Blue and pink are such classic, timeless choices.
They’re so classic that you might even remember both of them being Pantone’s colors of the year a couple of years back.
Ask just about anyone on the street what their favorite color is, and there’s a huge likelihood that it’s going to be one of these two colors.
So, it’s not surprising that blue and pink are some of the most popular choices when opting for more colorful hair looks.
But if you’re the kind of person that likes changing their looks and switching from color to color, you might find that a switch from pink to blue is in your future.
How do you make the transition smooth when coloring over pink hair?
Well, read on to see whether that’s a change you can make right now or if you should take a few extra steps to make sure your colors are as bold and true blue as you want them to be.
How do I get my pink hair blue?
Well, when thinking of changing your hair color from pink to blue, the first question on your mind might immediately be: “Can I put blue hair dye over light pink?”
But first, let’s take a closer look into pink hair and its little quirks to see the best course of action.
Here are a few factors to consider when you’re planning on dyeing your hair from pink to blue.
1. Your initial shade
Pink can mean all kinds of shades. You can be wearing a magenta or a pastel pink. Or maybe you’ve needed a touch-up and are rocking a more faded look.
Usually, pink fades quite quickly. The most typical way to achieve a pink look is by starting with a light base, most of the time with the help of some bleach, and dyeing over it with pink semi-permanent dye.
Your initial shade, no matter how dark or light it is, matters because it would inform whether you might need to fade the color a bit or if you’re good with just dyeing it straight.
2. Your shade’s undertone
Another essential factor to consider is the undertone of the pink you are using.
Usually, dyeing blue would be better if the pink you already have has a cooler undertone. These include purplish-pinks, mauves, or even pastels.
However, pinks that are more on the peachy or rose gold side might not take well to blue being added on top of them because the warm undertone is going to mess with that combination.
3. What kind of blue do you want to achieve?
Then, of course, after assessing your hair’s current state, it’s best to have a good idea of where you want to take it.
If you want to go the more straightforward route of just dyeing over your pink hair, your best bet is to aim for deeper blues or indigo shades.
Dark blue dye over pink hair can usually hide the muddy effect that might be more obvious when using lighter shades of blue.
So try to steer clear of lighter blues like pastels or even blues with a lot of lighter undertones, such as teal or aqua.
But if lighter blues are really what you’re going for, you might need to take a few extra steps to fade out the pink in order to get the color you’re going for.
What color does pink and blue hair dye make?
Alright, so now, let’s imagine that you’ve taken a good look at your current shade.
You’re familiar with the undertones and know precisely what kind of blue you’re going for. What’s going to happen if you just layer on some blue?
Well, pink is kind of like red with a lot of white in it.
When you mix red and blue, that makes purple!
So, it’s highly likely that what happens if I put blue dye over pink hair is that the color you’re going to come out with is some shade of purple.
But this doesn’t necessarily guarantee a nice clean purple. Oh no.
This is because nearly all kinds of pink have a strong warm undertone to them. Even the coolest shades of pink have a little bit of red or yellow in them.
And while these undertones might not necessarily be visible to us just by looking at your hair, they can still have an effect and start rearing their ugly heads once you’ve mixed in the blue.
This can result in a muddy color that still is within the purple range but isn’t as clean as it could be.
What color cancels out pink hair?
You can use the color green!
But a word of caution: only do this to fade small bits of pink out of bleached hair.
This means you should have already let your pink hair fade before going this route.
Pink can be pretty stubborn! So neutralizing stains with green can be your next step.
This will not work on a full head of pink hair. You’ll be left with a murky mossy mess!
Why green, though?
Well, when you look at the color wheel, red and all its different shades, including pink, are found directly across all kinds of greens. This means that they are contrasting colors that cancel each other out.
However, you’ll have to be careful when picking the right shade of green. The deeper the pink shade in your hair is, the deeper you’ll also have to go with the green.
So if your hair is a dark Fuschia or magenta, an emerald green would be best to use. If you’re sporting a pastel pink, something like a mint green might be more helpful.
But wait!
Put the brush down. You’re not supposed just to pile green dye onto your hair and expect it to be neutralized. You’ll end up with a muddy green if you do that!
What is recommended is to use a green color-depositing shampoo. There are ready-made ones, but they can be hard to find.
So, you can try and DIY your own green shampoo by blending a moisturizing shampoo with equal parts of green semi-permanent dye.
Then, you can use it to wash your hair like usual and gradually deposit on the green color.
Be careful not to use too much, or else you’ll end up with a green mess! Better yet, have a professional check out your hair and see what the best way to go is.
Sometimes, just canceling it out with green pigment is not enough, and when you have to get into the territory of bleaching and color lifting, these are best done by the hands of an experienced colorist.
How do I dye my pink hair blue?
So, finally, what’s an easy formula to dye my hair from pink to blue?
- Lift the pink color using a hair color remover or a bleach wash. If you’re using a hair color remover, simply follow the instructions provided on the packaging of the product you’re using.
Meanwhile, you can do a bleach bath or bleach wash if you only want to lift the color by 1-2 shades. All you need is equal parts powdered bleach and developer, and some shampoo.
Make sure not to use toning shampoo! Thoroughly combine equal parts of bleach and developer. Then, once they’ve been mixed together, add in equal parts of shampoo to the mixture.
After shampooing in the shower, apply this mixture to wet hair and let it develop for 10 to 30 minutes. Check it from time to time to see if you’ve achieved your desired lightness, then wash it out completely. - Then, once you’ve lightened your hair, use a green-based shampoo to neutralize any pink stains.
- Select your blue color and proceed with dyeing!
CHECK OUT: What unnatural color should I dye my hair
Conclusion
As long as you know the steps, changing your hair color can be as easy as 1-2-3! Even if you’re coloring it from one vibrant shade to another.
With these simple steps, you’ll go from living la vie en rose to being true blue in no time!