No matter how extensively you research store-bought hair dye or how thoroughly you explain to your stylist that you want 2001-era Jennifer Aniston highlights and not 2003, sometimes, your hair color simply doesn’t turn out how you expected it to. But whether it’s an at-home dye job gone wrong or you’re just not in love with your latest salon highlights, hair color blunders can be fixed—and you don’t even have to grow your hair out or wait months for the dye to fade.
“The biggest request to remove color is when results are too dark or off-tone,” explains Mark DeBolt, a celebrity colorist and co-founder of Mark Ryan Salon in New York City. “Post-pandemic, we had many requests to remove colors that had become too dark from at-home coloring.” Clients also might seek color removal when highlights have been toned too cool or too dark, leading to a grey or greenish tint.
Meet our experts: Mark DeBolt, a celebrity colorist and co-founder of Mark Ryan Salon in New York City, Rita Hazan, celebrity colorist and owner of Rita Hazan Salon in New York City
While our experts recommend leaving color removal to the professionals, especially if you’re looking to avoid unpredictable results, there are a number of at-home products that can help ease the process along. Read on for some top picks.
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1
Best On Amazon
Extra Conditioning Hair Color Remover
Color Oops
$12 AT AMAZON
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$12 AT AMAZON
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2
Best For Glosses
Quick Fix for Color Correction
Malibu
$14 AT WALMART
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$14 AT WALMART
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3
Best For Fading Color
Heat Activated Color Fader
Sephora Collection
$10 AT SEPHORA
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$10 AT SEPHORA
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4
Works On Most Shades
Hair Color Intensity Eraser Size
Joico
$8 AT WALMART
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$8 AT WALMART
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5
Best Gentle Formula
Hair Colour Remover
Revolution Haircare
$13 AT BEAUTY BAY
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$13 AT BEAUTY BAY
6
Best For Permanent Dye
Color Delete Permanent Hair Color Removal
Scruples
$34 AT AMAZON
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$34 AT AMAZON
7
Best Overnight Treatment
Phase-Out Gentle Dye Decolorizer + Intensive Hair Mask
Color X-Change
$8 AT AMAZON
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$8 AT AMAZON
8
Best With Argan Oil
Argan Oil Colorfix Hair Color Remover
One N Only
$18 AT SALLY BEAUTY
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$18 AT SALLY BEAUTY
9
Best For Clothing Stains
Clean Touch Hair Color Stain Remover
Roux
$11 AT AMAZON
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$11 AT AMAZON
10
Best For Hair Color Stains
Hair Color Stain Remover
ion
$7 AT SALLY BEAUTY
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$7 AT SALLY BEAUTY
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1
Best On Amazon
Extra Conditioning Hair Color Remover
2
Best For Glosses
Malibu
Quick Fix for Color Correction
3
Best For Fading Color
Sephora Collection
Heat Activated Color Fader
4
Works On Most Shades
Hair Color Intensity Eraser Size
5
Best Gentle Formula
Hair Colour Remover
6
Best For Permanent Dye
Color Delete Permanent Hair Color Removal
7
Best Overnight Treatment
Phase-Out Gentle Dye Decolorizer + Intensive Hair Mask
8
Best With Argan Oil
Argan Oil Colorfix Hair Color Remover
9
Best For Clothing Stains
Clean Touch Hair Color Stain Remover
10
Best For Hair Color Stains
ion
Hair Color Stain Remover
11
Best For Semi-Permanent Dye
oVertone
The Fader Shampoo
12
Are some colors harder to remove than others?
It’s usually not a problem to remove most color, but black dye and vibrant dyes, like blue, green, and purple, are typically more difficult, if not impossible. “Black hair color is the hardest, and sometimes, it will break off before it completely disappears, so you have to be very careful,” warns celebrity colorist Rita Hazan. “If removal is done properly, it should not damage your hair. However if you have had dark hair and went blonde then dark again, you will definitely have damage.”
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Can you color again once you use a remover?
In most cases, when hair is healthy, it’s okay to color it again immediately after removing color, but it can skew the color and make hair feel too dark. “It’s never a pretty color underneath, and it usually takes a lot of corrective color after,” Hazan warns.
Gabby Shacknai
Gabby Shacknai is a New York-based journalist and editor who produces high-quality content for a wide variety of outlets and brands across various industries.