by Rhonda Piraino

Created on: May 13, 2008

If you've ever colored your hair, chances are good you've had a disaster. One of the most common tragedies results in orange hair. Unless it's Halloween or you're showing support for your favorite team, it's safe to say you don't want to live with this color, let alone even step outside. Here we'll discuss the steps to either remove the unwanted orange, or camouflage it to make it livable.

Let's back up a bit and talk about how your hair became orange in the first place. The path to orange hair can be the result of bleach or haircolor; we also need to know the natural level of your hair. Level refers to lightness or darkness.

So, let's say your natural level is light brown and you'd like to be lighter. You go to the grocery/beauty supplier/ drugstore and browse the haircolor aisle. How intimidating! Boxes and boxes with pictures of beautiful girls with even more amazing hair color. How can you tell which is for you?

Usually we'll choose the box that shows the color we want without considering what our natural color is. Instead, use these guidelines:

1. Don't use the picture on the box as a reference to how your hair will look. I can't walk down the haircolor aisle without shaking my head. There is one color line that features on the box an African-American with stunningly platinum blond hair. There is NO way a person with dark hair (African-American or not) can achieve light blond hair with one box of haircolor.

2. Look at the packaging for a base tone. This is what the primary base of the color is, e.g. golden, ash, auburn, etc. If you are lightening your hair, you need to choose something in the ash family (blue, green, violet) to eliminate the warm tones that are exposed when lightening hair.

If your hair is dark blond or lighter (levels 6 and above), you may be able to get to blond in one step. But if your hair is light brown or darker (levels 5 and lower) it has to go through a 2-step procedure.

If your hair falls into the lighter category, you still need to choose a color with an ash base, or you might end up with yellow hair. If you can go the 1-step route, it's crucial to time the color on based upon manufacturers' directions to achieve ultimate lightening and toning. Removing the color too soon will result in a warmer result than desired. It needs enough time to properly lift the natural color and deposit artificial color.

To check the progress of your color, select a section of hair about inch wide. Use your thumbnail to gently remove excess color from the selected strand. Remove still more color with a towel, and fan the hair out. In bright light, if the color seems acceptable to you, and you've processed the color according to directions, it should be safe to remove. Conversely, if you see too much warmth (orange or yellow), allow the color to process further.

If you already have orange hair, the safest route is to go to a professional. Orange hair is terribly difficult to remove; it almost always requires removal because it's nearly impossible to re-color enough to neutralize the orange.

The best method to correct orange hair depends on what type of color you've used (temporary, permanent). If the color is temporary, your colorist will likely need to remove the color with bleach; if done correctly, damage to your hair should be minimal. If you used a permanent color, it's possible to use a color-reducing agent (you CAN'T find this type of color corrector in a beauty supply - professional use only).

Prevention is the key. Now you have the information to avoid orange hair or save your hair if necessary.

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