Hair Color Correction: Do I Need One?

So, you're ready for a new color! You've browsed Pinterest, searched through Instagram, and decided you'd like to make a radical color shift for a new season in your life. Did you know it often isn't as easy as just adding a new dye to your existing color? This is where the artistry of hairstylists comes in.

What is hair color correction?

I’m sure many have heard this term before, but what exactly is a color correction?

Color correction involves either toning out unwanted pigments (such as brassiness), dying your hair darker, or lightening your hair to achieve the desired effect. Your stylist will decide what color correction is right for your hair. This is entirely dependent on both your original color (the one being corrected) and the look you’re going for. It typically involves restoring, removing, or neutralizing hair tones.

Do I need a color correction?

These are 3 signs you might need a color correction:

Unwanted brassiness, red, or orange tones

If you start to see these unwanted tones in your hair, it can be due to many factors. Some over the counter shampoos can strip the hair of its color. Any amount of heat on your hair can cause damage to the outermost layer of your hair strand and cause your color to fade quicker. Using hot or hard water can also cause your hair to fade quicker exposing these undesired tones.

Grow out or color banding

Color banding is described as the band which can be seen when you overlap color on previously colored hair, leaving you with a darker colored section. This also occurs when you have stretched out your recoloring applications and left your regrowth for a little too long. The result is hair which may appear to have two different tones, or with a visible band around the regrowth line.

Unintended results from an at-home dye job

Most of you already know this one! Sometimes it happens, you get bored at home and want to make a change. You used a store-brand dye or lightener to change your hair color, and it doesn't quite come out the way you were hoping. Maybe the color turned out too red or maybe you didn’t use enough bleach and have ended up with patchy results. Either way, a color correction treatment for hair can help to address these concerns.

So, if your hair color is not what you were hoping, see a professional and let them determine whether or not you need a color correction. Talk with a stylist you can trust and be open and honest with them! We are here to help, not judge!