Bright hair colors are a top trend that isn’t fading away any time soon. Celebrities like Lady Gaga, Kylie Jenner, and Billie Eilish have all taken the time to try green hair dye with some fantastic results.
Whether your inspiration comes from them or a desire to experiment with different looks, hair dye options let you have a fun and safe adventure.
Some people find that having green hair brings them more attention than they want to receive. It can also start fading a bit, losing the boldness that you love.
What can you do when it’s time to refresh your hair color?
What Color to Dye Over Green Hair?
Removing the green color from the hair is necessary to have a successful experience. Without taking this step, the shading remains. Anyone wanting to have the color go over the green must choose a complementary tone for the color wheel to have a successful experience.
Green hair dye is the hardest color to remove from hair of any type. Anyone wanting to return to a natural color will need to have it stripped away before the new tones will catch successfully.
That means the hair needs to be bleached or lightened to ensure all the green coloration is gone. After the strands heal for a week or two, you can apply the natural tones you want for your look and style.
If you don’t want to send your hair through an extensive alteration, it’s possible to wash it away some at home. A clarifying shampoo does a great job of reducing the brightness and boldness of green hair dye.
You can also try a deep cleansing shampoo to start the fading process.
What Shampoo Is the Best to Use?
When I want to use a clarifying shampoo to achieve a better clean or fade my current hair color, I turn to Matrix Biolage Normalizing Clean Reset Shampoo. It delivers an intense experience that works with all hair types while meeting vegan expectations.
The issue that bothers me the most about hair dye is how it tends to cause extra frizz. Since my hair is naturally wavy already, it can look like I’ve got a hair halo over my head when I pull it back after a color change.
This clarifying shampoo eliminates that issue while ensuring that I can set the stage for my next color.
It’s considered a color-safe option, but my hair tends to have a lot of oil buildup. It gives me the results I need with a minimal amount of effort.
Natural Fading Creates New Coloring Opportunities
Once you’ve achieved a reasonable level of fading, you can potentially dye your hair at home with a boxed product to eliminate the rest of the green color. The best option is red because it neutralizes the green, creating a result that ranges from bright red to a deep brown.
Although I haven’t had success with homemade hair color fading recipes, some of my friends claim it has worked well for them. Here are the options you can use to start the fading process without using specialty shampoos.
- Vitamin C liquids and compounds.
- Industrial-strength white vinegar.
- Baking soda mixed with lemon juice.
- Store-bought ketchup.
Since you’ll need to wash your hair after applying these items, it’s entirely possible that the shampoo, not the homemade recipe, is responsible for the results.
If your hair color isn’t fading, try following the principles of the color wheel to achieve the results you want.
Anything in the red spectrum, including purple or pink, is effective because it’s on the opposite side of green. That’s why it creates a cancellation result.
When you use that option, choose a hair dye without hydrogen peroxide or ammonia to reduce the green color safely.
You can also try putting blue hair dye over your green hair. This action results in a range from dark teal to turquoise.
The Bleaching Process Turned My Hair Green!
Green hair color is a fun choice to try, but it isn’t what everyone wants. When you get your hair bleached to prepare for another color, it can turn this hue when chlorine is found in the water.
You can have bleached hair turn green if you swim in a treated pool immediately after the treatment.
I highly recommend waiting at least seven days after getting work done before jumping in once again.
If you’ve had your hair colored multiple times, the bleaching process sometimes causes previous colorings to appear green. Using a great clarifying shampoo or a toning option works well in that situation.
When you have a professional stylist handle your hair coloration needs, be sure to tell them what you’ve done.
If you dyed it blue or bleached it and achieved a green color, they’ll be able to select appropriate products to complete the look you want.
How to Dye Your Hair at Home Successfully
Not everyone has the time to visit their hairdresser or the local salon, let alone sit in a chair for up to three hours to fix green hair dye. There are times when purchasing a box color is the only option to correct the issues you face.
That’s why it is especially important to know how to dye your hair at home correctly.
It isn’t always possible to recreate the expert techniques for achieving a specific look through the DIY process. If you want ombre hair, balayage, or dip dyes, you’re better off going to a salon.
Here are the steps to follow if you’re ready to get rid of that green hair, but you need to do the work at home.
1. Purchase Two Boxes
There’s nothing worse than getting started on a new hair color, only to find out that you don’t have enough product to use.
Anyone with hair that goes past their shoulders, has curly locks, or thick strands will usually need two boxes to complete to change.
2. Do a Patch Test
Although a patch test is inconvenient, you never know how your skin will react to the chemicals found in the boxed hair dye.
That means you won’t get an immediate change, but it also prevents having your entire scalp responds poorly to the products.
3. Perform a Strand Test
You need to determine if your hair will react correctly to the formula in the purchased hair dye.
If your green hair turns into a color that resembles something closer to swamp water instead of the tone that you want, it won’t be happy with the work.
Follow the instructions on the box with a hidden strand of your hair to determine if the product will work. If it does, you can keep going with your hair color change.
If not, you’ll need to choose a different product.
4. Clean the Hair Line
It helps to apply lip balm along the hairline where you don’t want any of the hair color to take hold while taking the DIY approach.
This step only takes a few minutes to complete, but it will stop your skin from staining or drying out, which can take several days to correct.
5. Brush Your Hair
It helps to thoroughly brush your hair before starting the process of changing its color. Even tiny knots can become significant issues when you are attempting to apply the dye correctly.
You don’t want to use a detangling spray for this work because there could be interference with the hair coloring agents. A simple brush or comb gets the job done.
6. Section Your Hair
When dyeing your hair, it helps dissection it into four parts. You’ll go down the middle, and then from one ear to the other across the crown of your head.
The front sections need the most processing time since they are more visible, which means you’ll want to start there first.
7. Mix It Up
Instead of applying hair dye directly from the bottle that comes in the box, you’ll want to turn into a mixologist.
Take a mixing bowl, use a color brush, and apply the dye that way. It’s much more effective than using your hands to smear it all over the place.
You can use toners or creams with some boxed hair dyes to create more specific looks.
If your green hair is in one section only, this methodology makes it easier to correct the color while leaving the rest of your look alone.
Before using a cream or toner, you’ll want to test for compatibility. That means you’ll need to do a patch and a strand test with the mixed product before applying it to your green tones.
8. Use Toothbrushes for Highlights
Do you want to add highlights to your hair while correcting some green coloration? If so, the best way to accomplish this result is to use a clean toothbrush. I’ve also had success with a mascara wand.
Apply the hair dye to the brush. You’ll want the color to be in the places where the sun would usually lighten your hair. That means the best places to target are on the tips and around the face.
Always start from the top and work your way down when applying new hair colors. By beginning at the roots, you’ll achieve more consistent results.
9. Give Your Hair a Wash
When you’ve finished applying the boxed hair dye and let it sit for the recommended time, just rinse it out with lukewarm water. Any shampoos used after should not contain sulfates as they cause the shaft to swell and encourage the colors to leak.
How to Correct Green and Crunchy Hair?
When hair starts feeling more like straw, that symptom usually means that it isn’t getting enough moisture. It can also turn that way when using the wrong conditioner, washing hair too often, or showering with chlorine-treated water.
If you’ve dyed your hair several times over the past 12-24 months, the chemicals in the product can leech out the moisture. Without any replacement, the hair will feel crunchy and brittle.
After using moisturizing agents and conditioners for a few weeks, you should notice an improvement.
Some people may have damaged their hair to the extent that the only way to correct the issue is to get a trim.
The issue with crunchy hair sometimes has more to do with the aftercare products used instead of the dye. Here are a few ideas to try to keep everything feeling soft and luxurious.
- Use a microfiber towel instead of cotton to reduce the amount of friction damage that happens after taking showers or baths.
- Switch to a deep conditioning product that naturally suits your hair type.
- Reduce or eliminate heat processing, including styling tools, to keep your strands healthier.
- Eat a balanced diet that features biotin to encourage healthy hair growth.
- Protect your hair from the sun’s UV rays with a head covering, even if it is only a scarf.
Hair can still be stiff if you shower with hard water. The accumulated minerals are more likely to leave crunchy molds behind.
If it takes a long time for your clarifying shampoo to produce lather, you might consider installing a water softener.
After trying everything, I had my water tested. The mineral count was off the charts!
That’s why I invested in the AO Smith Whole House Water Softener Alternative. It’s a salt-free descaling system that works well in the city or the country.
The difference in my hair quality was almost immediate. My straw-like locks started feeling softer to the touch after a couple of treatments. Although I had to bring in a plumber to connect it, the investment was worth it.
There’s no chemical smell to the water now, my laundry works better, and I think the pasta even tastes better!
When you have green hair that needs to change, several options are available to consider. The steps outlined here, along with a change in your water quality, are often enough to achieve the results you want.