Wondering how to fix orange hair with box dye? We’ve got you covered whether your hair dyeing session left you with brassy orange streaks or you’re just looking for a change. We’ll show you how to use box dye to dye your orange hair in this article.
Do not worry if you dislike your orange locks; you are not obligated to keep them. Orange hair can easily be fixed with box dye. Simply choose the final appearance you want.
Everything depends on the color you want to achieve and your level of color. All of the choices will be covered in greater detail later.
What Color Cancels Out Orange Hair?
Contrasting colors cancel each other out in color theory, which is how hair dye operates. Here is the dye shade you should use to counteract orange, according to color theory.
- Use true blue pigments in a hair dye (or blue shampoo) if your hair is orange.
- Use a dye with purple undertones (or purple shampoo) if your hair has more of a yellowish-orange tint or yellow tones.
- Use a blue-green dye to cover up reddish-orange hair.
Anytime you want to cover up the orange in your hair, go with a blue-based dye. And don’t be concerned about getting bright blue hair!
Ashey or cool shades are those that have a blue base, according to dye theory. In order to reduce brassiness, they have just the right amount of blue pigment.
Read More: Can You Dye Synthetic Hair?
What You Need to Know before Fixing Orange Hair With Box Dye
You can lighten, darken, or maintain your current level of color, depending on the dye shade you select. The right hair dye color selection is a crucial step in orange hair repair.
To determine the color’s overtones, refer to the numbers on the dye box. Ashy hues are designated by the number 1.
How to Fix Orange Hair With Box Dye？
Below is a step by step guide on fixing orange hair with box dye.
Step 1: Preparing Your Hair
Wear an old shirt that you don’t mind getting stained before you start.
After that, brush and section your dry, unwashed hair. Apply the hair dye to the bottom section while leaving the top section loose.
Step 2: Prepare the Mixture
Don your gloves and combine the developer and hair dye in a one-to-one ratio.
Step 3: Applying the Mixture
Apply the mixture while wearing gloves, starting at the bottom and working your way up to the roots.
Apply the dye to each section one more time. Make certain that you completely enclose each of your strands.
Depending on your speed and the volume of hair you need to cover, this process could take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.
Step 4: Exposure Time
Once the exposure time is over, which can be 40 minutes or the time indicated by the manufacturer, rinse your hair. Use the post-color treatment that is included in the box dye after that. Your hair will get more moisture and shine from this.
Step 5: Drying and Styling
You should let your hair air dry. Use the blow-dryer on medium heat if you’re impatient and want to see the outcome.
You’ll observe that there is no orange residue and that your hair is ashy.
Last but not least, keep in mind to touch up the color after four to five weeks.
Which Colors of Dye Will Fix Orange Hair?
When it comes to coloring orange hair, you might be surprised at the variety of options available. Here are a few of your best options.
Red
Your red dye will look more vibrant and fiery with an orange base. Choose a red with a blue or purple base to get rid of your orange undertones. The orange will be neutralized by the purple and blue, which will also make the red appear more neutral.
Black
Black dye is sufficiently opaque to cover almost any color. Just be careful; black dye is notoriously difficult to remove, so you’ll need some powerful lightening treatments if you want to go lighter soon.
If you don’t plan to keep your hair long, avoid using black dye as these can seriously harm it.
Brown
The orange in your hair will be hidden by any shade of brown that is on par with or darker than your current shade. Choose an ashy or cool tone of brown to completely cancel out the orange undertones.
Blue
Blue cancels out orange, as we previously mentioned. The orange pigments in your hair will be neutralized by a blue dye, which may result in a more realistic-looking brown.
Just be careful when selecting your blue color. Your color might come out muddy or bluer than you intended if you pick the wrong hue. Super blue hair will probably result from applying a highly pigmented blue dye to hair that is already slightly orange.
Blonde
If you dye orange hair with ash or cool blonde, the end result will be cool and light brown. Ashy blonde is the best option if you want to eliminate the orange in your hair without significantly darkening it.
Pros and Cons of Fixing Orange Hair With Box Dye
In the interest of full disclosure, we’d like to provide you with some of the pros and cons of fixing orange hair with box dye:
Pros
- Dramatic color change – Box dye works well to cover undesirable orange undertones and change your color. In a matter of minutes, they can deliver striking color payoff!
- You have plenty of color options – The number of available hair dye colors is in the hundreds or thousands. In addition, many colors can be blended with complementary hues from the same line. The color options are endless when dying your hair at home!
- You can do it yourself – You can find everything you need in a dye kit to get rid of orange hair. To ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible, they will give you thorough instructions that will guide you through each step of the process.
- Long-lasting color – Box dyes give you the longest-lasting color you can get outside of the salon. In contrast to the few weeks that a demi or semi-permanent dye can give you, permanent dyes can give you several months of vibrant color.
Cons
- The dye can damage your hair – The type of dye you use could end up harming your hair. Permanent dyes use harsh chemicals like peroxide and ammonia, which worsen dryness and breakage. This is a problem, especially if you have curly hair because it can get dry easily. Use gentle semi- and demi-permanent dyes instead in that situation.
- Inconsistent results – The color results of box dye are infamously unpredictable. Occasionally, your color won’t take at all, and it might not even come out in the desired shade. Some dyes also don’t work on previously colored hair.
- Box dye can get messy – Your skin and any surfaces they come into contact with can become stained by hair dye. While the majority of them are easily removed from surfaces with a little elbow grease, some stains may remain.
- Box dye won’t drastically lighten your hair – Instead of using box dye, bleach must be used to drastically lighten hair. Semi-permanent and demi-permanent dyes cannot remove color; they can only deposit it. Although permanent dyes can raise your hair’s color by up to 4 levels, going higher is not advised.
Conclusions on How to Fix Orange Hair With Box Dye
When it’s time to fix the orange tresses, another option is to dye it brown. It is easier than going blond, so this approach is used a little more frequently.
Only an ashy hair dye should be used to cover up orange hair when using box dye.
By neutralizing the orange and taking into account your current color level and the color you want to achieve, you can either darken, lighten, or maintain your color.
Read More: How Long Does Semi-permanent Hair Dye Last?
