Which Removes Chemical Hair Dye Better: Color Oops, Vitamin C + Shampoo, or Other?

[Luminaria]

Hello LHCers,
I dyed my dark brown hair with Vidal Sassoon's 3VR Deep Velvet Violet hair dye two months ago. My hair has faded to a dark reddish brown color. It has an orange-y tint to it in sunlight. I do not like this color and would like to remove it. I'm thinking of trying Color Oops or using Vitamin C mixed with shampoo to remove the red from my hair. I have some questions about these methods:

=Color Oops=
1. Is it very damaging to hair?
2. If it doesn't completely remove the dye the first time, can I use the remaining mixture (if any), right afterwards? If not, can I use the Vitamin C method directly after?
3. Should I use the extra conditioning formula or the extra strength formula?
4. Do I have to wash my hair before applying it or can I use it on oiled hair?


=Vitamin C + Shampoo method=
A. Do I apply it to wet or dry hair?
B. Do I have to wash my hair before applying it or can I use it on oiled hair?
C. Does it work well on red permanent dye?
D. How many applications are needed to completely remove the dye?
E. How much Vitamin C tablets are needed for maximum removal? Does a higher I.U. remove dye better?
F. Should I mix it with a clarifying shampoo (like Neutrogena anti-residue shampoo)?
G. What is the best ratio of Vitamin C tablets to shampoo?
H. How long should I leave it on for? Does leaving it on longer helps to remove dye better?


Which of these methods work better for removing permanent red dye, Color Oops or Vitamin C + shampoo? Do you know of any other ways (preferably natural) of removing hair dye? Any other tips or tricks you would like to share?

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**UPDATE**
Yesterday, I tried Color Oops, followed by the Vitamin C + Shampoo method. Color Oops took off 80% of the red dye, while the Vitamin C + Shampoo method took off most of the remaining dye. My hair is now a medium-dark brown with a strong, brassy orange tone with some flecks of red. I don't think there was any extensive damage done to my hair that I can notice as of now. If you would like more details about my hair dye removal experience, please check out my LHC blog.
I've read through the replies, and a lot if you have mentioned brassiness and using toners to correct it. Do they have to be applied often? Can you make a toner (I heard about using Kool-Aid...)? Are there any other ways of getting rid of brassiness (like herbal masks, coffee, tea, etc)?

Thank you (again) for reading my post and for any replies.

[MINAKO]

I think the red orange tone is rather a result of the peroxide in the color lifting your natural base and no so much of an artifical pigment residue that you could remove. Any color that has peroxide will do that and leave hair brassy as it fades. So even after the coloroops or vitamin c treatment it will be looking like that. One thing you could do is counteract this with a toner or deposit dye in a complementary shade like violet, blue or green depending on your color level. It can be tricky to achive a shade that seamlessly matches your natural hair again tho.

[surruh]

I think the red orange tone is rather a result of the peroxide in the color lifting your natural base and no so much of an artifical pigment residue that you could remove. Any color that has peroxide will do that and leave hair brassy as it fades. So even after the coloroops or vitamin c treatment it will be looking like that. One thing you could do is counteract this with a toner or deposit dye in a complementary shade like violet, blue or green depending on your color level. It can be tricky to achive a shade that seamlessly matches your natural hair again tho.

I have used both and color oops faded my color better than the vitamin c... But this is basically what I was going to say as well. They may help to remove some more of the pigments but it won't get rid of the brassiness

[Rosetta]

Color Oops/ColourB4 type of treatment is a stronger one than vitamin C, so it can remove more or all of dye, that's what it's designed for, but I've found that vitamin C removes quite a lot as well, especially semi-permanent ones. But basically, if you want to get rid of a dye instantly, Color Oops/Colour B4 is the way to go.

But yeah, seconding what Minako and Surruh said above about the brassiness remaining, in any case.

[Luminaria]

I think the red orange tone is rather a result of the peroxide in the color lifting your natural base and no so much of an artifical pigment residue that you could remove. Any color that has peroxide will do that and leave hair brassy as it fades. So even after the coloroops or vitamin c treatment it will be looking like that. One thing you could do is counteract this with a toner or deposit dye in a complementary shade like violet, blue or green depending on your color level. It can be tricky to achive a shade that seamlessly matches your natural hair again tho.

Oh, I see. It is more reddish though. The orange-ish glow is slight and is only visible when I hold my hair up to the sun. I think I can tolerate it and I understand that I won't get my natural hair color back. I'm just hoping to get most of the red out. What is a toner? Is it damaging?

[Luminaria]

Surruh, Rosetta,
So Color Oops was more effective, eh? How was the condition of your hair afterwards?

[Rosetta]

Surruh, Rosetta,
So Color Oops was more effective, eh? How was the condition of your hair afterwards?
I've used a Color Oops type product (though they're not called Color Oops here in Europe) about 5-6 times, and I've never found them damaging. Hair just feels like after strong clarifying, a bit dry maybe, but moisturizing helps. :)

[MINAKO]

A toner is commonly used after lifting the color level, especially for blonde tones to neutralize the yellowish tones. I think alot of people with brown hair prefer to stay within a very warm coppery range, so its less of a problem there. However, if you want a cool toned brown most hairdressers neutralize with something blueish or greenish. Think complementary colors according to the color wheel. You always choose the shade on the opposite site of the one that you wanna tone down. Its not damaging at all, just deposits a very slight amount of pigment in the hair and works without peroxide or ammonia, pretty much like a vegetable dye such as manic panic or directions. It doesnt last a long time and needs to be refreshed every few weeks tho.

[BerryFlap]

Ok, I was platinum blonde for a long time and dyed my hair all sorts of deposit colours so I know this stuff.

Red pigment DOES NOT give up easily! Quite often, particularly if your hair is light or if bleach has been involved, the red pigment will stain the hair shaft and you'll never get it out. You can fade it considerably, but it will always be there to some degree. If it's not too bad, more bleach can also 'lift' the colour out but that'll be more damaging than it's worth imo.

As others have mentioned before, a toner is definitely going to be your best bet. I like the Scott Cornwall range of toners, and there is a golden hued one that has a green undertone. That *may* work, but use with care as that stuff is way more effective than you think it could be. If you do go in that direction I'd highly reccomend testing it on a small inconspicuous strand of hair.

If you'd rather just be brunette again, use the brunette toner! It's a chocolately brown shade, so still reddish undertoned but I think it looks lovely. I've used it quite a lot on my dark hair as it fills in the more pourous areas of my hair that won't dye dark, and also make my hair super soft.

[TwilightShadow]

I agree with the others about the brassiness being a result of the peroxide. However, if you want to try and see if you can remove some of the color, you could do a strand test and see if you're happy with the result. I tried both Vitamin C and ColorB4 (Color Oops isn't sold in stores in my country) to get rid of faded Manic Panic (it was 3 months post-dyeing and around the scalp area, I still had a lot of red pigment left). Vitamin c mixed with sulphate shampoo didn't do much for me, but ColorB4 removed the semipermanent dye and probably some of the permanent dye underneath as well, because the result was a golden, sandy blonde, lighter than when I dyed it blonde (before applying the semi). So, if you want to try Color Oops, definitely strand test. If it doesn't have satisfying results, at least you won't end up with a blah color on all your head; also, this type of product smells horrible, so unless the results are worth it, it's no use to put that stuff in all your hair.

To answer some of your other questions, I used one tablet of vitamin C mixed with the amount of shampoo I would regularly use for one wash. Color Oops/ColorB4 doesn't damage your hair (the way bleach does), it only dries it out a bit, so you need some conditioning after. Also, you need to apply Color Oops on clean hair (i.e. washed with a clarifying shampoo beforehand). Anyway, they probably give you detailed instructions on the box, so you can follow them carefully.

[endlessly]

Unfortunately, removing the reddish orange tone from your hair is going to be nearly impossible no matter which method you try to use.

I haven't personally used Color Oops (or any variations) before just because I've read many reviews on how dangerous they are, but I have attempted a few other techniques which worked to a certain degree. When I took this on, my hair was a very dark brown/black (I'd actually been aiming for a red/brown), so I was just trying to remove the muddy dark color. I used powdered Vitamin C with Suave Clarifying shampoo and while it removed some color - the water was a very dirty brown - it didn't do much to actually lift color. I then used a mixture of Vitamin C, Suave Clarifying shampoo, and good old-fashioned laundry detergent (this was way before the days of LHC), but again had similar results. I tried just washing with an anti-dandruff shampoo since those are the most color-stripping, but it didn't do enough to lift color. What I turned to as a very, very last resort was a bleach wash as suggested by a clerk at Sally's Beauty Supply - you mix one part powdered bleach with one part clarifying shampoo, scrub vigorously into hair, leave for a few minutes, then rinse. This method worked wonders and was just enough to lift my hair to the color I had originally wanted - however, in my instance, I wanted more red in my hair, not less.

If the hair dye you used contained any peroxide, it most likely lifted your natural tone and since purples have red tones, that's most likely why you're left with the color you currently have. Unfortunately, I think your only other option is to color over it, but even that might not be enough to hide the red. I've been attempting to grow out my natural color and even went so far as to color over the reddish parts of my hair, but since red is a pain to remove, it's still there no matter what I do. The only true way to be rid of it once and for all is to cut it out, which isn't even an option for me!

Best of luck and hopefully you can find something that works!

[kidari]

I wanted to echo what others have said about the orange tones just being the result of faded color. I think it's a common misconception that people believe they need to bleach out or dye out the warm "brassy" tones. The permanent color actually did two steps: lifted color out of your hair then deposited artificial dyes. The lifting permanently chemically damaged your hair, ironically making it more porous leaving the color deposited in your hair to fade out faster each time you compromise your hair. Once you reach the "level" of lightness you want the orange tones you are left with is just what you are dealing with forever. You have to constantly tone your hair and do all kinds of steps to baby the health of your hair as well as to take care to help the toner/color last longer. If you keep lightening your hair thinking it's going to get rid of the brassiness for good, you just ended up trashing your hair to the point of no return. This video is super helpful if you have time to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpXD1MQzRpw&list=PLOsbfjggog1lkHfionopFkFyxexHvRwlN&index=85

I learned the hard way when I was blonde for about a year. Now I just embrace the warm orange tones by using deposit-only/veggie-based/semi-permanent dyes on it to enhance the color to get the one I want (after I lighten the new regrowth ONLY). These deposit only colors you don't have to mix with any peroxide developer with. I've found that after a year's worth of using "gentle" low-volume developers on "gentle" toners/colors it really wreaked havoc on my hair. I had to give up lightening for another year to nurse it somewhat back to the level of health it had before I trashed it when I maintained blonde. You could look into just toning shampoos and conditioners instead of using toners all the time.

Another note is if you have long hair you have to take care not to deposit too much color onto the length all the time, over time you end up getting super dark ends.

[turtlelover]

Vitamin C (about 12 tablets crushed and mixed w/ shampoo) works about half as well as Color Oops for me. Your best best would be a round of Color Oops followed by an ash demi toner (Clairol makes a good one in Medium Ash Brown) but do NOT leave it on more than 5 minutes or you WILL end up way too dark! I just did this last week, and it got rid of 85 percent of my lingering brassy auburn.

[Rosetta]

I haven't personally used Color Oops (or any variations) before just because I've read many reviews on how dangerous they are (- snip -)
Dangerous? :confused: This is the first I hear of any such reviews, only seen raving ones myself, and in my experience they aren't more "dangerous" than your regular shampoo...

[pastina]

color strippers contain peroxide and are dangerous.

meanwhile, color oops, decolour, colour b4, etc... they are color removers. no peroxide. not damaging.

[Luminaria]

I agree with the others about the brassiness being a result of the peroxide. However, if you want to try and see if you can remove some of the color, you could do a strand test and see if you're happy with the result. I tried both Vitamin C and ColorB4 (Color Oops isn't sold in stores in my country) to get rid of faded Manic Panic (it was 3 months post-dyeing and around the scalp area, I still had a lot of red pigment left). Vitamin c mixed with sulphate shampoo didn't do much for me, but ColorB4 removed the semipermanent dye and probably some of the permanent dye underneath as well, because the result was a golden, sandy blonde, lighter than when I dyed it blonde (before applying the semi). So, if you want to try Color Oops, definitely strand test. If it doesn't have satisfying results, at least you won't end up with a blah color on all your head; also, this type of product smells horrible, so unless the results are worth it, it's no use to put that stuff in all your hair.

To answer some of your other questions, I used one tablet of vitamin C mixed with the amount of shampoo I would regularly use for one wash. Color Oops/ColorB4 doesn't damage your hair (the way bleach does), it only dries it out a bit, so you need some conditioning after. Also, you need to apply Color Oops on clean hair (i.e. washed with a clarifying shampoo beforehand). Anyway, they probably give you detailed instructions on the box, so you can follow them carefully.

I took your advice and clarified before I tried it.

[Luminaria]

I wanted to echo what others have said about the orange tones just being the result of faded color. I think it's a common misconception that people believe they need to bleach out or dye out the warm "brassy" tones. The permanent color actually did two steps: lifted color out of your hair then deposited artificial dyes. The lifting permanently chemically damaged your hair, ironically making it more porous leaving the color deposited in your hair to fade out faster each time you compromise your hair. Once you reach the "level" of lightness you want the orange tones you are left with is just what you are dealing with forever. You have to constantly tone your hair and do all kinds of steps to baby the health of your hair as well as to take care to help the toner/color last longer. If you keep lightening your hair thinking it's going to get rid of the brassiness for good, you just ended up trashing your hair to the point of no return. This video is super helpful if you have time to watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpXD1MQzRpw&list=PLOsbfjggog1lkHfionopFkFyxexHvRwlN&index=85

I learned the hard way when I was blonde for about a year. Now I just embrace the warm orange tones by using deposit-only/veggie-based/semi-permanent dyes on it to enhance the color to get the one I want (after I lighten the new regrowth ONLY). These deposit only colors you don't have to mix with any peroxide developer with. I've found that after a year's worth of using "gentle" low-volume developers on "gentle" toners/colors it really wreaked havoc on my hair. I had to give up lightening for another year to nurse it somewhat back to the level of health it had before I trashed it when I maintained blonde. You could look into just toning shampoos and conditioners instead of using toners all the time.

Another note is if you have long hair you have to take care not to deposit too much color onto the length all the time, over time you end up getting super dark ends.

Thanks for the explanation. Wow. I didn't know it would be so high-maintenance. My hair still short, so it will grow out eventually...

[Luminaria]

Vitamin C (about 12 tablets crushed and mixed w/ shampoo) works about half as well as Color Oops for me. Your best best would be a round of Color Oops followed by an ash demi toner (Clairol makes a good one in Medium Ash Brown) but do NOT leave it on more than 5 minutes or you WILL end up way too dark! I just did this last week, and it got rid of 85 percent of my lingering brassy auburn.

I wish I would have read your reply earlier. You are right. The vitamin C method was effective. I could have used it a couple of times to remove the red. I still have a tiny amount of red, so I might try it again sometime in the future.

[TwilightShadow]

I wish I would have read your reply earlier. You are right. The vitamin C method was effective. I could have used it a couple of times to remove the red. I still have a tiny amount of red, so I might try it again sometime in the future.

So you used both methods? Were the results similar? I might try with more than 1 tablet of vitamin C in the future, because it's definitely cheaper than color remover (though ColorB4 was very effective for me).

[Luminaria]

So you used both methods? Were the results similar? I might try with more than 1 tablet of vitamin C in the future, because it's definitely cheaper than color remover (though ColorB4 was very effective for me).
Yes, I used the Color Oops first, then the Vitamin C right after. Well, I can't say for sure since the Color Oops took a lot of the red out and the Vitamin C took out the remainder. So, perhaps, the Vitamin C took a little of the color out. If I had tried the Vitamin C first, I could give you a better answer.

[TwilightShadow]

Yes, I used the Color Oops first, then the Vitamin C right after. Well, I can't say for sure since the Color Oops took a lot of the red out and the Vitamin C took out the remainder. So, perhaps, the Vitamin C took a little of the color out. If I had tried the Vitamin C first, I could give you a better answer.

I see. Thank you :)

[pastina]

if you plan on using a permanent toner (meaning, one that contains peroxide) please wait a while and wash a few more times before you do it. the peroxide will react with the color oops and cause any dye molecules left in your hair to reoxidize. you'll have the old color back in blotches!

[Luminaria]

if you plan on using a permanent toner (meaning, one that contains peroxide) please wait a while and wash a few more times before you do it. the peroxide will react with the color oops and cause any dye molecules left in your hair to reoxidize. you'll have the old color back in blotches!
I was planning on trying some more natural methods to remove brassiness. I'd like to see if natural methods can work before considering using anything with peroxide. Besides, I need to pamper my hair for awhile. Thanks for letting me know, though.