Yellow hue in blonde hair

Blonde is one of the most popular hair colours. However, many blondes have the same problem – they lighten their hair and get a shock when they look in the mirror. Their hair is not a beautiful, shiny blonde – it is yellow! Here is information on why this happens and how you can reduce the yellow hue.

What happens to the hair when it is dyed blonde?

The hair has two colour pigments: the black-brown eumelanin and the red-orange pheomelanin. All hair colours are comprised of these two pigments. When the hair is dyed blonde, hydrogen peroxide is used to reduce the dark eumelanin in the hair so that the lighter pheomelanin remains. Therefore, the natural dark pigment is removed from the hair to lighten it. During this process, the hair takes on colour nuances from red to orange and yellow until the desired blonde is achieved. Thus, lightening or dyeing the hair blonde is referred to as bleaching the hair.

Why does the yellow hue appear?

If you wash out the blonde dye too early, the lightening process is stopped too early and can result in the wrong colour: the hair appears orange or yellow.

Particularly those who would like to dye their hair blonde at home should be very careful.

Note the following tips:

If you check the hair colour during the process, do not panic and wash the colour out if your hair looks yellow or orange. The bleach is not yet ready and must be left in the hair for longer.
Do not leave the product in the hair for longer than stated on the packaging. If you have rinsed out the lightening product too early, you can reapply it and leave it in for the remaining amount of time.

To be on the safe side, have your hair dyed blonde by a professional!

Freshly bleached hair reacts very sensitively to chlorine, salt water and heat. If you have lightened your hair before your summer holiday, your hair may appear yellow or green after a few days. This is not due to the chlorine itself, but the care and cleaning agents against algae in the swimming pool. These include copper compounds that oxidise when they come together with oxygen. This is shown as a green colour, which is particularly visible on blonde hair.

Banishing the yellow hue

There are now a few remedies to banish the undesirable yellow hue from the hair. In colour theory, colours that are opposite each other in the colour wheel are complementary. One property of complementary colours is that they neutralise each other if they are mixed together. They will always give a neutral grey.

So-called silver shampoos contain violet colour pigments and counteract this undesirable yellow hue. The violet colour pigments build up on the hair with each wash, thereby reducing the yellow hue in blonde and grey hair.

Do you suffer from this unattractive yellow hue on holiday and need help fast? Remedies such as washing your hair with a dissolved aspirin tablet or lemon juice are said to be a quick solution.

Silver shampoo from Plantur 39

The Plantur 39 Colour Silver Phyto-Caffeine Shampoo offers the solution to this particular problem. Strong violet colour pigments build up on the hair with each wash, thereby reducing the yellow hue in blonde or grey hair and giving it an elegant silver sheen. Leave the shampoo in for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on the desired colour intensity, before rinsing it out. The Plantur 39 Colour Silver Conditioner is also available, which boosts the colour-intensifying effect of the shampoo. Both products contain the proven caffeine complex and prevent menopausal hair loss.

Colour Silver Phyto-Caffeine Shampoo
For an elegant silver sheen – with no yellow hue
250 ml
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Colour Silver Conditioner
For an elegant silver sheen – with no yellow hue
150 ml
More information