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Tried a new balayage technique on a client with box dye and it went totally orange
I saw a video for a 'low and slow' bleach application on dark, box-dyed hair, promising a clean lift. Did it exactly as shown, but after 45 minutes, the mid-lengths turned a bright copper orange while the roots lifted fine. The color line I used was Wella, and I mixed it at the recommended ratio. Learned that old dye molecules can grab bleach differently, and a test strand is non-negotiable. Anyone have a go-to formula to fix this kind of banding without frying the hair?
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nancy3511mo ago
Wait, did you use the same developer for the bleach mix as the color line? Because Wella makes both color and lightener, and they're not always meant to be mixed together. Using a color developer with bleach powder can make it way too harsh and unpredictable on that old dye.
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taylorlewis1mo ago
Ugh, box dye can be so stubborn. I've had luck fixing that orange band by carefully applying a green-based ash toner just to the mids, it neutralizes without over-processing.
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verafoster10d ago
Mixing color developer with bleach powder is actually fine in a pinch. I've done it plenty of times when I ran out of the right stuff and it worked the same. The key is knowing the volume you're working with. If you use a 10 or 20 volume developer with bleach, it's way gentler than the 30 or 40 volume people normally grab. The issue isn't the mixing, it's people picking the wrong strength for their hair. Old box dye just needs a lower volume to lift without turning to mush.
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