Beige-Pink Hair

Short hair with a beige-pink sheen
Photo: Stockfour/Shutterstock
Q: When coloring my brown hair to a light-beige blond, it ends up a beige-pink. What are the possible causes? What should I do? What tone, developer strength and (if any) additional products do you recommend?
 
A: It sounds like the major problem you are facing is that your natural (original) color contains red tones that are revealed in the lightening process. Your solution is a traditional color correction process, or switching to a hair color formula that uses a green color base in the shade that you desire.
 
Since red and green appear in opposite points on the color wheel, the green color in the applied formula will neutralize the red tones and leave your hair a more natural looking shade.
 
If you are looking to find a way to remove pink-tones from your hair at the moment, you can create a correcting toner by mixing 1 ounce of a pale hair color that uses a green base color, 1 ounce 10-volume peroxide and 1 ounce of your favorite conditioner.
 
If you cannot find a hair color with a green base, use 1/2 ounce of a color with a blue base and 1/2 ounce of a color with a gold base. Mix these as mentioned previously, with one ounce of 10-volume developer and 1 ounce of your favorite conditioner.
 
If you're not comfortable with the idea of doing your own color correction, you can always visit your local salon, and it will be a simple matter to have them adjust your color for you. Afterward, if you look for a color that will account for the potential to be too pinkish, you can avoid the undesired color effects.
 
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See also:
 
Hair color and color formulas
 
How to use the hair color wheel
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