Color Oops: New Way to fix Hair Color Nightmares

For those of you who have dyed your hair a god awful color only to ruin your hair at home with bleach or pay big money at a salon to have it fixed, you are going to be really glad. Anyone with half their weight of at home hair coloring experience knows that you can't color over color. Hair won't lighten that is colored and coloring over color produces a muddy result. So what are we to do?

There's a new technology out there that will actually remove the artificial color you put into your hair but, and this is key - without removing any of your hair's natural pigment. It is available in drugstores and is called Color Oops. It is made by Developlus, the same people who make satin hair color. Curiously, I could not find Color Oops in the beauty supply store although I did find a L'oreal hair color remover that does lift virgin hair's pigment.

I just used this product yesterday to remove hair color and I'm amazed at the results. (I read a lot of positive reviews on Amazon before taking the plunge.) This product could have saved me when I was younger and making so many hair coloring mistakes. Especially that time I died my hair brown from blond using a drugstore color and ended up going greenish brown! Yikes!

For those of you that's been dyeing your hair so often, you don't even know what's under there, you might want to have a look. (kidding) Here's an article about it I found:

http://newsblaze.com/story/2007042506012000001.pz/topstory.html

Pros:
1) Won't remove natural underlying pigment
2) Uncolors more evenly than bleach
3) Damages hair much less than bleach
4) Much easier to use than bleach
5) Removes both permanent and semi-permanent color

Cons:
1) Smells nasty
2) Won't remove natural pigment but every time you color your hair some natural pigment has already been removed so your hair will likely need a toner after using since your undertones will be showing
3) Will make your hair more porous so you will probably need to use a filler before dyeing again and use a lighter less ashy shade. (Doesn't make your hair nearly as porous as bleach does though)
4) If you've already removed a lot of natural pigment by bleaching your hair, this pigment does not get magically restored with this product so it's not much help for those who wish they hadn't bleached or gone lighter.

Overall, I am really pleased. This is a real breakthrough for us at home hair color addicts especially so I thought I'd spread the good news around. Bleach is not the only way to lighten hair that has been dyed too dark. PerfectBrunette2007-11-20 12:58:02

Wait,you just used this? I thought you liked your new hair color,what happend?

I did like my haircolor. Ultimately, it was too red for me though. It was more of a reddish brown than golden brown and I figured the longer I leave it in the harder it will be to take out. 

Well,glad you got it out and everything is ok.

No, I haven't recolored yet. I still don't know what to do exactly. I really like how my hair looked after the color oops because it is like my natural hair color but warmer (like a dark caramel blond). I don't like the extremely ashy mousy tones of my natural color which doesn't suit my light warm skin tone.

The only thing I don't like is that my hair has some orangey undertones. I like the gold, just not the orange. So I'm not quite sure how to cancel out orange but leave the gold. I may just need a color depositing shampoo like Blue Malva. Ultimately, I plan to get lowlights done by a professional after I figure out how to tone this one.

Anytime I have removed a color,it seemed I was always left with an orangey tone too.Without using ash,it's hard to say how to cover it up.  julesyjul882007-11-22 05:29:36

Thank you for your advice! ironically i have been colouring my own long hair with professional cream+peroxide for 5 years and doing a very good job but throughout i always wondered if i could do better... so  I have  had my hair done at the salon 3 times and only once have they done it as I asked and given my the desired results

Today was the third time and I swear never again!

If you know your base tone and you only go up or down one base colour number you can't go wrong, but the pro stylist was dealing with my long locks and decided to put on a l'oreal richesse quasi colour over my porous locks... and against my desire she put on a 5 base level, and I am natural a 7 and the locks were a faded red 8!

So now I have locks with  a dark blue mahogany base and of course washing it out is only removing the red warmth.
Do you think this colour oops will work?

Also Its unclear if that is what you used as you also mention this  other l'oreal product?

hopefully you will confirm which product you think is amazing, you didn't mention whether you found the color opps or not.

what did the product you used do to your hair, Did you then put a vegetable last 10 washes colour afterwards?
I hope you get back  to this forum, I can't believe I let a pro on my hair again....
I think colourists are unsavvy in the UK, the only time I ever had it done correctly was is Paris France!

redheadlov2007-11-28 18:39:18

Hi,

I was talking about the Color Oops. that is the product I used. The L'oreal product does not work in the same way so I would avoid it personally as it removes natural pigment along with the artificial pigment althoguh I have not tried the L'oreal product personally. It sounds like your natural color is about the same shade as me. It comes out a level 6 but the ends fade to a level 7 in the sun.

I know how you feel with the going to the salon and paying big bucks only to be disappointed. I am sure there are great colorists out there but they are not easy to find. (Wow, so cool that you found one in Paris!)

Anyways, since you are simply removing artificial color from your hair, I think the color oops would work well for you. Keep in mind that some of your natural pigment was removed in the process of her dyeing your hair so it won't look exactly the same as before. You will have to color it afterwards most likely.

You also have to be careful when you dye it because the color you dye it will turn out darker and ashier than normal after using the color oops. They mention this in their leaflet. Itis because using color oops increases the porosity of your hair (but not as much as bleach does). They suggest going one shade lighter than you want and using golden tones, staying away from ash tones.

I gave  my hair a few days to feel soft again and deep conditioned before coloring again. I used lightest golden brown from L'oreal colorpsa a couple days later. My underlying pigment didn't look too bad since I've only used demi's on my hair and not much pigment was lifted. Ironically,  the color I was removing was light golden brown  from  L'oreal colorspa which came out too red. The "lightest" golden brown that I used instead came out lighter and more golden so I am happy with it for now. I first tried a strand test with a neutral dark blonde and it came out too ashy so be careful!

So as long as you follow their directions and recommendations you can color again no problem. I'd recommend a demi-perm instead of a permanent shade over it if you're going darker. A neutral protein filller will also help even out the porosity of your hair before you color again and is recommended by Color Oops.

I'm not sure if they sell this stuff in the UK so if they don't, I feel bad recommending it. Yikes. Hope you find it! Maybe try ebay if you can't.  I ended up finding it in a Rite Aid drugstore in the US and I know they sell them at Walgreens drug stores as well. Beware of other products. Make sure that they only remove the artificial pigment and not your actual hair pigment like bleach will as this will damage your hair too much.

Good luck to you!
PerfectBrunette2007-11-28 18:34:55

perfect brunette,
hi thank you for your advice... its fab!

unfortunately I can't find colour oops or  the l'oreal stuff either in the uk.  I found it on the walgreens site and may order from them... although the postage is quite high.
The colour is washing out from the main length but the ends are still mahogony,, this is from the semi permanent l'oreal richesse that they put on... I have also heard that anti dandruff shampoo lightens colours. i''l try that at first, then if no joy then I'll order from walgreens.
Btw, you were right about the going to level 7 in the sun... huh, u knew that and you haven't even seen it!!
lol
thank again for the support.
here's to happy hair days!
 

Shoot! Bummer its not available in the UK. I doubt the dandruff shampoo will do much besides fade it a little though. Let me know what you decide to do. I'd love to hear what happens.

i'm about to do my hair with a product from Goldwell
Colour remover...
Its about the only thing i could find in Sallys...
it may go orange and patchy the assistant said so she suggested a colour conditioner to go over it afterwards... by revlon.
I am pooing myself because although i hate my hair now  i'm scared it will be worse afterwards...
here goes... i'll be back to give a review
lol

Hi redheadlov,

I checked out the Goldwell color remover and it seems very similar to color oops. This is what I found on the Goldwell:


System Hair Color Remover

Easily and safely removes oxidative pigments from the hair to help correct a hair color service or to change the tone to reach a target color. Unlike bleach, System Color Remover Hair will not lighten the natural or untinted hair.

• Quickly removes oxidative pigments from the hair by reversing the coupling action
• Works effectively with all oxidative hair colors like Topchic and Colorance (not Elumen)
• The gel base makes it easier to apply for controlled application
• Wipes out old color to let you start from a fresh base
• Does not lighten natural pigments

Anyways, if it doesn't remove natural pigment, it must work in the same way as Color Oops. The only way I would imagine it coming out patchy is if

a) You miss spots in your application...make sure to drench all your hair good
b) Your underlying hair pigment is patchy due to uneven color application of the color that you are removing.

I didn't have any patchiness with the Color Oops. It does come out a little orangey, especially if your underlying pigment has been lifted (i.e. you used a permanent 20 volume or higher developer when you colored.) That's why you will need a toner.

 I'm really excited about this new technology and am glad more companies are catching on. I hope you keep us posted on your results and good luck!

Hi Redheadlov,

Just wondering what your results were like with the Goldwell hair color remover?

Note: Color Oops removes oxidative hair colors, the most common type. It does not work for direct dyes containing metallics such as Feria and most types of henna. Try Metalex instead. 

I prefer Colorzap to Coloroops


..just sayin!

How is Colorzap different? Does it also work by shrinking the dye molecules?

Errrrm, I'm not sure how color remover even works, colorzap has just always worked better for me, and it doesn't smell as bad.

Great post - I've been going thru the old posts trying to figure out what to do to get back my (natural) medium golden brown hair. After using a Loreal product, I am now a brownish golden-coppery redhead - the color I used was supposed to make my hair a light caramel. I've been told it looks flattering but I think it just looks garish - esp. in fluorescent light. I'm thinking of using Color Oops (or is Color Fix better?) but does it bring one's hair back to its original color or does it bring it to its natural underlying color? In my case, my hair is naturally light brown with underlying red pigmentation. So will I end up red or brown after using Color Oops or is there no way of knowing? I have to admit the red hair does provoke a lot of attention from men - I got a few car honks today (I'm just hoping I wasn't mistaken for a streetwalker though!) - who said blondes had all the fun! Just the same, I'd prefer less attention and my golden brown hair back.

Hi Kitty,
The Color Oops will remove all artificial color but no natural color. The problem is that every time you dye your hair you remove some natural pigment via the developer action before the new artificial pigment deposits. So what you will end up with is your natural hair color minus anything the coloring process already removed. This  means you will usually get reddish orange pigment showing through if you are naturally medium brown. All that means is you need to use a hair color after the Color Oops to tone it. If you are a true medium brown and want to look natural, you could go with a neutral light brown hair color. (Always go lighter since your hair will be more porous and tend to soak up dye after the treatment.) If you like golden tones, a light golden brown could be nice as well. Stay away from ash tones after using the Color Oops though as it tends to make hair more susceptible to overabsorbing ash tones due to the porous nature of the hair. Golden tones and neutral tones are recommended on the directions. Good luck to you. Let us know if you do it and how it turns out.

Colorzap is bsically a bleach for all intents and purposes.So it does change virgin hair.Color oops is sulfur based and it is much gentler than the bleach based kind.It works exaclty the same as Colorfix and phantom igora.I actually prefer  the swarzkopf phantom igora(not sure its still called this).It seemed to work the best with the gentlest result.And I have tried alot of the color removers including the crappy bleach based ones.

Thanks Longhairdreams,

It's good to know which ones are sulfa based direct dye solvent like Color Oops and Colorfix and which ones are glorified bleach like Colorzap. I wish the labeling on the packages required  more explanation.  BTW: I'm trying to grow my hair long too! It takes forever.

Thanks so much for the informative reply, Perfect Brunette! I really do appreciate it.

LOL! Men totally are into hair color. Haven't you heard them talking about their fantasies? They always involve some generic girl with a certain haircolor - a blonde, redhead or brunette. 

I was thinking how hard and unrealistically judgemental we women are on ourselves and how we look. Here I was thinking I had Ronald MacDonald-colored hair (it's not that bad but that's how I picture it) and lo and behold on Saturday I see the same reddish-brown haircolor on a celebrity on the cover of a magazine! I have to say I didn't like it much on Angelina Jolie either but...

Hi littlekitty,

I say if you like the base color, go for the highlights. Why not? Free highlights are a steal. Just make sure you don't give them creative license. I was asked to be in a hair show once for Aveda and I let the guy dye my hair bright orangey red. I hated it so much I didn't want to be in the hair show and dropped out.