Reasons your hair looks brassy

Some refer to their brassy hair when the blonde appears in harsh yellow tones. And other people will refer to brassy tones when they see orangy tones. Knowing the difference is important because the toning shampoos to correct them are different.  

Blue neutralizes Orange. So blue pigmented shampoos and conditioning treatments are great for darker blonde tones, bronde, or lighter brunette tones that tend to turn Orange.  

Purple neutralizes yellow. And it is why I sell a lot of purple shampoo for my lighter blondes. Because as your custom-formulated salon toner washes off over time, you can maintain your blonde at home with pigmented toning shampoos & conditioners

But there's a catch! All hair dye fades. And it fades warm. So if you cover your grey or add lowlights to create dimension, the colour will fade over time, and the warmth will show. Clients who leave with highlights and lowlights might notice, after some time, that their hair is warm or turning brassy. So they reach for their purple shampoo thinking it's the highlights causing the unwanted warmth. The warmth they see is often from the brown lowlights turning brassy, so the purple shampoo is doing minimal- if not nothing, to address the unwanted brassy tones. But what it is doing is dulling the blonde highlights. Here's why:

Purple neutralizes yellow and then starts to deposit colour. That's why the first time you use purple shampoo after an extended period, your blonde highlights will look SO BRIGHT! Because you just toned your own hair and neutralized the harsh yellow. But if you keep using it repeatedly ( like so many clients trying to eliminate the Orange), the purple will deposit on the blonde. Some highlights will grab the purple ( some people love this ), And some highlights will turn dull and almost greyish.  

The best way to deal with this is to prevent it by only using purple shampoo once every 6-8 shampoos. Manufacturers will say 4-6 shampoos but take it from a stylist who has to do colour corrections on clients who overuse it. If you like icy blonde hair, or if your hair is too yellow or orange-yellow, we have to lift your hair to a lighter level of blonde so it's easier for you to maintain it at home. This is something I do a lot of and have done for many years.  As a blonde myself, I know exactly what level to lift the hair and know in advance if it is achievable. If you feel your hair is not light enough or turning brassy, let's address the underlying cause of it and solve that problem.