So long story short, I’ve been bleaching my hair for about 8 years now and as you can imagine it’s not looking it’s best. I recently caught the quarantine hair bug and purchased a box dye to go for a more darker natural looking blonde.
This is where my problem began.
I did my research before hand and learnt that I should dye with a golden undertone, however, my natural hair is a dull, light mousy brown colour which always goes ginger when I box dye it and I wanted to blend my roots with the rest of my hair, so I ended up getting a dark ash blonde box dye instead figuring that should neutralise any unwanted copper tones from my natural hair colour, I was wrong.
My roots are now a dark ginger colour and my ends are a dull, greyish, unflattering blonde colour. my hair isn’t even that dark naturally so I just don’t understand why it does this, it’s so frustrating. I should also point out that it’s gone patchy over my hi-lights and there’s random spots of bleach coming through. Yep, it’s a mess.
Can anyone offer any advice? What should I do? I’ve thought about getting a semi permanent ash dye over my roots again and pray that it neutralises the copper tones but then I’m still stuck with ugly patchy ends. My salon isn’t open so that isn’t an option, I just don’t want to get it bleached again but I want dark blonde hair, is that impossible without bleach? I find ashy tones suit me a bit better, but it’s just too ashy. I’ll attach a photo of what I’m aiming for and a photo of what I’m dealing with, any advice would be great, thank you!
Have you tried a toner? There are several in shops like Asda and Morrison’s. It should tone the colour right down.
I use it on mine and it takes the yellow look out and it works n leaves your hair So soft n shiney and beautiful too.
Also don’t rub the die all over like they say on the packet. Do the same as your hairdresser and part the hair n only put on the roots and comb through for last 5 to ten minutes. Mine is shiny and looks lovely
Try it that way and see how you go.
I actually love the colour of your own hair it looks beautiful from the back?
Lynn x
2 Likes
@Skittlesz so at this point, there isn’t much you can do except use a toner like @Louloo mentioned. If your hair is naturally darker, you should use a blue toner, and if it’s naturally lighter, a purple toner. One of the best toners I’ve ever used is Fanola No Orange or Fanola No Yellow. This stuff will SERIOUSLY changed your hair color after just one use. It may also stain the hair blue or purple, but that goes away within a day. Anyway, this stuff is pretty powerful, so my first suggestion would be for you to use a toner like that and then see what happens.
If that doesn’t fix it, wait at least another 3 weeks if you can before you dye your hair again. Then, dye only the roots. The ends will correct themselves over time with washing and toning, but the roots are the ones that need help. I recommend you use L’Oreal Feria, as I’ve heard that’s the most comparable brand to salon quality hair dye.
Then, I would choose a light or dark blonde and only apply to the roots. It may take you a few tries to get that exact color, but you’ll be doing it without bleach so that’s totally normal.
P.S. Sorry just read that you do have naturally brown hair, so yes, use a blue toner 
2 Likes
Thank you for the in-depth response! I’m going to try toning it again. A lot of the grey tones are slightly disappearing from the ends but I’m not sure what to do as it looks like my bleached ends won’t hold colour at all, agh. Hopefully the toner fixes the roots at least! 
I’m trying to remain positive haha
Thank you! It looks different in natural lighting, a lot more orange. I wouldn’t mind so much if it all had the same undertone but it just looks odd to me. Thank you for the advice though, I did try to tone it but it didn’t do all that much so I’ve brought a different one which supposedly works well on darker hair, fingers crossed! 
x
Welcome to the forum @Skittlesz, we’re happy to have you here
Sorry to hear about your hair dilemma, it’s tough on everyone right now! There isn’t much you can do in terms of getting to that blonde color, apart from bleaching it. What I would suggest is that you wait a few weeks and then use a darker hair dye to cover up the orange. It won’t be the color that you want, but at least it’ll be the color that you DON’T want lol
You can also use some natural hair lightening remedies such as chamomile tea or lemon juice. Those can really help to lighten hair, and they’ll do so naturally, where it won’t come out orange!
