Green hair color is unique in hair care because it can be achieved on purpose or by accident. Green as a fashion color is growing in popularity, and you can wear any shade of green from lime, mint, forest green, or true green.
Also, green strands can come up within blonde or bleached blonde hair, especially after swimming. It can be tough to maintain blonde hair, so many hair stylists recommend using a purple shampoo to cancel out brassy or yellow tones.
Chlorine and other harsh metals can turn blonde hair green right before your eyes. Also, green can be one of the more difficult fashion colors to keep up or remove. So, reaching for a purple shampoo to fix your hair may feel like common sense.
So, can you use purple shampoo on green hair? Unfortunately, purple shampoo won’t be able to cancel out any green tones in your hair. Purple shampoos are designed to neutralize yellow tones and won’t provide the same effect for green hair.
However, you can neutralize green hair in multiple ways, like using another color-depositing and toning shampoo or using a hair dye over green strands. So, how can you neutralize or fix green hair? Read on for more!
Will Purple Shampoo Fix Green Hair?
It may seem like a no-brainer to reach for purple shampoo to fix green hair, especially if you’re a blonde who obtained green hair from the pool. However, it’s even challenging to eliminate dyed green hair because purple can’t stop or neutralize green tones.
Purple is the opposite of yellow on the color wheel, so it’s designed to eliminate yellow and warm tones with blonde or light colored hair.
What Color Neutralizes Green Hair?
So, what color will neutralize green if you can’t use purple shampoo? If you look at the color wheel, you’ll notice that green and red are opposite, just like purple and yellow. So, red will quickly eliminate and neutralize green tones from the hair.
Instead of purple shampoo, try reaching for a product with red pigments.
How Can You Fix Green Hair?
What products can you use to fix green hair after it turns green? Thankfully, there are multiple ways to get rid of green strands, but not all of them may be safe to perform alone at home. Some techniques are better under the supervision of a hairstylist.
Common solutions to fix green hair include using a red shampoo, applying color over the green, using a color remover, or attempting to bleach out the green.
Red Shampoo
A red shampoo is a safe and effective option to use at home to eliminate green hair. A red shampoo will dispense red pigments into the hair so it can neutralize green. It’s an easy-to-use product that won’t be as damaging as color or bleach.
However, red shampoo may not show instant results, and it can take a few washes to eliminate most of your green hair.
Color
Another option is to color over your green hair.
For example, you can apply a red dye over green hair to cancel out any cool tones. However, you will achieve a darker or brown base shade, so this method may not be beneficial for maintaining blonde strands.
You may be tempted to conceal green with other colors like blue or purple, which can work temporarily but can still cause an issue down the road when you want to eliminate these colors too.
Color Remover
Color removers are a standard product to reach for when you want to eliminate challenging hair colors. This can include shades like black (especially black box dye), red, green, or even blue. However, color removers can be overly harsh on the hair.
Bleach
Finally, you can try to use bleach to eliminate green hair if you want to reach a light base shade. This can be extremely risky to do at home, especially without knowing the effects of an improper bleach application.
Bleach can severely damage the hair, especially if it’s already color-treated or chemically processed. So, this option is better to execute with a professional hairdresser.
How Effective Is Red Shampoo For Green Hair?
How well does red shampoo work on green hair? A red shampoo will be more efficient than purple shampoo because red and green can neutralize each other. How well the red works can depend on the standing of your hair.
It may take a few washes to notice a difference in your green hair if it’s heavily dyed or pigmented. Also, red and green can easily mix into a brown shade, so it’s crucial to proceed with caution and perform a test strand.
Benefits Of Red Shampoo
Red shampoo can quickly neutralize green hair. In addition, it can eliminate this color more healthily when compared to other options like color or bleach. It can also help achieve a natural color, but it may be challenging to maintain blonde hair after using it.
How Effective Is Coloring Over Green Hair?
Coloring over green hair may be an excellent option for a natural brown shade. This may be a good option if you want to return to a natural color with a medium to dark base. Red hair dye may quickly eliminate green strands.
However, if you’d like to maintain fashionable hair colors, you can opt for covering green with other cool-toned dyes like blue or purple.
Benefits Of Re-Coloring Green Hair
The benefits of recoloring hair are that you can potentially get rid of green altogether with just one coloring session depending on the shade you choose. Also, you can achieve a rich, vivid, and opaque hue by coloring over green hair.
However, it may not be beneficial to simply put a color over green hair if you want a lighter base or to maintain blonde strands.
Risks Of Removing Green Dye At Home
There are a few things to consider before you apply red shampoo or dye over your hair. First, removing green from the strands at home can be extremely challenging, and it’s a technique that takes professional hairdressers years to master.
If you use incorrect techniques, you may experience brittle strands, breakage, or scalp irritation.
Breakage
Breakage can occur if your strands are already compromised or heavily color/chemically treated. So, coloring or bleaching out green at home may pose a significant risk. It’s crucial to visit a stylist or conduct extensive research.
Also, an easy way to avoid breakage is by performing a test strand to see how your hair reacts to color or bleach.
Brittle Strands
Another common side effect of doing your hair at home is brittle strands. In addition, your hair can often feel dry or straw-like if it’s over-processed. This can also occur by using color-treating shampoos without a nourishing component.
Feeding your hair nourishment and hydration is essential, especially after using color, bleach, or red/purple shampoos. One easy way to do so is with a deep conditioning mask (like this effective one from Moroccanoil).
Scalp Irritation
Finally, we have scalp irritation. Your hair will only be as healthy as your scalp. So improper bleaching or coloring techniques can result in itchiness, flakes, or burns, especially on the scalp. It may be wise to visit a color specialist in this case.
Scalp irritation could affect your future hair growth or make it more challenging to eliminate green hair if the first color service wasn’t successful.
Which Method Is Best For You?
So how can you eliminate green hair without purple shampoo? Some of the most effective ways are to use a red shampoo and gradually fade out the green or use hair color to conceal the green.
Each method has pros and cons, and results can vary by the state of your hair. You can also perform a test strand to see how well your hair reacts to a specific formula.
Color
Coloring your hair can be effective if you want a natural color. For example, a red dye can eliminate green, but it may result in a brown shade depending on the intensity and tone of your green strands. You may also decide to color it with another fashion color.
Please seek advice from a hairdresser if you want to eliminate green hair and have blonde hair.
Red Shampoo
A more straightforward technique involves replacing your purple shampoo with red shampoo. Red will neutralize green quickly. However, perform a test strand if you plan to use red shampoo on blonde hair to eliminate green from a pool or swimming.
It may also take a few washes to eliminate any green within your hair completely.
Contact A Hairdresser
Color corrections are some of the most challenging salon services that require a color specialist or years of experience. In addition, it may be challenging to eliminate green hair on your own, even with a red shampoo or dye.
Consult a hairdresser, especially if you plan to go light or want blonde hair. This will ensure you keep the integrity of your hair without severely damaging it. Also, you can rest assured knowing purple shampoo won’t help eliminate green tones.
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