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Young woman with bleached blonde hair making peace signs.
Brassiness after bleaching can be particularly stubborn to deal with.

5 Ways to Banish Brassy Hair

Brassiness is a no-no for bleached or colored hair. Check out the easiest ways to fix brassy hair at home.

July 3, 2023
Read Time: 4 Minutes

Try Purple-Pigment Color>

Use Products for Color-Treated Hair>

Invest in a Good Shower Filter>

Be Sun Smart>

Got Roots? Fix Them With Concealer Spray>


If you’re the type of person who fights boredom by impulsively changing your hair color, then you know the pains of having brassy hair all too well. It’s the bane of every hair color enthusiast’s existence, and it can happen to the best of us. Colored hair usually gets a coppery-orange tint as the dye fades, but some people may also experience it right after rinsing at-home hair color.

So, what can a girl do to reverse the damage and bring back their vibrant locks? Save your tears because we’re giving you everything you need to know about fixing brassy hair after bleaching and coloring.

Try Purple-Pigment Color

Woman washing her hair with purple shampoo to banish brassy hair.
There’s a reason all hair colorists recommend their clients to use purple shampoo weekly.

Color theory is your bestie when banishing copper tints in your hair. Natural dark hair has yellow, orange, and red undertones, which become more visible after bleaching. Trying to remove this with another round of bleaching will only cause damage. Therefore, any unwanted tones should be subdued using complementary shades. If you visualize the good old color wheel, these would be purple or blue.

Enter the purple hair color toner, a demi-permanent dye that neutralizes the warm undertones of your locks. It also blends the shades so you can achieve your desired look. Ask your colorist to tone down your hair color, or do it at home with TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Blonde Brilliance Shampoo. It’s specially formulated with Micro-Conditioning technology which uses violet pigments to eliminate the orange hues and jojoba oil to keep your strands smooth.

Use Products for Color-Treated Hair

FYI, all the chemicals from bleaching lift hair pigments and protein, which makes your strands porous. The gaps in your hair cuticles can absorb too much water, causing breakage, frizz, and loss of color.

Use a product for colored hairlike TRESemmé Pro-Color Series Color Radiance Shampoo, which nourishes your strand sand preserves pigment. It has anti-fade technology to prevent your hair color from fading. And don’t worry about dryness because this shampoo is infused with protein-rich jojoba oil, so your hair stays moisturized, shiny, and lively.

Invest in a Good Shower Filter

It’s no secret that washing the hair too often is the quickest way to turn freshly colored hair into a mess. But what most people don’t know is the quality of water at home can also contribute to brassy hair. The metals in water oxidize bleached hair, making it look dull and even faintly green.

Packing your bags and moving to another area with soft water might be too extreme. Instead, install a shower filter to combat this problem. It reduces chlorine, copper, and iron levels in your shower stream. It also benefits your scalp and skin health.

Be Sun Smart

Woman with half her face covered by sun hat.
The sun’s UV rays can lighten and fade hair color, resulting in brassy hair.

Wearing sun-protective accessories can prevent color fading, a.k.a photodegradation. When your hair is exposed to solar heat, the UV rays break down the chemical bonds in your hair dye. On top of that, spending too much time in the sun slowly destroys your hair’s melanin, revealing copper undertones.

Use an SPF-powered leave-in conditioner and heat protectant spray to prevent brassy hair. And when you’re in a hurry, wear a hat to complete your OOTD, protect your locks, and disguise them if they’re unwashed.

Got Roots? Fix Them With Concealer Spray

A visibly lighter hairline is not and will never be a cute look. It happens when the heat from the scalp causes the dye to develop faster than the rest of the hair. If you’re in a salon, the specialist will re-color to match the roots and the ends. But if you’re dealing with a box hair dye mishap (no judgment here!), quickly blend them with TRESemmé Root Touch-up Spray for Light Brown Hair. The lightweight formula is smudge-proof, dries fast, and will last until your next hair wash.

Obviously, you can always book a salon appointment for hair color correction. But when you’re iffy about throwing down thousands of pesos, these solutions will help rid you of brassy hair. Save this article for later if you’re planning to dye your hair!

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