How to fix hair color that is too red? Is your hair too light, dark or bright?

Is your hair color too red?

 

Don’t worry. There is definitely a solution to your problem, and I’m about to help you find it.

Let’s think about the problem together first. What exactly do you mean when you say that your hair is “too red?”

 

Look closely at your hair. What about it is just not working for you?

I recommend going to a spot in your house with natural light so you can see exactly what color your hair is when you put it in the light. You can also do this with artificial light if you need to. And lastly, you need to evaluate how your hair color looks at night when there’s little light.

 This way you’ll have a much clearer idea as to what it is about your hair color that isn’t working.  

 

Now that you have all that straight, I’ll go ahead and tell you the following:

 

In broad strokes, that’s what I’d recommend you do, but now let’s get into the nitty-gritty of each of these three options.

If you’re already 100% sure about what you want to do, you can jump to the section that most interests you.

 

My red hair is too dark. How can I lighten it?

If your red hair is too dark, the only option you have is to do a session of mild bleach and then use a lighter color red on your hair.

 

Red uses a different system of hair color levels than the conventional system.

It starts with 3.6, which corresponds to dark red and goes all the way up through extra light red.

As you can see, you have a lot of colors to choose from.

 

If you’re looking for a lighter red color, then you should opt for one of these colors:

Any of those options will turn out absolutely fabulous.

 

But, to go from a dark color to a lighter one, you always need to bleach your hair.

It’s the same if you want to go from dark brown to blonde. To lighten your hair (from any dark color to any lighter color), you need to bleach your hair.

That’s why if you want a lighter red, then you need to bleach your hair beforehand.

But, I have good news for you!

 

 Since you want to go from red to lighter red, then you don’t need to get rid of your base color. 

What does that mean?

 

That you only need to do a mild bleach on your hair that won’t cause almost any damage to your hair.

It’s not like you’re trying to go from black to blonde.

Since you already have a red base, it’s much easier to get to a new shade of red.

The bleach would only be to remove the darkest part of the red.

 

What do you need to do that?

 

When you bleach your hair, you usually use a 30 volume developer or peroxide since you don’t just need to remove your color, but also lighten your hair.

In this case, all you need to do is remove the dark red color you have in your hair right now.

So, a 20 volume developer will be more than enough to do that successfully.

And the best part? It won’t damage your hair as much as a traditional round of bleach would.

 

Let’s take a look at the process step by step:

 

You’ll soon see how the red in your hair completely changed.

Now you can use the new red that you’ve chosen on your hair.

Always remember to follow the instructions the manufacturer includes so you get the results you were hoping for with the dye.

 

My red hair is too light. How do I fix it?

If your red is too light and you’re not happy with it, the solution is really simple:

All you need to do is use a darker red dye on your hair.

 

Like I said before, the different shades of red go from very dark (3.6) to very light (9.6).

If your red is too light, then you should choose a color that is at least two shades darker.

For example:

 

You see?  For your red to be darker, you need to choose a shade that is 2-3 levels fewer than your current one. 

That way your hair color will be darker, but it won’t lose that red color that you love.

 

In this case, you don’t need to take any additional action beforehand, all you need to do is use the new red color on your hair.

You only bleach your hair when you’re looking to lighten it.

In this case, you want the opposite.

So, go out and pick your new red color and use it without any additional worries!

 

My red hair is too bright. How can I fix it?

Before I give you the solution, let’s consider what it means that your hair is “too bright.”

What does that mean?

 

You must have noticed that some colors have the words “bright” or “deep” in their name.

The color’s intensity or brightness is how much “light” it has.

The color’s depth is the amount of pigments that the color has. Does that sound strange?

 

Let’s take a look at a few examples so you can understand better.

Fire red isn’t the same as wine red.

Now do you see?

 

I’ll give you another example. Chicken yellow isn’t the same as pastel yellow.

Chicken yellow is bright and intense, while pastel yellow is deeper.

 

 So, if you’re looking to take away some of that brightness from your color, all you need to do is choose a less intense dye.  

For example:

 

 The more numbers the dye has after the decimal, the more intense the color will be. 

A 6.6 pure red isn’t the same as a 6.66 intense pure red.

 

Red dyes have a large range of different intensities and different depths, all you need to do is find the one that you like best.

 

Conclusions

Reds are very special shades for many people.

Once you find your favorite red, you won’t ever want to change it.

What red did you choose?