How to fix yellow blonde hair : a comprehensive guide

Does your client have blonde hair?  And does she find that it is too yellow and wants you to get rid of it?

Many blondes struggle with brassiness, dullness, or that overly yellow shade that makes blonde hair look less fresh and salon-perfect.

So, how do you get rid of yellow blonde hair?

In this guide, we’ll explain why blonde hair develops yellow undertones, how you can fix it with lightening and toning, and the best ways to maintain a clean, cool blonde shade that lasts.

Why Does Blonde Hair Turn Yellow?

Blonde hair often develops yellow undertones because of the natural pigment within each hair level.

Every hair color has an undertone, and for blonde, that undertone usually shows as yellow once hair is lightened.

Here’s a breakdown of undertones by level:

- At level 7–8, blonde reflects yellow-orange.
- At level 9 (light blonde), yellow tones are clearly visible.
- At level 10 (very light blonde), hair looks very pale yellow, similar to the inside of a banana peel.

These tones are completely natural and occur in everyone’s hair.

External factors such as sun exposure, heat styling, hard water, and product residue can intensify the yellow and make blonde hair look brassy.

If the hair has been colored or bleached or toned in the past, then that will make the hair even more likely to turn yellow once original color starts to fade.

Step 1: Lighten to the Correct Level 

Hair lightening levels

The first and most important step to removing yellow is ensuring your blonde hair is lifted to the right level.

To achieve a clean blonde, the hair must reach level 10, which is extra light blonde. See picture above.

At this stage, the yellow undertone is soft and easy to neutralize with toner.

If your hair is still looking golden or yellow-orange, that means that it is only level 7 or 8 or 9. 

You will need to bleach once more to reach that lighter, pale yellow tone.

Tips for Effective Lightening:

• Always use a high-quality bleach with bond protection to lift the hair safely while minimizing damage. We would recommend Ugly Duckling Brilliant Blondexx with Bond Protect.
• Choose the right developer strength. If your client's hair is blonde then 20 Vol developer will be the best, because you are only looking to lift by around 1 or 2 levels.
• Use Ugly Duckling's Premium Developer if you can. It also contains Bond Protect and is particularly good at safe yet effective lifting.
• Create a wet bleach mixture. The best ratio is 1 part bleach to 2 parts developer which you should mix until it is a nice wet paste.
• Apply bleach evenly and thoroughly, focusing first on darker areas. 
• Allow enough processing time to reach level 10. Rinsing too soon will leave the hair yellow.
• Reapply fresh bleach mixture to stubborn patches if needed, but always use 20 Vol for the second application.
• Only rinse when the hair has reached a consistent pale yellow shade throughout.

Brilliant Blondexx Bleach with Bond Protect

20 Vol Premium Developer with Bond Protect

Level 10 hair. This is how your client's hair should look like after bleaching.

Step 2: Tone Away the Yellow

Once your hair is lifted to light blonde, you’ll notice it still looks pale yellow. This is completely normal. That’s where toning comes in.

Types of Toners You Can Use:

There are 3 types of toners that you can use:

• Extra lift toners: These both lift and tone at the same time, useful if the hair didn’t quite reach pale yellow. These are the strongest toners.
• Regular lift toners: These have less lifting power (they will still lift by around 1 level) but they are very strongly pigmented. They are designed to give you vivid blonde results such as  pearl blonde, platinum, blonde, purple based blonde and silver blonde shades.
• Ammonia-free gloss toners: These permit quick gentle, quick toning results that neutralize yellow without lifting. They also add shine and a more natural-looking blonde.

Toners with extra lift

These will lift the hair by around 2 levels and tone at the same time.

Only Ugly Duckling makes these toners. We call them "Intense toners".

You should use these toners either if your hair is still not as light as it should be (you didn't quite make it to level 10, in other words).

So these toners will help you take the hair all the way to level 10.

The toners that do this are: Intense Pearl Blonde 100V or Intense Silver Blonde 100B 

Intense Pearl Blonde 100V 

Intense Silver Blonde 100B 

Watch example of an intense pearl blonde transformation:

Regular Lift Toners

These toners will still lift. And they are very strongly pigmented, permitting really vivid, true blonde color results.

We are giving below some very widely used regular lifting toners.

10.2 Platinum Extra Light Cool Blonde

This toner is purple based and gives very vivid cold, platinum blonde results.

Pearl Blonde 10V

A pearl-like blonde color. Another very intensely cold blonde color.

Silver Blonde 10B

A natural silver-blonde color.

Silver Grey

10.1b Extra Light Cold Ash Blonde

This is a blue based ash blonde which is good at neutralizing yellow. It produces a very cold ash blonde result.

Watch example of a platinum white blonde result using platinum white blonde toner 10.2:

Hair by Elona Taki

Ammonia-free gloss toners

Level 10 blonde

These toners are what you should use if you have got your client's hair to a very nice light, pale yellow color similar to the inside of a banana peel, as in the pictures above of bleached pale yellow hair.

If that is the case, we would recommend you use ammonia-free gloss toners.

These are liquid toners which are very gentle, easy to apply, don't smell bad and also contain Bond Protect.

They also process in just 10 minutes.

The 2 ammonia-free toners below are both level 10 based and a very popular choice:

Natural Ash Blonde 010A

Use this toner for a natural ash blonde look.

Natural Violet Blonde 010V

Use this toner for a purple based cold blonde look.

Watch example of ammonia-free Natural Ash Blonde toner in action:

Step 3: Maintain Your Blonde and Prevent New Yellow Tones

Brilliant Blonde Purple Mask

Even with the perfect blonde achieved, fading and yellowing will eventually come back if the hair isn’t maintained. That’s why aftercare is essential.

How to Maintain Blonde Hair:
1. Use purple shampoos. They contain violet pigments that neutralize yellow tones between toning treatments.
2. Follow up with purple masks or conditioners. These deliver stronger toning, deep conditioning, and longer-lasting results. Leave the mask on for 5 to 10 minutes for best effect.
3. Protect your hair from heat and sun exposure, which can accelerate fading and brassiness. Always use a heat protectant spray and, if spending time outdoors, a UV protectant product.
4. Avoid hard water build-up. Minerals from hard water can cause blonde hair to appear yellow. Using a shower filter or an occasional clarifying shampoo can help keep your blonde clear and bright.

How best to use Purple Shampoo and Mask

After toning, purple shampoo and mask are your best bet to keep yellow hair away until the next color or toning session.

Ugly Duckling's Brilliant Blonde Purple Shampoo and Mask are low pH sulfate-free products that will help close the cuticle after coloring.

Thanks to their intense purple pigments they will help neutralize any remaining yellowness or brassiness.

For best results, use plenty of product and massage in very thoroughly.

The more these products are in contact with your hair, the more they will transfer those pigments.

With the purple mask, leave on for 10 minutes under a plastic cap and, if possible, some gentle heat.

You can use both products regularly after coloring to keep the hair from turning yellow or brassy again.

Watch example of Purple Shampoo and Mask applied to tone hair:

FAQs on Yellow Blonde Hair

Q: I bleached my hair but it’s still yellow. What went wrong?
A: This usually means you didn’t reach level 10 pale yellow. Common causes include poor bleach quality, incorrect developer, uneven application, or rinsing too early.

There are at least 5 reasons why colorists don't get to level 10 very pale yellow.

See if any of these matches your case:

1. A poor quality of bleach is used with limited lifting power. 
2. A poor choice of developer strength.
3. A bleach mix that was too dry and which did not stay wet long enough.
4. An application technique which did not saturate every part of the client's hair.
5. The stylist did not wait the time she needed to wait to get the hair to level 10 and rinsed off too soon.

Q: Can I fix yellow hair without bleaching again?
A: Yes, if your hair is already fairly light (level 7 or above). However, in this case we would suggest you use Ugly Duckling Extra Lift toners. ("Intense toners").

These will help you achieve the lift that you require without using bleach.

However, bleaching first will generally give you a better result.

I want to tone down my orange to a medium blonde level. What is the best toner for me to use?

If you are looking to tone down we would suggest you use blue based ash blonde colors.

Blue based colors and toners are good at killing yellow-orange and will tone down hair very well.

Use Ugly Duckling's blue based ash blonde colors (anything ending in "1b").

Aim for level 6 to 8 if you are looking to down down brassy hair.

Use Light Cold Ash Blonde 8.1b, Cold Ash Blonde 7.1b or Dark Cold Ash Blonde 6.1b 

For extra strong "orange killing", you can squeeze in some Ash Blue Additive.

Just mix these colors with 20 Vol developer and apply to tone down orange and brassy hair.

8.1b Light Cold Ash Blonde

7.1b Cold Ash Blonde

6.1b Dark Cold Ash Blonde

Ash Blue Additive