When your only wish is to see your blond highlights go away, you have two options. You can let your highlights grow out over the next several months or you can take immediate action to remove blond highlights with a quick color application. Covering over highlights with hair color is the easiest, most efficient way to remove unwanted highlights. However, aftercare is needed to ensure that the color does not fade out quickly.
Pour 2 oz. of color and 2 oz. of 10-volume developer into the color bottle, screw on the lid and shake to mix. Put on latex or plastic gloves to protect your hands and skin during the application process.
Apply color to clean, dry hair from root to tip by squeezing a generous amount of color onto small sections of hair and working the color in with your hands and fingers. Apply color until all of the hair has been thoroughly saturated. Check the hair for any dry spots or areas where the color application is thin. Apply color to any area that needs it. Mix up additional color as necessary. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
Rinse the hair completely with warm water. Shampoo and condition the hair. Towel dry, and proceed with styling.
Tip
When selecting color for a tint-back application, choose a color that closely matches your natural hair color. A tint-back application is any hair color application that attempts to restore the hair to its natural color. This will eliminate the need for root touch-ups as the hair grows out.
As the color fades, you may need to reapply color to the ends of the hair to refresh the color. However, you should avoid applying color to any sections of hair that have not previously been colored. The main goal is to return the hair to its natural, noncolored state. If you apply color from root to tip every time your color needs refreshing, your hair will never grow out to its natural state.
Use color-enhancing shampoo and conditioner twice a week to prevent fading and restore color and shine. Color-enhancing shampoos are available in many tones including violet, yellow, green, blue, red, brown and black. To maintain color, choose a tone that most closely matches your hair’s underlying tonal quality. To correct or remove unwanted tones, choose a tone that is the exact opposite of the undesired tonal quality. For example: Violet removes or counteracts yellow tones in the hair. If you have any questions about which color to choose for color correction, consult a color wheel. Colors opposite one another on a color wheel counteract or correct each other.
References
- "Milady's Standard Textbook of Cosmetology"; Milady, Diane Carol Bailey and Margrit Attenburg; 2008
Writer Bio
Kathy Mayse began her writing career as a reporter for "The Jackson-County Times Journal" in 2001. She was promoted to assistant editor shortly after. Since 2005, she has been busy as a successful freelancer specializing in Web content. Mayse is a licensed cosmetologist with more than 17 years of salon experience; most of her writing projects reflect this experience.