Mandy's Hair
Help Centre

Colourless is formulated to gently remove unwanted permanent oxidised synthetic pigment dyes without stripping or bleaching, and is not intended to be used on hair dyed with non-oxidative pigment semi, demi or direct dyes.

Your original bleached highlights pigments responded as a yellow pigment to the dye 7 ash blue pigment, thus Yellow + Blue = Green (khaki). The bleached hair snapped up the base 5 dye molecules confirms your hair is porous due to the years of bleaching. To decide which colour shade base and tone to use depends on the result you are left with after using the Colourless. Thus if as you say the hair turns out orangey-red then as you desire a chocolate this would be an advantage as in the hair colour chocolate is considered a warm (reddish) shade. When hair has been bleached over a period of time it requires missing molecule spaces to be filled with a pre-pigment usually a red. This fills the gaps to stop colour grab and to stop the hair turning green or neutralising pigments if cool shades are desired. Tick-Tick-brain-ticking now you understand why your hair lifted green the first time. Depending on the how light your hair colour is after using Colourless you may need just a soft copper filler to pre-pigment to stop too much red glaring through the chocolate. Also the chocolate brown dye must be 2 or even 3 times lighter (thus 7 or 8 base) than the final shade you desire. Sounds crazy as these bases are in the blonde range but we need to consider all the hair’s history and how it will respond to the dye molecule. In your case medium blondes will most likely produce a medium to dark brown. I would suggest that you take a cutting of the hair and dye that first to test for both the hair strength and colour result rather than risking the entire hair..

As the hair is bright blonde with orange tones you need an ash based toner. The ash base toner needs to be chosen accordingly to the orange tone you have in your hair. The problem presented here is that you have several colours - ginger, orange and bright blonde. Choosing a toner to neutralise one shade may produce issues for the other shades. Another problem is that we don’t know if the orange is your own dominant red or an underlying synthetic red from a previous product, as this matters. So the option here to stay safe would be (assuming the hair is in good strong condition) to apply bleach to just the orange tones to lift them up to match the shade of the bright blonde you already have in order that all the hair colour is even, then to tone with a violet base toner. If the bright blonde is actually yellowy with orange then a blue/violet toner could be chosen. Now, if you are not really certain then I would suggest trimming off a small sample of your hair and ash semi that sample piece of hair first. Then if the colour is horrible, you will be glad you strand tested the hair first.

You will need additional applications of Colourless. If you are happy with the depth at the roots try just applying Colourless to the black ends only. Then to neutralise out the red tones you will need to apply an ash shade tint or semi. But beware to choose the correct ash. Tinted hair that is red/orange will need a blue/green base and tinted red hair results need green base shade, and orange needs blue. Also you will need to choose shades lighter than you actually desire as it will go darker than expected. Then use a shampoo like Ardell that will help neutralise red gold shades.

When hair looks darker after drying than whilst the Colourless was on the hair this is a sign of re-oxidation. This reaction can happen if the hair has not been rinsed long enough. However as the underlying blonde is starting to peep through it does appear that some of the unwanted dark molecules are now slowly fading. It is okay to apply low peroxide bleach blonde highlights if the hair is in good strong condition. Ask a local hairdresser to tensile strength test the hair first.

I detect you have an underlying lighter dye that was used before or even several times before the final dye. At some point a past underlying dye had lightened your original natural dark tone lifting the natural pigments thus lightening the hair. The light shade was at the time hidden by pigments added by the product to give the desired shade you required at that time. Thus, your original underlying virgin hair had been permanently lightened but then hidden by pigments tones. Colourless has successfully removed the unwanted synthetic pigments from not just the last colour but also from the underlying colours too. Your question regarding applying another box of Colourless I am afraid is not the answer as your virgin shade has been removed. I would suggest you look to choose a base brown shade that closely matches your original shade. If the hair is very dry or porous then choose a colour a little lighter than you desire as it will go darker than the colour chosen due to the hair porosity.

Colourless is formulated to gently remove unwanted permanent oxidised synthetic pigment dyes without stripping or bleaching, and is not intended to be used on hair dyed with non-oxidative pigment semi, demi or direct dyes.

Immediately, due to the Buffer step (Part C) the hair is left at a suitable pH level for safe re-colouring. However, there are several factors which come into play that can dictate how well your next colour application develops. If your previous hair colour application (or applications) have made your hair porous this will become evident after using Colourless™. If you wish to apply a new colour application to porous hair, always select a non peroxide semi-permanent product and apply to wet hair, checking the colour’s development every few minutes. Porous hair will grab colour faster. To achieve the best results after using Colourless™, always re-colour with a Level 1 temporary (or true semi) hair colour in your desired shade, and rest the hair for several weeks before applying the permanent (peroxide based) alternative/variant. This allows the porosity in your hair to normalise and take permanent colour evenly.

Colourless contains no harsh chemicals such as peroxide, bleach and ammonia so it is safe to use during pregnancy. We recommend you consult your GP if you have any concerns about your specific Wellbeing, particularly in the early months (first 12 weeks) of pregnancy.

Absolutely. Colourless™ is a home colour correction system. Once you have removed your unwanted dark colour you can immediately ask your salon to re-highlight your hair as they would normally. There is no reason why there should be any conflict and the cost should be exactly the same as you would pay normally for a highlight service.

Try a tonal cleansing with Colourless™ Regular. With this method, you mix the product but only apply 1/3 of the bottle to damp hair. Comb the product through and develop for 10 minutes (rather than the standard 60) and rinse and buffer the hair just as instructed (for regular colour removal). This method of Colourless™ removal is very weak but ideal for removing unwanted tone in blonde hair.

Colourless™ won’t make your hair condition (necessarily) any worse, but it won’t make it any better either. You can use Colourless™ but do not apply a permanent colour immediately afterwards. You need to rest the hair. Instead opt for a Level 1 temporary 6 wash colourant (which contains no peroxide or ammonia) and use this in your hair for 4 weeks. Give your hair frequent conditioning treatments too. If after 4 weeks your hair feels in better condition you can upgrade the Level 1 temporary colour to a level 2 or 3 permanent or semi-permanent colour. If you do apply a permanent hair colour to dry, porous hair the result may well be darker and more intense than you desired and it could require another colour removal application, so always rest the hair and get that condition back.

Colourless™ hasn’t bleached your hair, even though you haven’t had highlights in over a year the evidence of them is still present. Colourless™ has simply revealed this old hair. If you want to tone down the blonde ends, apply a semi-permanent hair colour 2 shades lighter than your natural (or re-growth) colour and apply to the blonde areas only. The result will be a soft version of your natural colour.

Keratin treatments are a great way to remove frizz and smooth the hair cuticle. It is a temporary treatment effect that gradually leaves the hair over 3 to 6 months (depending on the keratin treatment used). The protein keratin contains cysteine disulfide which forms disulfide bridges that are very strong and difficult to penetrate. This therefore would most likely result in an uneven patchy colour removal result. It is however possible to remove the protein keratin to encourage an even Colourless removal result. To remove the protein keratin barrier use a shampoo with Sodium such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate as this has the ability to break down the keratin. For hair that has a build-up of protein keratin add a table spoon of salt (sodium chloride) to two or three table spoons of the shampoo. Wash the hair two of three times each day until the hair has returned back to its original wave movement, this may take up to a couple of weeks. Some permanent keratin straightening treatments are organic and do not contain chemicals such as thioglycolates, sodium hydroxide ammonia, formaldehyde or animal derivatives. These are based on plant keratin which is safer and kinder to the hair. The amino acid cystine is the permanent straightening agent and keratin is the protein that gives the hair shaft its strength. For these we could suggest waiting up to 4 weeks and suggest a strand test.

It’s very simple to correct - apply Colourless Extra Strength to the mid lengths and ends of her hair. This should remove the build-up of previous dye molecules. This will lift the hair to match the colour nearer the roots. If your colour build-up is very severe then you may need to repeat the process.

That would work but it is a long way to reach the goal. The problem that arises on white hair is that red shades tend to result in oranges and pinks whereas ash shades tend to result in dull green shades. The correct choice should be to use a product that contains both a base with a tone accordingly to the final result desired. In your case you need to choose a dye that is specifically made with both the brown base and a red tone to the shade you desire. If you are unable to find the shade you desire in a ready mixed formula then choose a brown to the depth you like then a red that you like ensuring they are both the same brand and range mix equal parts 50-50. For a deep shade “red black” try Schwarzkopf poly tint colour, for either cherry or ruby red try Extreme ‘N’ Easy by Clairol - both cover 100% grey hair.

This sounds like colour build up. When a permanent hair colour has been overlaid on the hair with multiple applications it can take longer to remove. You may want to try Colourless™ on the ends only (processing to the full 60 minutes). Alternatively, if the dark colour is only on the very ends (the last inch or so) it is far easier to not apply another Colour removal – but instead just have the old colour cut out.