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Do you know what you and those little blue-haired old ladies have in common? A cuticle stain. Any time that your hair hangs onto an unnatural tint or color shampoo after shampoo, you can bet that you've stained the outside of your hair with temporary dye, semi-permanent dye or the minerals found in tap water. Since the stain is only on the outside, you don't have to do too much to get the pink to come out. But you will have to use a soap cap, which is a little stronger than shampoo.
1.
Mix 2 oz. clarifying shampoo with 2 oz. 5-volume color developer -- pour both into a bowl and mix with your gloved hands, you'll want to scoop the mixture out to put on your hair.
2.
Wet your hair down with warm water. Scoop the soap cap into the palms of your hands and start applying it to your hair, working it in with your fingers. Concentrate on the pink parts of your hair. If it's not pink, don't touch it.
3.
Comb the soap cap through with a wide-toothed comb. Wait 10 to 20 minutes -- you'll be able to see the pink lifting out of the hair. Rinse when the pink is gone or after 20 minutes. If some pink still remains, redo the soap cap.
4.
Follow up with color sealer or an after-color conditioner. Work the color through your hair -- pay special attention to those ends. Wait five minutes and rinse with cool water.
If the pink won't come out after a couple of tries, you might want to consider stripping the color out with hair lightener mixed with an equal amount of 20-volume color developer. It's a little rough on your hair, so only use this method as a last resort.
