How to Remove Blue Hair Dye

Co-authored by Bianca Cox

Last Updated: May 4, 2022

Blue hair is a super popular and fun look, but once you’re ready to move on to another style, it can be really hard to get it out. Try giving your hair a bleach bath to remove the majority of the blue dye all at once. You can also apply crushed Vitamin C tablets, dish detergent, and dandruff shampoo and baking soda, and white vinegar for some less-astringent ways to lighten those blue locks.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Applying a Bleach Bath

1
Mix together 2 US tbsp (30 mL) each of bleach powder and developer. Buy the powder, developer, and other materials you’ll need (like an applicator brush and rubber gloves) at your local beauty supply store. Unless you’ve used developer before, start off on the low end with a 10-volume, just to see how your hair will react to it. Measure out the bleach powder and developer into a small bowl and stir them together.^{[1]
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- The higher the volume of developer, the more peroxide it contains, and the harsher it is on your hair.
2
Add shampoo to the bleach powder and developer. Put 1 to 2 US tbsp (15 to 30 ml) of shampoo, or however much you would use to wash your hair, into the bowl with the combined bleach powder and developer. Stir in the shampoo until it’s incorporated with the other ingredients.^{[2]
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- Adding the shampoo to the mix makes it a little less abrasive on your hair.
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3
Wet your hair down and give it a quick towel dry so it’s not dripping wet. The bleach will strip your hair more easily if it’s damp rather than dry. Saturate your hair with water (don’t wash or condition it yet), and then towel dry it off. Leave the towel around your shoulders to protect your clothes from the bleach, or put on a plastic cape.^{[3]
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- If you’re wearing nice clothes, now would be the time to change them before you start the bleaching process.
4
Apply the bleach bath to your hair, from the tips to the roots. Put on a pair of rubber gloves, and use your applicator brush to spread the bleach bath over all of your hair. Start at the tips of your locks, move upwards over the middle, and end at the roots. If it helps, section your hair and do the bottom layer first, then the middle layer, and end with the top layer.^{[4]
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- If you’re having trouble spreading the bleach bath with the applicator brush, use your fingers. Just make sure you’re wearing rubber gloves!
- Do your roots last. Roots will take on bleach a lot faster than the middle and ends of your hair will.
5
Put on a shower cap and set a timer for 15 minutes. After you’ve applied the bleach bath to your hair, clip your hair up on top of your head. Take off your gloves, and then secure a shower cap overtop of your hair. Set a timer for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, check under the cap and see how much the blue dye has lifted. If it still looks dark, leave the bath on for another 5 to 10 minutes.^{[5]
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- Never leave the bleach bath on for longer than 30 minutes—this could really damage your hair or even cause it to start falling out.
- The bleach bath will definitely lighten your hair 1 to 2 shades, and it’s your best bet for removing the blue hair dye in one go.
6
Wash, condition, and style your hair like you normally would. Once the timer goes off and you’re satisfied with your new shade of hair, take off the shower cap and wash your hair. Unless you’re planning on dyeing your hair again right away, use conditioner, too. Make sure to rinse the bleach bath out completely.^{[6]
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- If you’re going to dye your hair another color right away, skip the conditioning step, as that could mess up the dyeing process.
- If your hair seems especially dry, consider doing a hot oil treatment to infuse your locks with some extra moisture.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Removing Blue Dye without Bleach

1
Lighten your blue hair with Vitamin C tablets. Buy white Vitamin C tablets from your local drug store, and crush up 15-30 tablets in a resealable plastic bag (15 tablets for shorter hair, 30 for longer hair). Mix the crushed Vitamin C tablets with 3 to 4 tablespoons (44 to 59 mL) of shampoo. Apply the paste to damp hair, put on a shower cap, and let the paste sit for 2 hours. Afterwards, rinse out the paste and then use some conditioner to moisturize your hair.
- The citric acid in the Vitamin C tablets breaks down the dye in your hair, which makes it come out easier when you wash it.
- This method works best on semi-permanent dyes, but it can also help to lighten permanent dyes, too.
- Repeat this process as many times as you want to get the color you’d like. One treatment should lighten your blue hair by one shade, so depending on how dark your hair is, you may need to do 3 or 4 treatments.
2
Wash your hair with dandruff shampoo and baking soda. Make a paste out of 1/2 cup (90 grams) of baking soda and 4 to 5 tablespoons (59 to 74 mL) of water. Shampoo your hair with dandruff shampoo, but leave the shampoo in your hair for 5 minutes before rinsing it out. After you’ve washed your hair, apply the baking soda paste to your entire head, and let it sit for 10 minutes. Rinse out the paste with warm water and then condition your hair like you normally would.^{[7]
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- The dandruff shampoo and baking soda combo works well because the shampoo contains clarifying properties, which strip away color, and the baking soda is great at removing stains, which is essentially what has happened to your hair.
- This is a great way to speed up the fading process for blue hair dye. Use this method each time you wash your hair to quickly fade your locks over the course of several weeks.
3
Remove blue hair dye by washing your hair with dish detergent. Get your hair wet, and then apply about ¹⁄₂ tablespoon (7.4 mL) of dish detergent to your locks. Leave it on your hair for 3 to 4 minutes, and then rinse it out with warm water. Make sure to condition your hair well after doing this, as the soap will strip your hair of its natural oils, as well as the hair dye.^{[8]
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- Dish detergent has high sulfate levels, which causes hair color to break down and wash out more quickly (that’s why people who color their hair use sulfate-free products).
- Don’t repeat this process too often, just once a week as needed, as it can really damage your hair quickly.
4
Rinse your hair with white vinegar after you shampoo to fade blue dye. Mix together equal parts of white vinegar and water and then pour it over your hair so it’s completely saturated. Cover your head with a shower cap and set a timer for 15 minutes. Once the timer has gone off, wash and condition your hair as you normally would. Use this method as often as you’d like!^{[9]
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- Vinegar is acidic and helps break down the dye in your hair.
- Hair experts don’t recommend using apple cider vinegar because it’s less acidic and not as effective at fading hair dye.
5
Use hot showers, time in the sun, and swimming in chlorinated pools. Basically, all the things you’ve been told to do to keep your hair from fading can be reserved to help speed up the fading process. Switch from cool to hot showers, expose your hair to the sun, and visit a chlorinated pool a few times a week to help your blue hair fade faster than it would otherwise.^{[10]
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- You could even squeeze the juice of a lemon on your hair before spending time outside in the sun to help fade your hair more.

Expert Q&A
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Question

What should I do to maintain my hair after I've bleached it?

Bianca Cox
Professional Hair Stylist
Bianca Cox is a Hair Stylist, Licensed Cosmetologist, Owner of The Hair Throne, and Co-Owner of Bianchi Salon. Her salons pride themselves on their modernity, individuality, art, and professional services. You can check out The Hair Throne and more of Bianca's hairstyling on Instagram @hairthrone and on her personal Instagram @biancajcox.

Bianca Cox

Professional Hair Stylist

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

There's a thing called dusting where you just get a micro-trim to cut away split ends as they develop. If you're a big fan of highlighting or dyeing your hair, you definitely want to get a dusting every 3 months or so to maintain the health of your hair. This will prevent breaking and splitting. You also want to make sure that you use a sulfate-free shampoo and do a hair mask every week to maintain the color and volume.