Have you recently dyed your hair brunette, only to find yourself dealing with unwanted shades of red?
Or perhaps you’ve spent too long tanning in the sun and left with red tones in brown hair to show for it?
Learning how to remove red tones from brown hair at home is the best way to achieve the desired results without much fuss.
To do so, you’ll need to understand the science of colour theory at a basic level. Knowing how to get red tones out of brown hair involves choosing the right products and dyes while ensuring your hair remains healthy.
Our My Haircare & Beauty team explores everything in this guide. As Australia’s #1 beauty retailer, we carry 200+ brands featuring salon-quality colour-treated hair care products you can use at home. Our online store also sells the best brown hair dye to cover red tones, paired with speedy shipping nationwide to help you tackle those lousy hair days ASAP.
Why Does My Brown Hair Have a Red Undertone?
You’ll need to understand why this happens to learn how to remove red tones from brown hair at home.
Red tones in brown hair are common.
Hair dye works by removing (or adding) pigments from hair strands. There are three colour tones: blue, red, and yellow. Black hair has all three, while blonde strands only have yellow.
The line between brown and red hair is thin. There are just a few chemical differences between the best brown hair dye to cover red tones and an intentional red colour. Brown hair has enough crimson tones to differentiate itself from black or blonde hair, but if you overdo it, your hair will turn red.
That’s why the products you use make such a big difference–the presence or absence of a few chemicals will directly affect the sensitive balance of your hair dye.
Heat Styling and Sun Exposure
One of the easiest ways to learn how to remove red tones from brown hair at home is to change your routine. Everyday activities like heat styling or being out in the sun can damage your hair–especially without heat protection products–damaging that sensitive pigment balance.
Excessive heat will cause the darker pigments–the blue tones–to fade or escape the cuticles of your hair entirely. What remains after are the orange or red tones in brown hair that you’re trying to avoid.
Fading Hair Dye and Oxidation
Here’s something that could surprise you–the “permanent” in permanent hair dye isn’t 100% accurate. How long does permanent hair dye last, if not forever?
Even the perfect dye can still fade over time. Every wash, heat exposure, or beach day can break down the molecules in your hair strands.
Hair dye fades consistently. First, the heavier blue tones are usually stripped away, leaving only the red and yellow pigments behind, creating orange or red tones in brown hair.
Oxidation accelerates this process. It occurs when your hair colour interacts with oxygen, such as washing with hard water or entering a chlorinated pool.
Using the Wrong Shampoo or Toner
If you want to remove red tones from brown hair at home, you should start by looking inside your shower.
There are thousands of shampoos, but most are disastrous for your efforts at staying brunette. Shampoos containing sulphates, sulphites, silicones, and other clarifying ingredients will scrub the dye molecules off your strands.
Like excessive heat or water, this removes the blue from your dye and leaves behind a red hue.
Even toning shampoo won’t help if it isn’t the right colour. You can’t use purple shampoo on brown hair like on blonde hair, as it only exacerbates the problem. Instead, you need to use blue or green-coloured products, as these are the opposite tones on the colour wheel from red and orange.
How to Remove Red Tones From Brown Hair At Home
Hair colour in a sensitive balance of colour theory and product safety. If you want to master the art of learning how to remove red tones from brown hair, you’ll need to understand the science.
Neutralising Red Tones With the Right Colour Theory
You can learn almost everything you need to know about how to get red tones out of brown hair just by looking at a colour wheel.
Every hair cuticle has pigments from the three primary colours: blue, red, and yellow. These tones operate on a “first-in, first-out” basis. Blue tones are the darkest, red is in the middle, and yellow is the lightest. If you’ve ever wondered how to lighten dark hair, it’s usually through products or dyes that lift the blue and red pigments from your hair strands.
Each hair colour is created by mixing pigments. Brown hair is a spectrum, but generally, it’s a mix of red and blue tones with enough yellow to prevent an entirely purple look.
Similarly, when you dye your hair brown, you’re trying to leave enough blue pigment behind to avoid orange hair.
Often, when your brown hair appears red, it’s because those blue tones have been stripped, whether due to damage or using the wrong colour.
This means you must use the opposing colour to neutralise reds or oranges. Green-based products help eliminate red, while Blue tones neutralise orange. Remember this before purchasing toning shampoos or conditioners to ensure you make the right choice.
Toning Shampoos and Conditioners to Reduce Warmth
Toning products are the best way to change your hair tone slightly. Remember that your choice of shampoo for coloured hair should correspond with your hair’s position on the colour wheel.
For example, there are plenty of purple conditioners for coloured hair that work excellently for those with blonde hair–but will be ineffective for your brunette strands.
Remember to avoid harmful ingredients like sulphates and clarifying oils. You want a shampoo that enhances the vibrancy of your base colour while neutralising the other tones.
DIY and Natural Remedies to Cool Down Red Tones
If you’re learning how to remove red tones from brown hair, you can use a couple of DIY methods.
Green Tea is fantastic. You can brew a few cups, let it cool, then rinse it through your hair or leave it in for great results. While you won’t get the full effect of a “green” neutraliser, you’ll still be able to offset some red tones.
Mixing coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, and a couple of drops of green or blue food colouring can create a nice leave-in conditioner that can help.
But you don’t have to be an amateur chemist to correct your red tones. Investing in salon-quality products (many contain these ingredients at higher concentrations) will give you much better results without fuss.
Salon vs At-Home Colour Correction
Sometimes, learning how to remove red tones from brown hair may not be something you want to tangle with. Going to a salon to correct your hair dye is convenient, even if it does impact your bank account.
Professional stylists can pinpoint the cause of your hair tone issues and formulate an exact blend of dyes to remove those reddish hues.
The drawback of going to a salon is obvious: hair colour costs. You might spend hundreds of dollars at the salon across multiple visits when you could’ve solved the problem at home.
Our suggestion is to try the at-home solutions first–often, even if they don’t work directly, you’ll have the products you need to maintain your hair in the long run.
Get the Best Brown Hair Dye to Cover Red Tones at My Haircare & Beauty!
When you spend countless hours searching for the perfect hair inspo, waiting for dye to process, and dreaming of your new look, you don’t want your colour to go awry after just one wash.
That’s why it’s crucial to emphasise your hair routine by investing in salon-quality colour-treated haircare products.
There’s only one retailer Aussie fashionistas trust regarding haircare: My Haircare & Beauty!
Why Shop With Us For Your Colour-Treated Haircare Essentials?
Since 2008, we’ve been the one-stop shop for all things beauty for people across Australia. We have an extensive inventory of over 200+ salon-quality brands, from industry leaders like Redken, Kerastase, and Joico to local hidden gems our staff has personally hand-selected.
Our friendly team is here to help you find the ideal products for your hair problems. We’re always available for a chat and can recommend new products for your routine.
When you shop at our website, you can choose your products based on your needs. Our intuitive browser will lead you to the products that work best for you. Whether you need toner shampoos, dyes, or deep conditioners, you’ll find them all in our stores.
We pair it all with free speedy shipping on orders over $50 and a 130-day return policy.
Ash Brown vs Neutral Brown: Which is Best for Covering Red Tones?
If you want to remove red tones, you’ll need to consider your end goal. Are you aiming for a still-warm brown hue, just without the red? Or is your dream pigment an ashy brown with more blue colours?
Ask yourself–what hair colour suits me? Ash brown usually works better for those with cool complexion, while neutral browns work with warm skin tones.
In general, ash brown is better at removing red–if you dye your hair with a cool dye, it will insert more blue pigments that mute the reddish effect.
Don’t go too far on the ash side of the spectrum, or your hair may end up with green tones, and you’ll need to correct them in the other direction.
Top Permanent and Semi-Permanent Dyes for Fixing Red Tones
If toning shampoos and deep conditioners aren’t enough to fix the reds in your hair, you’ll need to redye your hair.
Permanent and semi-permanent colours are both options. The difference between permanent vs semi permanent hair dye is that the latter will naturally fade after about a month.
This can be beneficial if you’re still trying to determine the best option for your hair. A semi-permanent hair colour lets you experiment without fully committing.
Then, once you’ve identified the exact blend that gets you the desired result, you can switch to permanent hair colour and use it moving forward.
Ensure you use top brands like Wella, Schwarzkopf, Hi Lift, and Joico for a fantastic colour.
For advice on choosing a colour, consider the Wella Professionals Koleston Hair Colour. You want to select a “cool” tone to balance out the red, even if your end goal is still on the warmer side of the spectrum. Colours like 5/0, 6/00, 6/97, or 4/71 are good starting points.
However, we recommend consulting with a professional, such as our My Haircare & Beauty team, for specific advice on hues.If you still aren’t sure, you can always be extra cautious and use a demi-permanent hair colour or a temporary hair colour. This will help you see what tones will look like on your dyed hair while fading after a few washes if you don’t love it.
How to Prevent Red Tones From Returning After Colour Correction
Now that you know how to remove red tones from brown hair, how do you keep them from returning?
Simply put, it comes back to the causes we discussed previously. Avoid heat damage, keep your hair away from hard water, and use colour-friendly products without sulphates and silicones.
Limit how frequently you wash your hair to 2 or 3 times per week at a maximum, as this will delay the natural fading of your dye. Additionally, adding a deep conditioner weekly will help keep your pigment intact.
Final Words on How to Get Red Tones Out of Brown Hair
Seeing tones you never expected on your freshly dyed hair can be disheartening. You don’t want your time, energy, and money wasted.
That’s why focusing on your haircare regimen with colour-treated products is essential. You can tame those red hues by minimising heat damage, filtering hard water, and introducing toning shampoos.
Here at My Haircare & Beauty, you’ll find all the products you need and expert advice. We offer over 200+ brands, speedy shipping, and a friendly return policy to help you shop smartly and confidently. Visit us today!
Mel
Mel is a former Hair Stylist with over a decade of industry experience. She enjoys writing about all aspects of the hair & beauty world including, trends, new products & best-sellers.
