How to Get Brassiness Out of Your Hair

Now that summer is coming to an end, you may notice that your hair color has changed a bit over the last few months. Depending on your natural hair color, or the color you started the season with, you might actually like your new hue. But if not, then you’re probably wondering how you can get rid of your new unwanted warm tones and which products work best for getting brassiness out of your hair.

New yellow tones and orange tones in your hair are a fairly common result of prolonged sun exposure over the summer. This is because when you lighten your hair color, whether at the salon or through too many days in the sun, your hair color is “lifted.” And because all hair naturally has some underlying or intrinsic warmth to it, when your hair lightens it can make red, yellow and orange tones shine through.

That being said, hair brassiness can look a little different on different hair colors. For example, platinum blonde hair may turn yellow while golden-colored tresses or golden highlights (especially when applied to dark hair) can become a more reddish-gold or orange tone. Even red hair can turn brassy, resulting in a washed-out or faded appearance. 

This means that white, silver, blonde and dark hair that’s been highlighted are all susceptible to developing brassy undertones. Sun, salt, chlorine and even your water at home can strip your hair of its natural or salon-created color, leaving it thirsty while revealing yellow, orange and other brassy tones. In order to return your hair color to its prior luster, you need to know how to get brassiness out of hair.

Step One: Purple Shampoo

Although you can run to the salon for a toner treatment at the first sign of brassy tones, that isn’t always practical, and worse, it can get pretty expensive. But not to worry! Better Not Younger has you covered.

One of the very best things you can do to get brassiness out of your hair and return it to its former glory is (drumroll please...) purple shampoo! 

Don’t worry, it won’t actually turn your hair purple. But what it will do is introduce cool tones back into your hair, just like a toning shampoo and this helps to reduce brassiness. As purple is opposite yellow on the color wheel, a quality purple shampoo, such as our Silver Lining Purple Brightening Shampoo For Grey & White Hair, will help neutralize, or correct, the unwanted brassy and yellow tones. 

The great thing about our purple shampoo is that it was specifically developed with the needs of gray and silver hair in mind. This means it was also designed to rehydrate and strengthen aging hair while fortifying your hair’s cool tones. That being said, anyone can benefit from purple shampoo, not just those with gray or white hair looking to reduce brassiness. Like we mentioned above, all hair colors can fall victim to those unwanted warm tones.

Step Two: Purple Hair Mask

Once you’ve done what you can for your hair with your shampoo, it’s time to go a step further to reduce brassiness. Our Silver Lining Purple Butter Masque is packed with benefits so you can eliminate those unwanted yellow tones while also nourishing and hydrating your parched locks. D&C Violet 2 (also in our purple shampoo) is the real key here since this is the optical color agent responsible for getting brassiness out of your hair and brightening the overall appearance of your hair.

We recommend applying our purple hair mask while your hair is still damp from your shower so the purple butter can really soak into your tresses and lock in additional moisture while reducing brassiness. Start by leaving the masque on for 1-to-3 minutes with the option of leaving it on longer for increased toning and to maximize the mask’s benefits while getting brassiness out of your hair. Keep in mind you can always decrease the amount of time you leave it on if the product over-tones. When you’re done, gently rinse your hair in cool water, dry it and style as usual!

Step Three: Check Your Water

Believe it or not, your water may be hurting your hair and serving as a hidden contributor to the orange and yellow tones showing up in your hair. 

Hard water, aka water with a high mineral content, can taint and alter the color of your hair, revealing unwanted warm tones in your hair. Unfortunately, there are only two things you can do about this: Reduce the amount of time/frequency you spend in the shower or install a water softener or water filter to reduce the mineral content.

Investing in a water filter, even just one for your shower head (rather than the whole house), can be a great cost-effective option in the long run, because if your hair color lasts longer, then you don’t need to dye it as often. If you prefer to go all out with a water softening system to help reduce brassiness in your hair, your new softer water will ultimately leave your hair healthier, softer and stronger than before.

How to Prevent Hair Brassiness Throughout the Year

Now that you know how to get brassiness out of your hair, it’s worth noting that there are a few things you can do to prevent those brassy hair tones from coming back.

As the weather starts to cool off, it’s the perfect time to dig your hats, winter caps and beanies out of the closet. Wearing a hat is the easiest and most surefire way to protect your hair from the bleaching rays of the sun, which definitely helps to reduce brassiness. 

It would also be a good idea to keep your hair out of the pool and ocean as much as possible throughout the year. This gives you the perfect opportunity to try some updos and protective styles—​​or even a swim cap if you’re serious about swimming. Just because your hair has to stay out of the water doesn’t mean you do.

This brings us to the question of how you can prevent hair brassiness during your hair-care routine. Rotating in a damage control product, like our Second Chance Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner for Dry or Damaged Hair, helps keep your hair as strong as possible year-round. It will also help repair the physical damage caused to your hair by the sun, salt, chlorine and hot styling tools.

Finally, and we can’t stress this enough, use a heat protectant before heat styling (yes, even hot tools can bring out the unwanted warm tones in your hair!) as well as any time your hair is exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time, especially during the summer months. It will not only protect your hair from the damaging properties of heat and the sun, but will also help reduce any future hair brassiness. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

Tell Us: Have you tried using a purple shampoo or purple hair mask for getting brassiness out of your hair? Share in the comments below!

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And don’t hesitate to send us a message on Facebook or Instagram if you have any more questions about how to get brassiness out of your hair or how purple shampoo can best help you. Better Not Younger has everything you need for getting brassiness out of your hair and keeping your silver, gray and color-treated hair happy, healthy, hydrated and most importantly, brass-free. 

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