look at it with an example.

Tone Depth Levels

A girl with tone depth level 8 decided to become dark blond, that is, go down to 6. She dyed her hair, but the result in the mirror disappointed her. To return the previous color, she needs to remove the cosmetic pigment she doesn’t like, that is, do a wash. After decapitation, she will be able to give her hair the desired shade.

But if the same girl, after unsuccessful dyeing, wants to become an ash blonde, then there is no point in doing a wash. It is necessary to destroy the old cosmetic pigment and melanin remnants by raising the UGT to 10. In this case, lightening is done.

4 mistakes when lightening hair at home →

Is this procedure safe?

Many girls ask, is it possible to dye your hair with gouache without harming your hair? The answer is extremely simple: gouache contains no substances that bring the strands to a emaciated state after application. However, you shouldn’t get carried away with constant color changes. The product consists of pigments and a binding consistency based on glue and white. The composition includes zinc white and PVA glue, and they do not pose a danger to the hairstyle after a single application. But with frequent use, curls can turn into dry and brittle straw. If necessary, you need to revive your strands with nourishing masks for dry hair.

What are the types of washes?

1. Alkaline . They involve the destruction of cosmetic pigment with a lightening powder with an oxidizing agent or special professional compounds. They are effective, but require strict adherence to technology.
2. Acidic . They are made with folk or professional remedies that contain acid. More gentle, but will not cope well with dark hair colored with household and vegetable dyes.

Hairdressers and colorists do not accept home pickling, especially with specialized products or powder. When working with professional products, you need to take into account many nuances: from proportions and exposure time to neutralization of the reaction. But, unfortunately, these nuances can also be missed in the salon. If you decide to wash it with professional products at home, study the equipment very carefully and be prepared for surprises.

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How to remove hair dye with bleaching powder

Prepare the mixture

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You will need a dust-free brightening powder and an oxygen agent of 1.5%.

The amount depends on the length of the hair. For example, an average length requires 30 g of powder and 150 ml of oxygen.

The ratio of ingredients is from 1: 5 to 1: 7. For example, if your tone depth level is 9 or 10 and the unwanted shade is not very ingrained, you can dilute the powder in a ratio of 1: 6 or 1: 7. If your UGT is 7 or 8, or too much unwanted pigment has accumulated, do 1:5.

The specific proportion depends on what was used for the previous coloring, how dark the base is and what the general condition of the hair is. Therefore, it is best to contact an experienced specialist in a beauty salon. But if you decide to wash with powder at home, remember: the more oxidizing agent, the less aggressive the effect on the hair.

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Separate a small strand at the back of your head and apply a little mixture to it. If there are no unpleasant sensations and the curl becomes lighter, proceed to the next step.

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Apply the mixture to your hair

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Apply the just prepared mixture in a thick layer to clean, dry hair. Move from roots to ends. Do not distribute the mixture with a comb, but apply it to each strand.

Keep for up to 15 minutes. Constantly monitor the reaction. If your hair becomes lighter after 5-7 minutes, immediately proceed to the next step.

Some girls wash with powder, adding water or so-called American shampoo to it. This is pointless, since the pH of the composition and the stability of the reaction are disrupted, which does not have the most positive effect on the quality of the hair. Salons sometimes use American shampoo to remove fresh, literally just applied dye if the client is dissatisfied with the result.

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Rinse it off

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Wash off the mixture with a cleansing chelate, that is, alkaline shampoo (pH - 7 or more). This product is sold in hairdressing stores. It is not cheap, but is used very sparingly.

Regular shampoos, even sulfate ones, are not suitable for neutralizing highly alkaline products such as oxygen powder.

Complete the reaction

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Use a neutralizing shampoo with a pH of 5 or less. You can also find it in specialized stores.

Apply balm or mask. The most nutritious thing you have.

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Dyeing your hair with gouache yourself

Before dyeing your hair with artistic pigments, you need to prepare all the necessary tools and materials.

How to paint curls with gouache yourself

So, in addition to gouache you will need:

1. Fine comb with thick teeth.
2. Hair dye brush.
3. In the absence of one, an old toothbrush will do , but it will be difficult to apply the pigment evenly with a regular painting brush due to the softness of the bristles.
4. Container with water.

Shades

As with any coloring, the selection of shades for painting strands with gouache must be carried out, focusing on the natural color of the girl’s curls.

The following recommendations will help you decide on a color scheme for your hair:

• Girls with light brown and white locks will look beautiful with soft pastel shades such as lavender, baby blue, light gray and peach.

Advice. To achieve a delicate tone, mix the shade of gouache you like with white.

• Girls with dark curls should pay attention to rich colors: blue, red, purple.

Red-haired beauties should give preference to green and brown pigment.

Type of gouache

You can purchase art dye at any stationery store or artist's shop.

The price of paint can vary greatly: gouache for professional painting will cost more than regular paint from a simple office supply store. But in this case, more expensive does not mean better.

Many not-so-useful impurities are added to professional gouache to ensure uniform application of pigment to the canvas and prevent it from cracking. In the case of hair coloring, these qualities will not be useful.

Another thing is children's gouache, called “Finger paints”. You don't have to worry about the safety of this product. Below we provide a table with popular manufacturers and prices for this product.

Management

Having prepared everything you need and purchased art dye, you can proceed directly to the process itself.

Step-by-step instructions for the procedure look like this:

1. Clean and dry hair should be combed thoroughly.
2. Separate the strands that will be dyed.
3. Wet selected curls with water.
4. Dilute the gouache with water to a creamy consistency.
5. Dip a dye brush into it and apply the pigment to your hair.
6. Using a fine-toothed comb, comb through the curl while it is still damp.
7. Repeat application of dye to fill any voids.
8. Comb the strand thoroughly again.

When the dye has dried, you need to comb your hair again to remove excess dye.

That's the whole simple procedure. This process can be clearly seen in the video in this article.

Important! Remember that gouache is afraid of water. If you get caught in the rain or accidentally get your curls wet, the result will be ruined.

How to remove hair dye with coconut oil

Prepare the oil

For medium length hair, you will need 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil. You can use olive or sunflower, but coconut is more effective.

Unrefined, extra virgin coconut oil works due to the saturated fatty acids it contains, especially lauric acid. It penetrates very deeply into the hair shaft and perfectly destroys the polymer bond of the dye. It is better if the coke oil has a global organic certificate (for example, USDA Organic, EcoCERT, BDIH, and so on).

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Melt the oil in a water bath or on a radiator until it becomes liquid and transparent.

Apply oil to your hair

Apply generously to dry hair, from roots to ends. If styling products were used, your hair should be washed first.

Wait

Tie your hair in a bun, put on a shower cap and walk like this for 2-3 hours. To enhance the effect, you can additionally apply heat by wrapping your head in a towel or blowing with a hairdryer.

It takes quite a long time for the oil to penetrate into the deeper layers of the hair. Therefore, you can safely leave the oil compress overnight.

Wash off the oil

Afterwards, wash off the oil using a cleansing shampoo or regular shampoo. At the end, apply a nourishing balm.

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If the paint is not completely washed off, repeat the procedure.

How to remove hair dye with sour cream

Apply sour cream to your hair

Generously treat the entire length of the hair with rich sour cream (15–20%). For medium length you will need about 200 g. For long lengths - 400–600 g.

Animal fats and lactic acid effectively break down cosmetic pigment in the hair. The latter also works as a peeling, and a clean scalp is one of the essential components of healthy hair.

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As an alternative to sour cream, you can use kefir or fermented baked milk. But their fat content, and therefore their effectiveness, is lower. And it’s inconvenient - too liquid.

Wait

Pull your hair into a bun or ponytail and wear a shower cap. Keep it for 2-3 hours.

Rinse it off

Rinse with cleansing or regular shampoo and apply conditioner.

How to dry your hair correctly →

How to wash paint with soda

Soda is an alkaline compound. Soda opens the outer scales of the hair, penetrates inside and partially removes the artificial pigment. You can prepare a soda mask yourself: dilute 150 g of soda in a liter of water and apply to hair for 20 minutes. You can put a plastic bag on top. After the first procedure, the hair color will change slightly. You can use this method several times, but not too often. You can also add a tablespoon of baking soda to your shampoo when washing your hair. Laundry soap has a similar effect, but is more gentle on hair.

Alkaline environments dry out your hair and scalp and can cause dandruff. Therefore, after a soda or soap mask, you need to apply a moisturizing conditioner .

How to remove hair dye with lemon juice

Citric acid in its pure form cannot be applied to the head: you can get a burn. But you can make a mask with it.

Prepare the mixture

• juice of 1 lemon;
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
• 1 egg;
• 2 teaspoons honey.

Squeeze the juice from the lemon and strain. Add olive, burdock or other vegetable oil of your choice. Break the egg, pour in honey. It contains a lot of organic acids, which enhance the lightening effect and exfoliate dead cells on the scalp. Using a fork or whisk, mix everything until smooth.

Apply the mask and wait

Distribute the mask over the entire length of your hair, wrap it in plastic. To enhance the effect, you can wrap your head in a towel. Keep it for 1-2 hours.

Rinse it off

Rinse off with plenty of water.

Sometimes mayonnaise is used for rinsing. There is also citric acid, but its concentration is so low that it is unlikely to have an effect.

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How to remove face painting from a child's face

As a rule, face painting is mainly washed off from the face. This is not surprising, knowing the purpose of these paints.

So, 2 simplest ways to remove face painting from your face:

• Wash with warm water and soap
• Remove the pattern with a damp cloth

Both methods are equally effective. Face painting washes off quite easily. However, only on the condition that the child’s drawing is made with high-quality face painting paints.

Attention! If difficulties arise when washing off the drawing, it means that the drawing was made with low-quality paints. Or with paints not intended for painting on skin

How to remove hair dye with aspirin

Acetylsalicylic acid can get rid of not only the temperature, but also the unwanted shade on the hair. It is especially good at neutralizing green colors that may appear after visiting the pool.

Prepare the mixture

• 1 liter of warm water;
• 10 aspirin tablets.

Crush acetylsalicylic acid tablets.

Dissolve the resulting powder in water.

Use as a mouthwash

Rinse your hair with this solution every time after washing and before applying conditioner.

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How to remove oil-based face painting from a brush

Unfortunately, oil-based face painting is difficult to remove from a brush. It does not wash off with warm water. But, warm water and soap washes off without a trace. However, it is not recommended to wash brushes with soapy water.

More precisely, soap brushes lose their properties. Therefore, if you decide to paint with oil-based face painting, use brushes that you won’t mind parting with.

Advice. After using oil-based face painting, the brushes can be gently wiped with a soft cloth. This method is considered gentle and effective

Things to remember

1. A wash is necessary if you are unhappy with the coloring result or want to return your lightened background.
2. It is best to do an alkaline wash in a salon, so that the master correctly calculates the proportions of the blond composition and carries out the procedure.
3. If you're not afraid to experiment and have already worked with brightening powder, try making a wash at home. Just don’t forget to tint your curls with a chemical dye afterwards (no henna or basma!).
4. Do not dilute the bleaching powder and oxygenator with water or shampoo.
5. If you have very dark hair, use gentle acidic removers. Coconut oil, sour cream, lemons and aspirin work great.
6. To say goodbye to unnecessary cosmetic pigment, washing with folk remedies will probably have to be done more than once.
7. Be prepared that folk recipes may not be effective against some dyes.