The red is gone!

[LiraelQ]

Ack! I just did a CO wash (I've been experimenting with them for about a week or so) and my hair came out brighter blonde! All my natural red highlights look like they're gone! Does anyone know what could have caused this? The only things I've read about that lighten blonde color are catnip and honey.

Here is what I did:

1) Used Trader Joe's Refresh on my scalp and Nourish Spa on my length (I don't use gobs of it like I know some do with Suave or V05).
2) I put a bit of white sugar on my scalp and scrubbed it in--I read in the CO thread that that helped some members get rid of sebum buildup.
3) I left it all in for about 10 minutes.
4) I showered and wet the conditioner, massaging my scalp, then leaving it for another 5-10 minutes while I finished showering.
5) I massaged my scalp again and rinsed thoroughly.
6) I poured an extremely diluted mix of ACV/water as a finishing rinse.
7) I rinsed this all and let my hair air dry.

Now it looks like I have highlights and lowlights of light blonde and ashy blonde, when I actually have more like a golden strawberry blonde.

Is there something really obvious I did without realizing it? I've noticed in the past that shampoos can downplay my red tones, but I've never seen anything like this before!

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer...

[Debra83]

Maybe the "natural" red tones were buildup from hard water? Maybe you cleansed so well that it got rid of it?

Just a thought!

[LiraelQ]

If it WAS buildup, I'm going to cry. I've had reddish tones since I was a teenager and I just love them.

[SimplyLonghair]

Maybe the "natural" red tones were buildup from hard water? Maybe you cleansed so well that it got rid of it?

Just a thought!
This is what I wondered too. I have a friend who's hair was pink because of minerals and she used something that clarified and it came out. :shrug: Someone else might know more though.
What kind of water do you have that might be a factor.

[SimplyLonghair]

If you want them back a henna glaze could give them to you.:D

[Soniasonia]

This is what I wondered too. I have a friend who's hair was pink because of minerals and she used something that clarified and it came out. :shrug: Someone else might know more though.
What kind of water do you have that might be a factor.

Oooohh, no wonder when I didn't have a shower filter, I noticed my shower head was getting pink build up where the water comes out. Thanks, now I know wtf that was!

[LiraelQ]

Okay, forgive me, because I'm in full freak-out denial mode. Could it really be buildup?

We did have hard water where I grew up, but the red didn't show up until I was into puberty, which is also when my hair went from, like, i to iii all of a sudden. And they've stayed as I've moved from place to place, with varying degrees of obviousness, and the water at my college was WAY softer than what I grew up with. Currently, I think my water isn't great, but I don't think it's HARD water. Also...my brother has the same tones, though his hair is darker, and I don't think he has hard water where he lives either...

And...really, my hair has never been pinkish...it's more like coppery. And is there really buildup that could make ash blonde look more golden?

Again, forgive me, because I'm in the throes of total denial.

Henna is...like...a huge deal, right? I don't think I could do something so permanent when it could turn out so badly...

[SimplyLonghair]

Okay, forgive me, because I'm in full freak-out denial mode. Could it really be buildup?

We did have hard water where I grew up, but the red didn't show up until I was into puberty, which is also when my hair went from, like, i to iii all of a sudden. And they've stayed as I've moved from place to place, with varying degrees of obviousness, and the water at my college was WAY softer than what I grew up with. Currently, I think my water isn't great, but I don't think it's HARD water. Also...my brother has the same tones, though his hair is darker, and I don't think he has hard water where he lives either...

And...really, my hair has never been pinkish...it's more like coppery. And is there really buildup that could make ash blonde look more golden?

Again, forgive me, because I'm in the throes of total denial.

Henna is...like...a huge deal, right? I don't think I could do something so permanent when it could turn out so badly...
Not all henna is a big deal and even tea rinses might give your hair the color that you want.

Something that occurred to me is how much chlorine you have in the water it could be "bleaching" your hair out. If it started being reddish as a teen your hair is most likely reddish blonde mine was then and just darkened as I aged. I wouldn't freek out yet. Maybe go back to your old routine and try filtered water and see what happens.

[LiraelQ]

Sigh. That's good advice. Maybe I'll look into shower filters this weekend...

I just went back in and washed my hair again with my old SLES shampoo (maybe stupid, but I wanted to clarify anything I did to it) and it feels gross after just a few days of COing, but I think I can go to sleep now without being too freaked out. I looked in the light of my bathroom, and I can still see reds on the hairs when they're wet. So at least some of them are still there...

Is there a way that, if my water is chlorinated, it could have reacted badly with the vinegar? Could that cause a permanent color change in my hair? Or is that not even possible at the levels we're talking about?

Sorry if these questions are too newbie-ish...there's so much I don't really know! I guess this teaches me not to experiment too freely, though...

[Isilme]

if you want to add a little red, do a deep treatment with maybe a teaspoon of dye released henna. Not more, then later you can carefully add more if you want to. In case CO should do something weird to your haircolour again;)

[fluffer]

The Trader Joes conditioners made my lightened blonde hair an even brighter blonde and took out some of the brass/gold color. I am the opposite of you....I dont want the brassy color. I loved the brightness TJs dishes gave my hair,however, it was too drying, so I no longer use it.

The tone of my blonde hair is easily changed depending on what products I use. For instance, I used a Redken product last week, and now my hair is really brassy.

I would love to figure out what ingredients cause this. :)

[Nightshade]

Henna is...like...a huge deal, right? I don't think I could do something so permanent when it could turn out so badly...

Henna is NOT a big deal if:

You do your homework
You take your time
You strand testI agree with Isilme on the titch of henna in conditioner for a deep treatment, or you could do a similar ratio in cassia, which would boost your golden tones too :)

[jojo]

CO washes make my hair more red too and I still dont know how this happens.

[goodluckcharm]

I'm going to kind of agree with fluffer here.
I'm no expert, but I wouldn't blame hardwater for your hair color. I have hard water too and for the longest time I had platinum blonde hair. The hard water showed up on my shower curtain and around the tub, but my hair never had reddish tones.

Now I dye my hair red.

Anyway, certain products leave buildup on your hair that will change the color. Usually they make the hair look dingier and less bright, sometimes they lighten things up.

Personally I tried CO washing and did not like the results. Most people on this forum love it however, so it's a personal choice. I would try using a different conditioner. Maybe do a light tea rinse to get some of the color back, or use a color depositing shampoo/conditioner once or twice (loreal professionals makes a good ones). Don't freak out, its much easier to add red tones into the hair than it is to take them away.

[goodluckcharm]

One more thing. This might sound stupid, but in different lighting hair color can appear to change. Check out your hair in natural sunlight. You might find that the red is still here.
Just a thought.

[BlackfootHair]

I use a water filter from Sears. It's about $20 and filters out the chlorine. Doesn't really filter much else out I don't believe.

[longhairedfairy]

Okay, forgive me, because I'm in full freak-out denial mode. Could it really be buildup?

We did have hard water where I grew up, but the red didn't show up until I was into puberty, which is also when my hair went from, like, i to iii all of a sudden. And they've stayed as I've moved from place to place, with varying degrees of obviousness, and the water at my college was WAY softer than what I grew up with. Currently, I think my water isn't great, but I don't think it's HARD water. Also...my brother has the same tones, though his hair is darker, and I don't think he has hard water where he lives either...

And...really, my hair has never been pinkish...it's more like coppery. And is there really buildup that could make ash blonde look more golden?

Again, forgive me, because I'm in the throes of total denial.

Henna is...like...a huge deal, right? I don't think I could do something so permanent when it could turn out so badly...

I haven't read the whole thread yet because I was being lazy, but it sounds like you may have some iron in your water. If you avoid clarifying the reddish tones may gradually come back. This is just my guess, though.

[LiraelQ]

if you want to add a little red, do a deep treatment with maybe a teaspoon of dye released henna.

I agree with Isilme on the titch of henna in conditioner for a deep treatment, or you could do a similar ratio in cassia, which would boost your golden tones too :)

Okay, that sounds pretty reasonable.


The Trader Joes conditioners made my lightened blonde hair an even brighter blonde and took out some of the brass/gold color.

Whoa, seriously? Which ones did you use? That was the first time I used Refresh, so it could have been something in that...but I didn't notice anything with the Tea Tree or Nourish Spa before.


CO washes make my hair more red too and I still dont know how this happens.

I was actually noticing this phenomenon...I thought my hair was turning a little more red...


I'm no expert, but I wouldn't blame hardwater for your hair color.

Anyway, certain products leave buildup on your hair that will change the color. Usually they make the hair look dingier and less bright, sometimes they lighten things up.

Don't freak out, its much easier to add red tones into the hair than it is to take them away.

Okay, that's encouraging. But I really don't think it was water quality or product that added the red in my hair, because I've had some form of red tones since puberty, and have been changing products all the time since then. But they could have varied the tones...


It sounds like you may have some iron in your water. If you avoid clarifying the reddish tones may gradually come back. This is just my guess, though.

Yeah, but before CO, I was doing nothing but clarifying with tons of SLES shampoo and a tiny amount of conditioner, so I really don't think there could be tons of mineral buildup...but maybe that doesn't come off with just any shampoo...who knows?


One more thing. This might sound stupid, but in different lighting hair color can appear to change. Check out your hair in natural sunlight. You might find that the red is still here.

Okay...I feel kind of dumb, but in the daylight my hair looked much more normal. It's lighter than it was before, but there's still red there, which made me feel a lot better! :o


I use a water filter from Sears. It's about $20 and filters out the chlorine. Doesn't really filter much else out I don't believe.

Good to know! That's not a bad price at all.

Okay, so I'm much calmer now when I originally posted...I seriously thought I had accidentally bleached my hair somehow or something. I do think I changed it, but not by as much as I thought. I'm putting away the Refresh for now, and I'm not going to play with vinegar until I can guarantee I've got better water for it (and until I've read more about it). I might look into a nice shower filter once I move out of my current apartment. And I'm going to start reading about tea rinses so I can be prepared if this ever happens again.

Thanks, everyone, for all your good advice and information!

[HairColoredHair]

When I was doing CO certain conditioners made my hair more or less red.

Just a thought to consider before jumping into henna-land. :lol:

[spidermom]

ACV brought out so many red tones in my hair that I only use white vinegar when I use vinegar, which is almost never.