About two years ago I went back to being a blonde after a few more or less successful experiments with darker and redder hues. I find blonde suits me best as it is closer to my natural hair color and tones but not the best way to treat my already fine and fragile hair that never seems to want to grow. I decided to embrace my roots and wait as long as possible in between hair appointments in order to allow it to regenerate and regain its strength.
Meanwhile, I was looking for a way to tone it at home, without using anything too harsh. My hair has a tendency to turn brassy, either due to a reddish pigment I have or the water in Montreal. I tried every purple shampoo I could get my hands on, I tried washing with baking soda and rinsing with vinegar... and although I did get my hair to look good I couldn't get rid of those coppery and yellow tones. Then I saw some interesting DIY toners on Pinterest that peaked my curiosity and I figured I would give them a try and I was surprised to see that they worked.
You'll need a good conditioner and good old
Manic Panic in Ultra Violet. In a separate container I mixed the conditioner with a little purple dye, I would recommend to be conservative with how much dye you use, a little goes a long way. I figured I would see how my hair takes it and I could always twitch the formula in the future if I found the amount of pigment wasn't enough to balance the brassiness. Better safe than ending up with purple hair, right? I washed hair with a gentle clarifying shampoo and applied the purple concoction of towel dried hair; I then allowed it to sit for a good 5 minutes before rinsing out well and gently shampooing the roots to remove the excess conditioner on the scalp.
The brassiness is definitely gone. I think I overdid the Manic Panic as there are strands here and there with a grey or subtle purple tinge. Nothing too noticeable. As the dye is semi-permanent I expect it to wash away with the next shampoo. My hair is super soft, the whole process doubled as a deep conditioning treatment. I am very happy with the results and I wish I tried this sooner. Ladies, stop wasting your money on purple shampoos, this stuff is the way to go! The only concern I have is that I caught the Manic Panic bug... I am definitely tempted to get some colored streaks and really curious to see what I would look like with lavender hair. Stay tuned ;)
Hair before:
Hair after:
Labels: 3 minute repair, aussie, blonde, blonde hair, brassiness, brassy hair, coppery, dyi, EN, homemade, manic panic, purple, purple shampoo, toner, ultra violet
