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Luckily, thereareseveral expert-approved ways to lift unwanted color at home when you’re in a pinch.

Meet the Experts

Does At-Home Color Stripping Work?

woman with light gray hair against neutral background

Stocksy

“Then, you will need to go back and recolor the hair your desired tone.”

“To strip color requires you to use a bleaching agent,” Papanikolas tells us.

“These can be harsh on the hair and give uneven results.”

Hair punch in Considerations

Stripping color at home isn’t one-size-fits-all when it comes to hair types.

“Curly and coily hair is naturally drier, and fine hair is more delicate.

It achieves this oxidization by loosening up hair dye molecules, she claims.

),” Garwood explains, adding that this effect also applies to unwanted pigments.

According to Bergamy, this common ingredient can bring out natural shineandhelp strip unwanted hair color.

“Vinegar is going to work the best on semi-permanent colors,” she says.

“It can fade permanent hair color too, but it will not totally remove it.”

“Doing it more than once, however, can really dry your hair out.”

Baking Soda

We’ve seen baking soda used for many hair DIYs, fromscalp caretohighlightstodry shampoo.

“Baking soda works as a scrubbing agent,” Bergamy explains.

Sulfur-based Hair Strippers

Sulfur-based products intended for stripping hair color at home can be quite effective.

“Clarifying shampoo is the easiest at home to get it slightly lighter,” Papanikolas says.