Hair Colour Removers: Your Everything Guide
Sometimes, you need a fresh slate to create your client’s dream hair colour. Whether they’re dealing with pigment build-up, banding, or a too-dark hue, their hair could be calling out for a quick ‘reset’. That’s where hair colour removers come in. Designed to reverse and reduce undesired colour, they’re your go-to for kicking off correction services so hair is prepped for a fresh shade.
But how do colour removers really work? And – most importantly – are they damaging? Here’s everything you need to know about these clever formulas…
How Do Colour Removers Work?
A hair colour remover works just as you’d expect; it reduces dye pigment in your client’s hair, cleanses excess colour build-up away, and helps to correct a patchy dye job. Perfect for clients who feel their colour is too dark, or over-toned blondes that need cleansing, it’s also useful when they might have had a DIY disaster. In short: it’s the answer to all manner of colour woes.
And, while at-home colour removers do exist, they tend to be harsh formulas that can leave hair damaged, dry and breakage-prone. Many of them rely on unsophisticated bleaches to ‘reset’ coloured strands. That’s why it’s important your client heads into the salon for professional care. When they arrive, treat their locks to Colour Renew to gently reduce their undesired colour.
Why Colour Renew?
As the number 1 salon colour brand in the world*, we have every colour service covered. This includes correcting locks using our zero damage colour reducer, Colour Renew, to cleanse away unwanted dye. Here’s why you’ll love it:
- It leaves the natural melanin untouched. Your client doesn’t need to worry about their base colour lifting, as Colour Renew only lightens and reduces demi-permanent and permanent colour .
- Hair’s integrity is respected. The zero damage formula is peroxide and persulfate free, so the natural hair texture and condition isn’t altered.
- It preps hair for a fresh coat of colour. By reducing unwanted or excessive dye molecules, Colour Renew paves the way for your client’s new dream shade to be applied.
- It’s easy to mix and apply. In fact, it can take as little as five minutes (and up to 45 minutes) to develop, giving you and your client a speedy option for colour correcting.
- All hair types are cared for, from straight and fine to coily and thick.
Will a Hair Colour Remover Damage My Hair?
You might think all colour reducers must involve some level of damage – but not Colour Renew. Unlike many other removers, it’s free of a bleaching agent called persulfate. This means it not only respects the integrity and condition of strands, but it also lets your client retain their natural hue, as it only reduces oxidative demi-permanent and permanent colours. You don’t need to worry that it’s going to alter the shape of waves or curls either. Texture stays intact as the formulation gently cleanses away unwanted colour.
Who Can Use a Hair Colour Remover?
Unsure whether your client’s hair calls for the correcting powers of Colour Renew? Here’s how you’ll know a reducer is needed to correct and perfect your client’s mane:
- Their hair has been coloured with a permanent or demi-permanent formula, and now they want to switch things up.
- You can see banding or patchiness in their hair that requires targeted colour reduction to fix.
- Their colour is darker than they want it to be, and they’re hoping to get closer to their base shade.
- Multiple colouring sessions have left your client with stubborn colour build-up.
- Locks need a ‘reset’ before recolouring – especially if your client is trying a whole new look.
So, How Do I Apply a Colour Remover?
Mixing Colour Renew
How you mix Colour Renew is key. For best results, you must combine one 9g sachet of Colour Renew Crystal Powder with 90 ml of Colour Renew Activator Liquid or water. Blend them together in a bowl to apply with a tint brush, or shake them up in an applicator bottle for targeted application.
Applying Colour Renew
Step 1: Using a tint brush or applicator bottle, apply Colour Renew directly onto dry hair. Start with the darker areas of colour first.
Step 2: Allow Colour Renew to develop on the hair for 5-45 minutes depending on the intensity of the colour and the level of correcting required.
Step 3: To enhance the results, you may want your client to sit underneath a Climazon.
Step 4: If you’re re-colouring locks after a Colour Renew session, rinse the hair with water only. Make sure it’s 100% dry before applying a fresh coat of colour.
Meanwhile, if the hair doesn’t need colouring after using Colour Renew, rinse the formula out thoroughly, then wash with a shampoo and a conditioner. Our go-to care duo for healthy-looking locks is the ULTIMATE REPAIR Shampoo and the ULTIMATE REPAIR Conditioner.
Try These Colour Remover Services
Colour Adjust
Is your client’s blonde looking a little green or blue in tone? Use Colour Renew to gently cleanse their colour or highlights, which removes the build-up of ions responsible for unwanted tones. This super speedy service takes just 5-15 minutes to complete.
Colour Change
Prepare your client’s hair for a colour tone change by removing and reducing build-up in just 30 minutes. Then you can take their shade from warm to cool or from cool to warm with a fresh coat of colour and/or toner.
Colour Correct
When locks are begging for a colour correction, try this 45-minute service. Colour Renew lets you gently correct the depth and tone of hair without lightening your client’s natural shade. It’s the perfect choice when you’re transitioning hair from a deeper to a lighter hue, as it reduces too-dark dye for a cleaner canvas.
3 Ways to Use Colour Renew
This ultra versatile colour reducer can be used for a range of correcting and perfecting services. Just take a look at these ‘before and after’ shots for inspiration…
To Prep Hair for a Blonde Transformation
Image Credit: @tarratakesover
As every colourist knows, taking your client’s hair from dark brown to blonde is no mean feat. The process can take hours and, in some cases, a number of sessions to perfect. But if their dark shade was created with an oxidative product, Colour Renew can help them on their journey – and that’s exactly what it did for this stunning transformation. Tarra Kruper used it to reduce the dark brown hue in the ‘before’ shot above, before foiling the whole head with Blondor Soft Blonde Cream. Locks were then treated to a number of toning sessions in an appointment that took 10 hours. Our verdict? It was worth every second to reach that creamy vanilla blonde.
To Reduce Dark Colour in the Hair
Image Credit: @thebangbangcollective
Now this is a show-stopping ‘before and after’. Proving just how effective Colour Renew is, it shows what can be achieved with the colour reducer on an almost-black mane. That’s right: it’s all that was used to rinse away the dark shade above, revealing the client’s underlying copper brown mane, with dimensional highs and lows intact. When you carry out the same service, you may find hair looks flawless without the need for toning, but you can also re-colour locks after cleansing to truly personalize the finished look.
To Fix Colour Banding and Build-Up
Image Credit: @iambrigitp
“If permanent colour has gone too dark due to overlapping, Colour Renew is a non-damaging way to reduce some pigment,” says Wella Educator Brigit Page, adding that you should “use a smaller brush. The smaller the tool the more precise the application will be." Here, you’re seeing the results of that technique, where excess warmth through the roots has been gently reduced to achieve a cleaner base, before locks have been toned to an all-over creamy blonde. Sometimes, flawless hair really is in the details.
How Many Times Can a Colour Remover Be Used?
In some cases, one session with Colour Renew might be enough to cleanse and correct your client’s colour. However, very dark dyes may need more than one treatment to be effectively reduced. You could also find that if your client has highly porous hair, it clings to the colour more stubbornly. That means dry lengths and ends could require a more tailored approach, needing extra attention than the less porous roots.
Now you’ve got the full lowdown on hair colour removers, and how to use them, share your Colour Renew transformations with us on Instagram. Simply tag @WellaHairUKI so we can see your masterpieces.
* Wella Professionals is the N°1 salon colour brand in the world based on Wella Master Brand USD sales on the 2022 Salon Hair Care Study for the hair colouring products category published by Kline.
