Yellow and Blue Make Green! (Hair Issue)
 

Um... Wendybeth???

How can I get blue hair dye to actually look blue and not green?

I bleached first, and it was a light golden blonde, but it gave the blue a very prominent greenish undertone.

Do I need to bleach completely white first?

Or, should I just add another round of blue and let it set for longer?

Besides this, I'm very happy with the new dye job. Once I get the streak to a proper blue, it'll be perfect.

Your hair needs to be bleached as light as possible- any yellow will go green when mixed with blue, as you've already noted. If you're using a dark blue, it might work to just go over it again, but if it's lighter than you will have to strip out as much of the yellow as possible. Keep in mind when bleaching that the hair will always look lighter when covered with product- to get a true idea of the level of lightness you need to wipe off a test section completely, then reapply bleach if it's not light enough. What kind of color is the blue- semi, demi or permanent?

It's by Color Fiend:

Here's the link.

It's a semi permanent, and supposed to last 4-6 weeks, but I have enough to keep touching it up every couple of weeks for awhile.

Sounds like I should have tried to bleach it for longer. I let the stuff sit for over 45 minutes, so I thought that was enough. D'oh!

Here's a pic of the current state:

Bleach longer, use a good dark blue. Special Effects has an awesome really dark blue that almost looks purple when you first apply it. The dark blues are good because after a few washes they are a nice bright blue and stay that way for a bit. Another thing I do is put a bit of the dye in my shampoo so when I wash my hair it doesn't strip the color so drastically. And my blue hair looks pretty effing rad if I do say so myself ;) :cheers:

And the professionals speak.


Love The LoT.

I love the streak though! I'm not quite brave enough.

Oh, and Beware Green Hair.

My blue coif was universally admired and made me the talk of my town for months.

The green i did for a fantastic Joker costume was frowned upon by all, and loathed by me.


Follow the above advice, and that of Merriweather - Make It Blue!

Funny timing as Susan just dyed part of her hair pink. Looks great!

Your base color is pretty dark, so it usually takes longer to bleach it up to a light enough level. Can you get your hands on bleach that has a bluing agent in it, like Clairol's 7th stage? Those types of bleaches work great at lifting and canceling out yellow. Judging from the picture, you're going to have to lift it a bit more- I know it probably looked pretty light contrasted against your other hair, but I can see the gold through the blue. Also, keep the bleach wrapped in foil or plastic, as bleach stops working when it dries.

Wendy and Keith - you rock. :)

I'm going to let it relax for a few days and will try bleaching it down further. And, if the Color Fiend doesn't seem to stick too well, I'll order a bottle of the Special Effects.

I haven't had a lot of luck with Color Fiend at all. Special Effects or even RAW is okay if you get their dark blue ;) And I totally agree with wendybeth... Leave the bleach on for awhile. My dark brown takes about 1.5-2 hours to get to a good white. Wrap it up and reapply bleach ever 45 mins over where you already have the bleach to make sure it keeps working. I wouldn't leave the bleach on longer than 2 hours, most people quit out a lot earlier than that. You can always bleach again so if you want to play it safe do about 1.25-1.5 hours, then wash with cold water. Always wash the blue hair with cold water if you can because hot will pull the color out more quickly.

I reccomend Harpic #5. :p

I've decided to let my hair rest for a couple weeks before re-bleaching the streak. This would coincide perfectly with having a bit o' green for St. Patty's Day. ;)

are you sure, to be sure?

Jumping on the coat tails-

CAN I bleach the red out of my hair? or would I be desperately sorry?

I loathe this color- its fading out to a weird red brown- ugly ugly.

In my experience, trying to bleach out red turns your hair baby pink. Which can then be covered up by dark brown. (This was all done by a professional, BTW)

I am a natural medium/dark brunette. I had blond hair for a while, decided to dye it red, got sick of it and wanted to go blond again. My hair was so porous from going blond that the red "stuck". I ended up having my hair cut super short (ala Isabella Rossellini) and dyed back to my original color.

Maybe it comes out better if you start with naturally blond hair.

I am naturally blonde- was going to grow this out but I hate hate hate it

BW is right- it will likely turn a funky shade of pink, mauve or orange, depending on the base of the red. Red is a tricky color in that it doesn't like to stay in (red color molecules are notorious for fading out) unless you don't want it anymore. You could try to pull it up to a light enough shade that could be covered with a color you like better, but going back to your natural blond is going to be a challenge.

Or just shave off all your hair

okies-I bleached it :)

Came out a golden yellow blonde where the red had faded and the brown was dominant- came out a light reddish orange where the red still stuck.

It's better than the dreary brown-red mess.

No- it's not natural looking - LOL

Gonna let it rest- it's light enough now that some months down the road I could color it a natural looking strawberry blonde.

Heh- will get a pic when I can. I do look a tad albino due to my fair skin.

Shoulda shaved it all off.

People are noticing that mine has an iridescent shimmer to it because of the gold tones. I'm thinking about not bleaching it further, and just replenish the blue every couple weeks. :)