You dyed your hair purple but it’s not quite what you wanted.
It looks too dark and you’d prefer a lighter shade.
If you tried dying your hair purple, but it came out red – read this post.
But right now, I’m going to tell you how to fade purple hair to lavender without bleach.
Your hair has already undergone a lot of processing, so please only use Bleach as a last resort.
I will give you several tips in the order from least damaging to most, so please pick a method that works for you.
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1. Bleed the purple out
If you have the patience and are not in a hurry, just wash it out.
Instead of using a color-safe shampoo, use an anti-dandruff shampoo or a clarifying shampoo like this one.
This will remove a lot of the purple color molecules that are already in your hair.
Make sure to do it as fast as you can.
If you’ve just dyed your hair, then you’ll know that it takes about 3 days for the color to get absorbed properly into the hair and hair stylists usually advise not to wash your hair for the first 3 days.
You’ll want to break this rule and wash your hair so that you can get most of the purple color out.
You can wash 2 times a day and slowly lighten the purple to lavender. You can also use hot water when shampooing since this will help raise the cuticle and allow more color to come out.
You will have to be patient and it will easily take 1-2 weeks to lighten the purple till it becomes lavender.
This is the safest method to use and is the least damaging to lighten your dyed hair color.
After you shampoo your hair, please use a hair mask or a hair conditioner so that your hair doesn’t become too dry.
Once you get your lavender shade, please stop washing your hair as it is going to be very dry. Instead, moisturize and give your hair a much-needed break.
2. Use a Color Remover
You can buy a color remover or a color lightener from any store near you or you can purchase the Oops color remover from Amazon.
A color remover does not contain bleach.
It also will not touch your hair pigment (melanin) and will only affect hair dyes.
It has aloe vera extracts and soy proteins to provide conditioning for your hair and doesn’t dry the hair. It comes with gloves and the directions are very easy to follow.
You just have to mix the formula, apply it on your hair generously covering all your hair strands for 20 minutes, and then rinse it off for another 20 minutes.
The only con is that it does have an unpleasant smell but it does the job of removing the purple dye quite well.
Please do a strand test first to see how light the color will become.
Now, if you use the Color Remover, and it lightens your hair too much – simply color your hair over that with this beautiful lavender hair dye.
This is one of the best ways to fade purple hair to lavender.
3. Use coconut oil
This method will fade the purple color to lavender or a lighter shade of purple – it will not take out the color completely.
This isn’t at all damaging so I highly recommend it.
First, apply coconut oil to your hair and leave it in for at least 2 hours. The coconut oil will get absorbed into your hair and mix with the color molecules, loosening the color molecules.
Then soak your hair in shampoo and apply a plastic cap like this over it before warming it with a hairdryer.
The shampoo will help open the cuticles and the coconut oil and color molecules will come out when you rinse with the shampoo.
This method will definitely dry out your hair but if you don’t have funds to buy other products, then you can give this a shot.
It’s safe and you’re not using any ammonia or bleach.
4. Baking Soda + Shampoo
Baking Soda is a fantastic product that can also remove harsh smells from hair. But it can also fade the purple color dye from your hair.
Simply mix 2 tablespoons of baking soda with a clarifying shampoo like this and apply it on your hair for 20 minutes before washing it off.
Don’t use more than 2 tablespoons of baking soda because it is incredibly alkaline (it has a high pH) and will dry your hair.
The aim is to remove a lot of the purple dye from your hair without drying it heavily.
And yes, it will lighten to lavender.
Again, I highly recommend doing a strand test before you go all in and apply it to all of your hair. This will give you a good idea of how much to fade your purple dye and how long to leave it in.
5. Use Vitamin C and Baking Soda
In this method, you’re going to want to use a small bowl and add:
- 5 vitamin C tablets (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons of clarifying shampoo
- 1 tablespoon of baking soda
Mix well and apply it to your hair for 30 minutes – nothing more.
Wash it off normally afterward.
While doing this, if you feel your scalp is burning or itching in any way, immediately wash it off. Vitamin C doesn’t agree with many people and can even cause burning and blisters on the scalp.
Vitamin C removes the color molecules from the dye but it also dries the hair and makes it vulnerable to breakage.
You will want to use caution while using this method.
I highly recommend this as your last resort.
It will fade the purple color to lavender.
6. Wait it out
Purple hair will naturally fade if you just continue to maintain it – it will take about 4-5 weeks but it should become very light purple. You can get it to lavender by coloring over it with a lavender hair dye if it gets really light enough.
The methods I’ve mentioned above will speed up the process – but if you don’t mind waiting and sporting purple hair for a while, you can naturally wait it out.
Just keep washing your hair with sulfate shampoo or a clarifying shampoo or an anti-dandruff shampoo if you want to fade it faster – this will help the purple dye bleed out faster and fade quickly.
7. Dye your hair lavender
If you’ve let your purple hair dye fade naturally to lavender, then it’s okay – skip this step.
But if you’ve lightened your hair already or the purple has become very faded, then you’ll want to go in with a lavender dye to get that beautiful lavender hair.
Here are 2 dyes I recommend.
- Adore Semi Permanent Hair Color Lavender
- Arctic Fox Periwinkle (such a beautiful shade)
Make sure your hair is bone dry when applying the color.
If possible, blow dry your hair before applying the color so that your hair is very porous and color absorption becomes easy.
Leave the lavender hair dye in for 45 minutes (or as instructed) in your hair before rinsing it off.
And voila!
You now have lavender hair.
Enjoy.
I hope this post helped you understand how to fade purple hair to lavender. None of the above methods listed above include any bleach or ammonia so they’re relatively safe.
Some of the methods will dry out your hair, so make sure you moisturize well!
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