Does Clarifying Shampoo Fix Over-Toned Hair? Only if you use it the right way

neutralize yellow hair after bleaching

The clarifying shampoo is used to fix over-toned hair because it contains sulfates that remove excess pigments from the toner.
To use it appropriately, you should leave it on your hair for a maximum of 20 minutes.
If the first wash doesn’t completely remove the excess toner, you can repeat it up to two more times the same day, but only if your hair isn’t damaged.
Eventually, if your hair is dry or very frizzy, you should repeat the application after three days.

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Toner turned my hair blue-purple! Is it serious? How can I fix it?

I love the “fix everything at home with a little creativity and good taste” trend.

You can freshen up your living room walls by applying a new coat of paint.

Is your dress a little outdated?

There’s nothing better than to join the customization trend.

Do you like gardening?

That’s a good start to get a head start on your urban garden and create your own seeds from tomatoes and peppers.

However, the DIY trend with hair issues is a double-edged sword.

I’m tired of fixing hair damaged by bleaching and coloring at home.

Actually, I’m a little disappointed.

What disappoints me is to see so many people taking a process like coloring lightly.

Let’s make that clear.

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Toning at home can fail

using purple toner on bleached yellow hair

If the coloring job doesn’t work as planned, your hair will be irreversibly damaged.
Eventually, if it goes more or less well, the color you get after toning or bleaching your hair may not be the color you want.

So, your hair is over-toned.

Did you apply the toner and leave it on much longer than recommended by the manufacturer?
Does your hair have traces of purple or blue in it?

Clearly, you didn’t properly use the toner.

Toner is a professional coloring tool that neutralizes unwanted colors such as yellow, orange, or red after bleaching or dyeing.

It’s applied with a 20 volume developer and should be on your hair for a maximum of twenty minutes.

This is why toning at home isn’t recommended.

The toner acts immediately and can completely change your hair color.

When you overdo the toner exposure times, your hair may be over-toned.

The good news is that your only problem now is the color of your hair and not the damage.

To fix over-toned hair, all you have to do is wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo. That’s what I’ll talk about next.

Why clarifying shampoo works to fix over toned hair

clarifying shampoo to wash hair

Before I move on to why clarifying shampoo fixes over-toned hair, let me ask you a question:

Do you have an urgent need to fix your over-toned hair?

If you don’t need to fix it urgently, you could wait for a few days. The excess toner will disappear after a few washes.

Now, if your hair is completely blue or purple after applying the toner, I understand your urgency.

No one wants to have purple or blue hair when the idea was to have blonde hair.

But I must warn you.

Clarifying shampoo contains sulfates, which are detergents. This has a positive and a negative side.

What’s the advantage of clarifying shampoo?

It’ll remove over pigmentation from your toned hair.

What’s the disadvantage of clarifying shampoo?

As it contains sulfates, it’ll dehydrate your hair. As your hair is probably bleached, and obviously toned, a clarifying shampoo can further dry out your hair.

So, while clarifying shampoo is good for over-toned hair, is it still a good idea to use it on your hair?

Yes.

However, you should consider three conditions.

If your over-toned hair is damaged , use clarifying shampoo once. You’ll notice that it’ll remove the toner residue almost completely the first time.
If you have to use the clarifying shampoo again because there’s some toner left over, use it at least five days after the first application.
Also, deeply moisturize your hair after using a clarifying shampoo. Apply a coconut oil night mask or an intensive nourishing treatment containing ingredients such as keratin or argan oil.

Are you willing to respect these three conditions to use a clarifying shampoo on your over-toned hair?

Then, here’s how to use it.

How to apply a clarifying shampoo on over-toned hair

detox shampoo wash hair before treatment

The first thing you need to do is to buy a clarifying shampoo. In many countries, it’s also known as shampoo detox.

Do you want some recommendations?

If your hair is fine and brittle , you can opt for CANTU SHEA BUTTER.
If your hair is very frizzy , you can choose OGX PURIFYING CARBON DETOX. It doesn’t contain sulfates, which would further damage your hair. It’ll work on your over-toned hair because it has surfactant cleansing agents and silicones that will remove excess toner.
If your hair is oily , use PAUL MITCHELL CLARIFYING SHAMPOO.

Once you have your clarifying shampoo, you can start with the application.

Preparing the hair

Wet your hair with warm to hot water to open the hair cuticles and allow the clarifying shampoo to fully penetrate.
If you use it in the shower, be careful not to get it in your eyes.

Application

Apply the clarifying shampoo on lengths and ends.
Massage deeply throughout your hair.
Add a little more clarifying shampoo to your roots and continue massaging.

Exposure time

Leave the clarifying shampoo on for 20 minutes.

Massage your entire mane every 5 minutes from roots to ends so that the shampoo acts evenly throughout your entire mane.

Rinse

After 20 minutes of exposure, rinse with plenty of lukewarm water and apply conditioner to lengths and ends.
Leave the conditioner on for three minutes and rinse.

Blow-dry your hair and watch the color carefully.

If there’s no toner residue left in your hair , you shouldn’t use the clarifying shampoo again.
If you still notice that your hair is still over-toned , you can repeat it twice if your hair shows no signs of dehydration.
If you feel your hair rough and stiff after using the clarifying shampoo , wait one week to give it another go. During that week, apply repairing masks and micellar water on the ends.