I've been coloring my hair at home for about a year with Ion brand hair color that I purchased from Sally's. The problem is that it colors slightly red/orange. I would like a cooler shade of brown. Does anyone know why this happens and how I correct it? I use medium ash brown with 20 developer. My hair is about 40% grey (I think).

I think it means you should not use any colouring shades that say ash in them. I don't recognize the brand you use because I live in Canada and only use L'Oreal. Pricey, but you get what you pay for and where hair is concerned one doesn't need mistakes.

Is the formula covering your gray hair? If it does not you should always use a natural color to cover gray hair. (Meaning an N series like 5 N or 6N if you want medium brown)I would try mixing 1 ounce of 5 or 6 N to cover the gray and 1 ounce of 5 A to get rid of the red and orange tones with 20 vol developer for 30 minutes. You might want to try a different brand too I know sallys has clariol and another clairol new hair color that has double *** tones. Such as 5AA or 6AA with double the *** tone to get rid of the red/orange. If all else fails you will have to buy a product that removes just the pigmented color in your hair so you can start from a clean canvas so to speak.

I hope this helps you!
Karen

What color takes out the color red?

To Mamilina,
To take out red tones in hair you usually would use a color with a green base/tone to it. If you go to a place like sally's they have several different color names there to choose from. The bottles should have tones like violet base/tone to get rid of yellow, or green base/tone to get rid of red tones, and blue base to get rid of orange tones. It depends on what color your hair is now? Blonde or Brown? If it is blonde then you would have to be careful with green tones cause it may sometimes's make hair have a greenish tint to it, which I am sure you don't want! The science of hair color is to start with what is your natural hair level color? Then what is your target level? (Meaning do you want to be a level 4 or 5 or a level 9 or 10? Then what is your target color? (what color do you want to be?) What percentage of gray do you have in your hair 20% or 30% or more? One of the many books they have in store's like sally's will help you find the natural contributing pigment of your hair (meaning what color pigments are in your hair like red, blue, yellow, etc.)So you know what to use to control any unwanted tones in your hair. You can look at a color wheel and any color opposite the color on the wheel usually corrects the unwanted tone. Ash color's will work too ( I guess I spelled it wrong in my other post as *** I meant Ash)they will help tone done brassy colors like red, orange, and yellow in your hair. I know it sounds very complicating and yes sometimes it is!! But if you follow the rules you should get the hair color you desire. It is always fun to experiment with different color and even the most experienced stylist can make mistakes, the good thing about hair color is that NOTHING is permanent. Hope this helps!

Note to self make make sure you proof read your (my) answers!! I meant to say ash colors. Lol. L'Oreal is a very good product here in the states. I wouldn't think it is to pricey usually about 10 dollars for a (box) color or like $4 to $5 dollars a bottle if you mix it yourself. I don't know what they charge in Canada. Yes you do get what you pay for that is always the standard, but some of the lower priced products work just as well as the higher priced ones SOMETIMES even better!