What is Corrective Hair Color?

A guide to one of the most transformative salon services—what to expect and how to plan for it

Corrective hair color is one of the most advanced and personalized services we offer at our hair salon in Bend. While many people think of it only as a fix for a color gone wrong, it’s actually much broader than that. Corrective color includes any situation where previously colored hair needs significant adjustment—whether you’re fixing a mistake, softening an uneven tone, or making a dramatic change like going from black to blonde.

At Avalon Salon & Spa Aveda in Bend, we specialize in helping our guests navigate this sometimes complicated process with care, honesty, and a commitment to keeping hair as healthy as possible. So whether you’re thinking about reversing a dark color, correcting a brassy result, or just learning about the process, here’s everything you need to know.

When Is It Considered Corrective Hair Color?

You don’t have to hate your current color for a change to be considered corrective. A great example: let’s say you’ve been rocking beautiful dark brown or jet-black hair for years and are now ready to go blonde again. You love your current color—it’s not a mistake—but lightening hair that has previously been dyed dark is never as simple as just applying blonde hair color on top.

That’s where corrective color comes in. In fact, anytime you want previously colored hair to be lighter, it’s considered corrective. Even shifting just a shade or two lighter still requires technical skill and thoughtful planning. While a well-trained stylist can often handle this with ease, it’s also not a standard, one-step color process.

Why Hair Color Can’t Lift Hair Color

Here’s a golden rule in professional hair color: hair color cannot lift hair color. That means if your hair has been colored—even if it was months ago—you can’t just apply a lighter shade and expect the results you want. You need to first remove or break through the old pigment, and that’s what makes corrective color more complex.

In these situations, we need to assess the hair, consider how many layers of color are present, and determine the safest way to remove or lighten that pigment. This might be done with lighteners or professional color removers, and most often happens over multiple sessions to minimize damage.

Sometimes the hair lifts evenly and predictably. Other times, it may be resistant or lift unevenly in certain areas, requiring more time, product, and strategy. This unpredictability is one of the main reasons corrective color is charged by the hour at Avalon—and most professional salons.

What to Expect: Full Lightening vs. Gradual Lifting

Corrective color by the hour is typically recommended when a guest wants to lighten all or most of their hair that has previously been colored. This is a full-commitment approach that requires multiple steps to safely remove the old pigment and apply the desired new tone—especially if the goal is blonde.

But this isn’t the only route. If you’re open to a more gradual transformation, highlighting can be a fantastic alternative. By lightening only selected sections of the hair, highlights allow us to lift out color piece by piece, which is much less damaging than trying to lighten every strand at once.

In many cases—especially if the correction isn't severe—we may suggest starting with a highlight and tone service rather than a full corrective color session. This is not only gentler on your hair but often more cost-effective.

However, keep in mind that the first round of highlights may lift warm, especially if the original color doesn’t lighten evenly. Yellow or orange tones are common during the early phases, and if your goal is an all-over blonde or a cooler, more even result, then a corrective color service may still be your best option.

We’ll always help guide you through this choice during your consultation so you can make the best decision for your hair’s health, your goals, and your budget.

Protecting the Health of Your Hair

Our number one priority at Avalon Salon & Spa Aveda in Bend is maintaining the integrity and health of your hair throughout the entire corrective color process.

Lightening hair—especially in a corrective scenario—will always cause some level of damage. That’s why we use professional-only treatments like Aveda’s Botanical Repair™ Professional Treatment, which helps build bonds and protect your hair from breakage during the process.

Our stylists, whether new talent or senior professionals, are all highly trained and work collaboratively to ensure every guest receives expert care. It’s common for newer team members to consult with their more experienced peers when developing a plan for a complex correction.

Why Home-care Matters After Corrective Color

One of the most important steps you can take after a corrective color service is committing to the right home-care.

Using a professional-quality shampoo and conditioner—especially those recommended by your stylist—is essential to keeping your hair healthy and your new color vibrant. Drugstore or non-professional products often contain sulfates, fillers, or harsh detergents that strip color quickly and dry out hair that’s already been through a lightening process.

In addition to a good shampoo and conditioner, your stylist may recommend deep conditioning masques or leave-in treatments to maintain moisture, reduce breakage, and preserve the tone of your color. This is particularly important if toners were used during the service to neutralize brassiness or achieve a specific shade.

At Avalon, our team is happy to walk you through the best home-care regimen for your specific hair type and color goal. It’s an investment in your results—and in the long-term health of your hair.

A Word of Caution: Going Dark is Easy, Undoing It is Not

It’s important to understand what you’re committing to when you choose a dark or vivid hair color. Going dark is easy—but lightening it later takes much more time and investment. So if you’re someone who likes to switch things up, keep this in mind when considering a dark transformation. You might absolutely love the rich brunette or black tone now, but if you ever want to go lighter, be prepared for a corrective process.

What Questions Should You Ask Before Booking Corrective Color?

Even if you're not visiting Avalon, here are some important questions to ask any salon before booking a corrective color service:

1. How do you charge for corrective color?Is it priced by the hour? Do they provide estimates for the full process?

2. How many sessions will I need?Stylists can’t always give a precise answer, but they should be able to give you a ballpark idea so you can plan accordingly.

3. Are you experienced with corrective color?Not all colorists specialize in this service, so it’s okay to ask about their comfort level and past experience with similar transformations.

4. Is my hair healthy enough for this service?A good stylist will assess your hair’s strength before beginning. If your hair is overly fragile, they may recommend a treatment plan first to build it back up before proceeding.

5. What steps will you take to protect my hair?Ask about bond-building treatments, deep conditioning, and aftercare recommendations. At Avalon, we often use Botanical Repair™ to help protect and strengthen the hair during and after lightening.

6. What home-care products do you recommend?Don’t leave the salon without a clear plan for maintaining your color at home. What you use matters, especially after a corrective service.

   
   

Final Thoughts

Corrective hair color is a powerful service that can help you reclaim your look—or completely reinvent it. But it’s not a quick fix. It requires experience, strategy, patience, and products that prioritize the long-term health of your hair.

Whether you’re correcting a past color job or making a big change to something new, we’re here to guide you every step of the way. At Avalon Salon & Spa Aveda, we’re proud to be a trusted salon in Bend offering thoughtful, personalized color correction services backed by expert technique and a commitment to beautiful, healthy hair.