When it comes to hair color, mixing different shades can sometimes have unexpected results. If you currently have purple hair and want to go orange, or vice versa, you may be wondering how the two colors will interact. Specifically, does orange hair dye cancel out purple hair dye?
The Science Behind Hair Color Mixing
To understand how orange and purple hair dyes interact, it’s helpful to first understand some basics about hair color and chemistry. Hair dye contains color molecules that penetrate into the hair shaft and absorb specific wavelengths of light. This gives the illusion of that color.
When you mix two different hair dye colors, a few things can happen:
- The colors blend together to create a new shade.
- One color is dominant and overpowers the other.
- The colors cancel each other out resulting in a muddied or dulled tone.
The resulting color when you mix dyes depends on the specific color molecules involved and their concentrations. In general:
- Warm tones like orange, red, and gold tend to dominate over cool tones like blue, purple, and ash.
- Darker shades tend to dominate lighter shades.
- Mixing complementary colors (opposites on the color wheel) leads to muted or grayed out results.
How Orange and Purple Hair Dye Interact
Now let’s talk about what happens when you mix orange and purple hair dye in particular. As an overview:
- Orange dye contains warm, reddish-yellow pigments.
- Purple dye contains cool, bluish-red pigments.
Since orange and purple are complementary colors opposite each other on the color wheel, they tend to cancel each other out rather than blend. The end result is typically a more muted or muddy tone.
If you dye purple hair with orange dye, the orange will dominate and mute out the cooler purple. This usually results in a warmer, redder tone on the spectrum between orange and purple:
| Current Hair Color | New Dye Color | Resulting Color |
|---|---|---|
| Purple | Orange | Red-orange |
The resulting shade will depend on exactly how light or dark, warm or cool each color is. A vivid violet dye mixed with a bright ginger orange will likely give a more noticeable red tone. If the purple is darker or has red undertones it may just look slightly dulled after applying orange.
Does Orange Dye Fully Cancel Out Purple?
While orange dye mutes and dulls purple hair, it usually doesn’t completely cancel it out in one step. Some lingering hints of purple may remain, leaving hair with a slightly reddish or burgundy cast.
To completely neutralize cool purple tones, you need to use an intense warm shade like bright orange. Even then, it may take multiple bleaching and dyeing sessions to fully erase the purple pigment from the hair shaft.
If your goal is to quickly and completely cancel out purple hair with orange dye, here are some tips:
- Pick an intense, bright orange hair dye rather than a natural ginger shade.
- Use a high volume developer with the hair dye to open up the cuticle and allow more dye penetration.
- Ensure your hair is sufficiently pre-lightened to a pale blonde shade so the orange dye will show up vividly.
- Apply the orange dye evenly throughout all your hair, roots to ends.
- Maintain the orange tone with gloss or toning treatments as needed.
Other Ways to Cancel Out Purple Hair
While orange dye is the most effective single step for canceling purple tones, here are a few other options if orange isn’t your desired color:
- Red dye – A vivid red shade will also help neutralize and overcome purple pigment.
- Bleaching – Lightening your hair to pale yellow helps strip away purple pigment.
- Color remover – Using a color remover treatment can help draw out and remove purple dye.
- Toners – Ash or gold toner helps counteract purple and brassiness.
- Time – Purple fades faster than other colors, so letting it fade over several washes will gradually reveal natural tones.
How Long Does Orange Cancel Out Purple?
If you dye your purple hair orange, the muted color result will last about 4-6 weeks. This is similar to regular dye since your roots will start growing in after that timeframe.
To maintain the color canceling benefits, re-apply the same orange shade once your roots become visible. The orange will prevent purple tones from peeking through as your hair grows out.
Using orange shampoo or toner in between full dye jobs can also help prolong the neutralization of the purple tones.
Tips for Dyeing Hair Orange Over Purple
Here are some top tips to keep in mind if you want to achieve bright, vivid orange hair after having purple:
- Fully remove any semi-permanent purple dye with clarifying shampoo first if possible. Permanent dye is harder to remove.
- Lighten your hair to pale yellow to create the ideal canvas for vivid orange.
- Use an intense orange dye like Manic Panic Rock’n’Roll Orange or Splat Fiery Orange.
- Apply orange dye evenly from roots to ends to fully override purple tones.
- Use a protein filler if your hair is especially porous or damaged from lightening.
- Maintain brightness with orange shampoo or gloss treatments as needed.
What About Dyeing Purple Hair Orange?
The same color-canceling principles apply if you want to go from orange hair to purple. The cool tones of purple dye will override and mute out orange hair. This typically results in a more red-toned color between purple and orange on the color spectrum.
To help the purple show up vibrantly, you’ll want to prep your hair by removing any orange dye buildup and lightening to a pale yellow base if needed. Using an intense purple dye and maintaining it with purple toning products will keep the orange canceled out.
Conclusion
While orange and purple are striking hair colors on their own, mixing them tends to create a less desirable muddy or dulled result. The warm pigments in orange dye will typically overpower and cancel out cooler purple shades.
To fully neutralize purple hair with orange dye, you’ll need to use a bright, intense orange shade on pre-lightened hair. Maintaining the orange with follow-up treatments will prevent purple tones from creeping back in as your hair grows out.
Thoroughly removing purple dye beforehand allows for the most vivid results when dyeing hair orange. With some planning and preparation, you can successfully transition from purple to orange hair.
