The duration of yellow in hair depends entirely on whether it is an intended fashion color (which fades within weeks) or an unwanted brassy tone (which is a permanent underlying pigment that will always return without maintenance).
By looking at color theory and choosing the opposite color of your hair in the color wheel, such as purple or blue shades, you can neutralize the yellow and orange. This method gives the impression of cooler tones without affecting the pigments in a permanent way.
I would recommend waiting a few days and then bleaching it again. It's called toner because it is used to change the tone of your hair, not the color. So once you bleach it again you can use toner to make it less yellow/whatever tone you're going for.
Get rid of brassy tones in the hair in 4 different ways
Odds are your hair wasn't lightened enough when you had it professionally done. You need a toner applied and processed for at least 15-20 minutes. Keep using the purple shampoo and leave it on longer than you have before. Make sure you condition well afterwards as these toning shampoos can dry out your hair.
Purple shampoo is purple-colored shampoo that distributes purple pigment to neutralize brassy, yellow tones. Purple is used because, if you take a look at the color wheel, it's the direct opposite color of yellow.
Use a purple or blue shampoo
Try imagining a straight line from your current colour through the centre of the wheel to the other side of the wheel to figure out which toner to use. If your bleached hair looks more yellow than orange, you'll need a purple toning shampoo to neutralise the yellow.
In the salon, your stylist can apply a low-ammonia toner formula to your hair after it is lightened. For example, if the goal is a pearly blonde shade, your stylist will use a lightener first, then apply a violet toner to cancel out the yellow tones that are exposed when your hair color is lifted.
Toner. The first option is to use a toner. This is a second color process that adds the neutralizing pigment (purple) to the hair to cancel out the unwanted yellow.
A bleach bath typically lifts hair 1 to 3 levels, offering a gentler lift than traditional bleaching by diluting bleach with shampoo and applying it to wet hair, making it great for removing toner, correcting color, or subtle lightening, though results vary based on your starting hair color, porosity, and developer strength.
Color Theory Magic: Purple Power
If you're looking to neutralize yellow hair color and achieve a cooler, ashier blonde look, color theory is about to become your secret weapon. Remember: purple sits opposite yellow on the color wheel, which means it cancels out those warm brassy tones like actual magic.
Blondes in Yellow 💛
The hardest colors to get out of hair are often black, due to its density and the way it's applied to cover underlying tones, and blue, especially direct dyes, because its molecules are stubborn and can fade to a difficult-to-remove green or mint. Red is also notoriously tough because its large molecules are difficult to lift, even though it fades quickly, leaving behind unwanted warm undertones.
Hair toners with extra lift
They can lift the hair by up to 2 levels. They are particularly useful when there is a lot of really brassy yellow in the hair. For example, when the hair is level 7 or level 8 rather than level 9 or 10 - see chart above. Or when the client wishes to go ultra white blonde.
Ash cancels the yellow. But make sure to only apply the ash product on the hair that you bleached that are yellow. The ends of your hair are usually much light and will absorb the ash color much quicker than the roots.
The purple pigment acts as a toner that helps to reduce yellow and orange hues and transform your hair into cool, hydrated blonde.
Hair lightening levels
At this stage, the yellow undertone is soft and easy to neutralize with toner. If your hair is still looking golden or yellow-orange, that means that it is only level 7 or 8 or 9. You will need to bleach once more to reach that lighter, pale yellow tone.
Baking Soda Treatment: Make a paste with baking soda and water, apply it to your hair, and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing. This can help strip away yellowing residues.
For example, if you see mostly yellow but also some orange tones in your hair, you could use a Purple/Violet Shampoo and then follow with a Blue Mask. Our Purple/Violet products are packed with yellow fighting pigments - they are all super dark in colour, which is exactly what you should be looking for!
Bold Uniq Purple Hair Mask - Toner For Blonde, Platinum, Bleached, Silver, Gray, Ash & Brassy Hair - Remove Yellow Tones & Condition Dry, Damaged Hair - Cruelty Free & Vegan - 6.76oz.
When deciding how to tone yellow hair to ash, try using a violet shampoo first. As purple is the opposite of yellow on the colour spectrum, the shampoo's purple pigment draws out the yellow brassiness from your blonde, neutralises those unwanted tones, and makes your colour look cooler, healthier and more vibrant.
Dish Soap
Fortunately, if you go through the effort of using this drying soap on your dyed hair, it can help remove unwanted color. You'll need to do many washes to fade it out, but it is a step in the right direction if you want to remove a color. Some people throw baking soda into their dish soap for an extra boost.
With my hair, I usually like to leave around 20-30min. Usually depends on how brassy yellow my bleached hair is before putting on. I like to make sure the toner gets dark enough to where I see no more yellow or orangey brassiness from the bleach. It's usually around 30min but I've left up to 45min.