How would you correct a yellow-toned blonde that turned brassy after a lift?

• A. Apply a warm gold toner to brighten.
• B. Apply a purple-violet toner or cool neutralizer, re-evaluate porosity, and adjust future lifts to control brassiness.
• C. Deepen tone with a level 4 brown dye.
• D. Use a color remover to erase the brassiness.

Answer: (B)

When yellow tones show up as brass after a lift, the aim is to neutralize the warm pigment with the opposite hue on the color wheel. A purple-violet toner or a cool neutralizer acts to cancel out yellow and orange, giving a cooler, more true-blonde result. After applying the toner, it’s important to reassess porosity and how the hair has responded to lifting so you can adjust future lifts to prevent brassiness. Hair with higher porosity absorbs color differently, so you may need to tweak lift level, processing time, or toner strength next time to keep the blonde from brassifying.

A warm gold toner would intensify the yellow, not neutralize it. Deepening with a level 4 brown dye would darken the hair but wouldn’t remove the brass or correct the tone. A color remover would strip color but isn’t the right first approach for correcting brassiness after a lift.