What are brassy or warm hues and how do I get rid of them?

What causes warm or brassy hues?

Understanding Warm or Brassy Hues in Hair

If you've ever noticed warm tones in your hair, you're seeing variations of red, orange, or yellow pigments. These hues can appear differently depending on your natural hair color: brown hair may show red or orange undertones, while blonde hair might display light orange or yellow shades. The term "brassy" encompasses these variations, which are natural and can become more pronounced through hair lightening processes or as hair color fades over time.

Salon Techniques vs. At-Home Solutions

In salons, hair stylists utilize custom formulas to counteract unwanted hues by applying complementary colors from the color wheel. For example, they might add blue to neutralize orange tones and purple to counteract yellow. While at-home hair color kits lack these customizations, there are effective strategies to manage brassy tones.

Tips to Counteract Warm or Brassy Hues:

Try a Natural Base: If you've used Naturtint's Red, Gold, or Copper shades and find the warmth undesirable, consider switching to or blending with a Natural shade like 5N Light Chestnut Brown. Natural shades offer a balanced mix of cool and warm tones without extra warmth.

Avoid Lightening: To prevent warm or brassy tones, avoid lightening your hair color by more than one to two levels. Even a slight lightening can expose underlying warm undertones.

Mix with Ash: Combining a Natural tone with an Ash tone can help neutralize warm pigments effectively. Aim to match Ash tones with corresponding Natural shades at the same level or slightly darker for optimal coverage of brassiness.

Deep Condition Regularly: Damaged, porous hair or exposure to chlorine or UV rays accelerates color fading. Deep conditioning treatments and protection from the sun can help maintain hair health and color vibrancy.

Slow Down Hair Color Fading: Hair color fading often leaves behind brassy hues due to the gradual loss of pigments. As the color molecules break down, underlying red, orange, or yellow pigments inside the hair shaft become more visible, resulting in brassiness. Check out our detailed article for tips to slow down hair color fade.

While at-home hair color kits offer fewer customization options than salons, these practical tips can help you effectively manage and neutralize undesired warm or brassy hues. For further information or personalized advice, visit our website or reach out to our customer support team.

Questions? Naturtint USA customer service is happy to help!