Hair Color 911: Help! My Blonde is Brassy!

Brassiness - it's one of the most common complaints when it comes to blonde hair color. What is it and how can we get rid of it?

Let's begin by defining 'brassy'. When it comes to blondes, the term 'brassy' generally refers to an excess of yellow and/or orange pigments in the hair, which isn't always a bad thing; in fact, it's a great thing if you're going for an intense strawberry blonde, or auburn locks... but if you're reading this, you're probably not. The term 'brassy' refers to unwanted warm tones when let's say, your intentions of getting that perfect 'Sienna Miller Champagne-Blonde' results in something closer to a 'Nicole Kidman Strawberry-Blonde'. Because the extra warmth is unwanted or unintentional, the resulting color is seen as 'brassy'.

Brassy vs. Ashy:

You might hear your colorist use the words 'brassy' and 'ashy' when consulting with you. What exactly do they mean? In a nutshell, the word 'brassy' refers to warm tones (red/orange/yellow), and the word 'ashy' refers to cool tones (green/blue/violet). Anything in between, including that perfect champagne blonde is a balancing act between the two ends of the spectrum.

Feeling a little blondorexic? You're not alone. Figuring out how to get the 'perfect' blonde in your hair can be confusing and frustrating. Sometimes when we've had our hair color adjusted and 'tweaked' one too many times, it becomes difficult to even distinguish what shade of blonde our hair is anymore. Know that your 'perfect blonde' is a balance of the three primary colors: red, blue and yellow. And you absolutely need all 3 color pigments in the hair - yes, even the yellow and red ones that you're trying to get rid of - to create a balanced shade of blonde. So to correct an overabundance of warmth (brassiness), one must add cool tones (ash) to control warmth and create balance. However, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. If too much ash is added, one can expect the color to completely bypass all of the desirable, pretty shades of blonde in the 'neutral zone' (see chart below) and land in the 'cool zone' where it will just look grayish and dingy, hence taking you from 'Sunflower Yellow', to 'Crypt-Keeper Grey'. No bueno.

So where does all this yellow and orange come from? To understand brassiness, it's important to understand how 'going blonde' works. When a lighter shade of permanent hair color is applied to dark hair, it does two main things: It lightens and lifts out some of your own natural pigments, and it deposits new artificial pigments all at the same time while it's sitting on your head processing. Everyone's hair pulls warm colors (yellow/orange/red) when lightened and the darker your natural hair, the more warmth it will pull. Your colorist's job is to forecast the amount of warmth expected from the lightening process (based on consultation and hair type) and then use that to determine the correct blend of controlling pigments (usually ash tones) to add to the color formula, creating a perfectly balanced blonde. For example, if a honey-blonde is desired, generally fewer controlling pigments are added. If the desired color is more of a platinum blonde, more controlling pigments are added into the formula. Even when the 'perfect blonde' is achieved, it's important to keep in mind that artificial pigments eventually fade, regardless of whether it's categorized as 'permanent' or 'semi-permanent'. The 'artificial' part mainly being the controlling pigments or ash/cool tones. When this happens, the warm tones that were once hidden by the now fading cool tones are exposed and the color becomes off-balanced and 'brassy' again. At this point, hopefully you will already have a prebooked appointment with your colorist lined up and you'll have peace of mind knowing that soon your blonde will be touched up and fabulous again. Keeping regular appointments with your colorist is one great way to keep brass under control... and on that note...

Here are 3 more ways to beat the brass:

1) Use a violet based shampoo/conditioner.

As opposites on the color wheel, violet neutralizes yellow. Using a violet based shampoo a few times a week will help neutralize brass and prolong your hair color. Just be sure to use a professional brand that's specifically designed for professional hair color (ask your colorist for a recommendation). If a violet shampoo is chock full of harsh surfactants and cheap color-stripping ingredients, it'll do your color more harm than good despite the added violet pigments.

2) Schedule a toner with your colorist.

If you went on a beach vacation and all of your precious controlling pigments were washed away with the sand, chances are your hair got brassy wayyyy before it was supposed to and to make things worse, maybe your scheduled color appointment is three whole weeks away, which, let's be real - feels more like an eternity for a desperate brassy-haired girl. In this case, just call your salon and schedule a toner application. A toner is a color gloss that deposits just enough of the controlling pigments back into the hair to hold you over until your next full service appointment. Think of it as your violet shampoo on steroids. Toners are generally a fraction of the cost of the full maintenance service and they also take much less time for your colorist to do - thus getting you in and out of the salon on your lunch break.

3) Skip the allover base color and highlight over your natural base.

A common method of taking someone from brunette to blonde is to do it in two steps: First to lighten the overall base to a medium/dark blonde, then to apply light blonde highlights all over, thus making all of the hair blonde. This method is not 'wrong' by any means, but it does produce a rather warm result because the base has been lightened to the point of exposing all sorts of warm undertones. And even if it doesn't look too warm or brassy when it's freshly done, just wait a few weeks when the controlling pigments fade away, and a dark regrowth line comes in. If 'warm' is not your thing, steer clear of this route to Blondom. There are other ways to get there.

I'm always an advocate of 'less is more'. So if you don't need an all-over color on your base, then don't do it. And by 'need' I mean only if you have too much grey to blend with just highlights. For most of my salon guests in this scenario, I will usually apply an all-over base that is close in color to the natural base using a demi-permanent color for gentle grey blending and minimal lift (minimal lift = minimal exposure of warm tones if any). The brunette base (whether it's au-naturel or demi-colored to blend greys) is then highlighted with various shades of blonde to achieve an overall blonde result that rarely goes brassy if ever.

'But I tried blonde highlights over my brown hair once before and it was stripey and I didn't feel like I was blonde enough... I looked like Kelly Clarkson circa 2002.'

And my response to that is: Color- PLACEMENT is everything.

For example: In the photo below, all three 'blonde' looks are constructed from a brown base/ blonde highlight combo. The difference lies in the color-placement.

Don't see it yet? Okay, let's break it down (you'll have to excuse my amateur cut & paste jobs on the following diagrams):

See it now? Even though all three of the examples depicted above share a very similar color combination - dark base/light highlights, there is clearly a substantial difference in the overall appearance of color in all three examples. The difference in color-placement created three very different results - and none of which would be considered 'brassy'. Well maybe except for Kelly Clarkson's (I love her, but bless her heart in 2002). But technically it's not even really 'brassy'; it's just stripey and dated (love you Kelly, mean it!).

So lets rewind for a second and take another look back at the first method of 'blonding' dark hair from earlier in this post. In the case of lightening your base first, then adding highlights, yes color-placement matters as well, but because the base has been lightened, it has a tendency to go brassy when the controlling pigments fade - thus the overall result will always be warm. Not to mention regrowth becomes much more apparent:

Warm blondes? or Brassy blondes? You decide.

'But if I don't lighten my dark brown base, how blonde can I go with just highlights?'

It all depends on where you want to go and if your desired shade of blonde compliments your complexion. Technically, as long as your highlights are plentiful and packed in tight, you can go as blonde as you'd like short of being 'Gwen Stefani Platinum'. Artistically, any respectable colorist will probably talk you out of any shade of blonde that clashes with your complexion, or risks the integrity of your hair. So always keep an open mind and be sure to take professional advice into consideration .

I always use my boss Jill as an example. She has embraced this iconic blonde bob for years. Though it has varied in length here and there, and sometimes she changes the fringe, to me it's always just: 'The Jill'. Because she has been blonde for most of her professional career, people are always surprised to learn that she is actually a natural brunette (see her adorable baby pic below). For the last few years, Jill has consistently had her natural dark-brown base heavily highlighted with very light, pastel blonde highlights every 6 weeks. In order to achieve such a light shade of blonde without altering her naturally brunette base, her highlights are finely woven and packed in air-tight. She has not lightened or altered her dark-brown base in almost three years, yet she is still able to achieve an appearance of an allover blonde shade with only highlights and a toner. And guess what? Because her natural base is unaltered, her blonde hair stays brass-free.

The key to great hair color is consistency. Therefore it is imperative to find a colorist that you can trust and stick with. Once you find your perfect colorist (you know, 'the one'), consult thoroughly. Ask questions. Be sure to ask about maintenance. How often will you need a retouch? How often will you need a toner? What do you need to do for at-home maintenance? Does the maintenance plan fit into your schedule? Your budget? If not, work with your colorist to come up with a plan that does. Sometimes that might mean going in a different direction with your hair color. And finally, be patient. Sometimes your desired result may take multiple appointments to achieve. The hard part is always getting to your ideal color. Once you're there, maintenance is just smooth sailing.

As always, good hair days to all,

Emily Chen

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