colour correction
Why is my hair orange after box dye?
Box dye lightens hair without adjusting for what's already underneath it. Every level of blonde carries some warm pigment, usually red, orange or yellow, and box dye is formulated for one average head, not yours specifically. As the artificial ash or cool tone fades over a few washes, that underlying warmth starts to show, and you're left orange, brassy, or uneven between the roots and the ends.
The fix is colour correction, not another box of dye. Putting a cool-toned box colour back over orange hair usually just adds grey or green on top of the problem, because it doesn't neutralize the actual pigment causing the warmth. That takes a corrective tone mixed for your hair specifically, not a one-size formula off a shelf.
Colour correction is $80 an hour. Most brassy box-dye fixes run two to four hours, depending on how many layers of dye are already in your hair and how orange the regrowth is compared to the ends. I always look at your hair in person and run a strand test before quoting an exact time or price. Full details on how a correction appointment goes are on the colour correction page.
Hair that's only ever been coloured once at home usually corrects faster and more predictably than hair with several box dyes layered on top of each other over the years. Each new box of dye sits on top of what's already there instead of replacing it, so by the time you come in, I'm often working through more than one colour at once. That's part of why I can't give you an accurate time or price without seeing your hair directly.
Where I say no
If your hair has been boxed over more than once and a strand test shows it's already fragile, I won't push a full correction through in one visit. I'd rather split the work across two appointments a few weeks apart than hand you hair that breaks off in the shower a week later.
Questions
How much does it cost to fix brassy or orange hair?
Colour correction is $80 an hour. Most brassy box-dye fixes run two to four hours, so the total is usually between $160 and $320 before GST, depending on how many layers of dye are already in your hair.
Can I fix orange hair myself with a box toner?
Putting another box colour over orange hair usually adds grey or green on top of the problem instead of removing it, because it does not account for what is actually causing the warmth underneath. A proper correction neutralizes that pigment first.