If you are like me, your hair color is constantly changing and you don’t have the patience to let a color fade on its own. Instead of reaching straight for the 40 volume bleach or a soap cap, try the vitamin c method. It takes longer, but it will save your hair from lot of damage.
Every person who dyes their hair crazy colors should know about Vitamin C Treatments. Vitamin C treatments are the best way to rapidly fade a color. You will need:
Dandruff shampoo, because it has very high sulfates, basically stripping your hair of color. I have tried replacing dandruff shampoo with clarifying shampoo and it has never quite given me the same results as the dandruff shampoo.
Vitamin C powder or chewable vitamin C tablets. If you buy the powder (which is expensive and not always easy to find), you can skip the next step. If you bought the chewable tablets, you will need to crush them into powder. The best way to crush the tablets is to use a mortar and pestle. If you can’t find one, there is an alternative method.
The alternative crushing method: Put about 3-4 (for one time use) or up to 20 (for saving up) chewable tablets in a ziploc bag. Not one of those wimpy sandwich bags, either. You’re going to need those strong freezer bags or you will get a lot of holes in the bag. You will likely get holes in the strong bag, but they probably won’t be big enough to leak. Seal the bag firmly, and start to hit the tablets with the tip of the handle of a rolling pin or any other creative smashing method you can come up with that won’t tear up the bag. You want to break the tablets into chunks. After you have broken the tablets into smaller sized chunks, begin to roll across the bag with the rolling pin. It will take a little effort, but you will eventually end up with a mix of powder and tiny little chunks. It’s okay to have a few small chunks.
Pour the powder into something to store it. I like to use empty prescription bottles. A little goes a long way and you should have enough for several treatments.
^My toolkit
The Treament
Pour a little dandruff shampoo into a bowl. I prefer to use a plastic tint bowl. A little of the shampoo will go a long way. Gently put a little of the powder into the bowl. Obviously the amount of powder you need changes with the amount of shampoo you need. Mix the powder and shampoo together. If you used crushed tablets, the mixture is going to look a little bit…disgusting.
Using a sink or detachable shower head, turn your head upside down and get your hair wet. Warm or hot water is better because it opens the cuticle of the hair. Towel dry your hair and stand over the sink or bath tub to apply the mix. Make sure you wear an old shirt, because it is going to get messy. As you start putting the mixture in your hair, you will instantly notice color leaking out of your hair. Work it through your hair and roots thoroughly and bag your hair. You should leave it on between fifteen minutes to an hour.
If you can find processing caps (they look like those bowl lid covers) in the ponytail and hair accessory section and then put a shower cap with tight elastic over that, I find that to be the best way to prevent leaking. You can also put a grocery bag over your hair and secure it with a clip, but it might leak. A shower cap would be good here too.
Using thicker shampoo will result in a little less leakage.
When you rinse the mixture out of your hair, you will notice tons of color is running out if your hair. Make sure you rinse it all out and apply a deep conditioner. I deep condition twice in between treatments due to the amount of damage my hair has come across. The treatment is fairly drying, so those with highly damaged hair will probably need to deep condition at least once after every treatment. Back in the day, I only needed to deep condition every two or three treatments with regular (decent quality) conditioner in between.
If you are going to bleach (Ah, weren’t those the days when I could still bleach my hair?), do a final deep condition when you feel your hair is faded enough.
Result: You will probably be a little disappointed that, although a lot of color ran out, your hair is likely only 1 to 3 shades lighter. It will take more than one treatment. I have used as little as 3 and as many as 8. It all depends on how dark your color is and how much staying power the brand has. When I am in the fading transition stage, I usually do one treatment every day or every other day. When my hair was in better condition, I did up to three a day.
Optional things you can add to the mixture:
Baking soda: I have noticed adding baking soda had a pretty good impact on removing a little extra color. I only used it every other treatment due to the drying effect it has. A tablespoon or so is a good amount.
Developer: I use developer in my mix when I’m close to my final color goal. I use probably about a tablespoon of 10 or 20 volume developer. Don’t use this every time, as it is drying. You’ll notice the mixture might be a little warm on your scalp and it will have a noticeable chemical smell.
Oils: This process is very drying, and sometimes I like to add olive, coconut, or sweet almond oils to the mix to help a tiny bit with that. A teaspoon or two of oil should be enough.
A few of the results I obtained:
Faded Manic Panic red-orange. 5 treatments.
Faded Punky Color yellow. 6 treatments.
Faded Punky Color purple. 4 treatmenrs.
I Would Rather Dye 