Anyone who's ever been on a colour run, to Holi festival or experimented with hair chalk will know what a pain it can sometimes be to get rid of - especially if you've got highlights or fair tresses.
While the technicolour trend is all the rage right now, when you don't want pink/green/blue/orange hair and it just won't budge, all hell can break loose in the bathroom. Perhaps you shouldn't have tried out rainbow colours two days before that all important job interview.
However, before you reach for the dye bottle to mask those unwelcome hues try these tricks I tested out for myself on my very own head.
1. Soap/washing up liquid. Shampoo's great and all but in my experience I've found it can lock in unwanted shades of pink and green.
I'd suggest passing on the Pantene and hitting the hard stuff. Well, washing up liquids and a plain old bar of soap anyway.
I lathered up my hair with Fairy Liquid (but any brand will do) as if it were shampoo and three rinse and repeats saw most of the colour down the drain. However, this stuff really dries out your ends and I was in desperate need of a deep conditioner afterwards.
2. Vitamin C tablets. Yes, really. And before you ask, no crushed up paracetamol will not offer the same results. Trust me, I tried. This method is a great excuse to use the ol' pestle and mortar your mum bought you for Christmas to grind together a couple of tablets and a tablespoon of water.
I mixed together until the ingredients formed a thick paste and applied to my damp unwashed hair as if it were leave-in conditioner. 30 minutes to an hour did the trick before I thoroughly washed it out with warm water. This was a good method for getting darker shades loose, but didn't work as well on pastels.
3. Ketchup. It sounds gross. It is gross. And it only really gets green out. If you've struggling to get rid of pinks, reds or oranges I would not recommend this method.
It's just not worth the gagging. However, if you decide to brave it just plonk a load on the top of your head and work through the length of your damp hair. Leave in for about 20 minutes (read: as long as you can bear) and then wash out with cold water.
4. Bleach. This is your last resort. I repeat this is your last resort. I only reached for the bleach when the last remnants of colour would not budge from my dry ends which had caught the most colour.
I mixed one part regular bleach (yes, the stuff you find under the sink) with four parts warm water, put on some medical gloves (you can buy them at Boots) and scrubbed the formula into my dry unwashed ends, left for about ten minutes before rinsing out thoroughly.
This did the trick, but left me fearing my hair would fall out in my sleep so I would only ever recommend this method if all other hope is lost.
For more hair dye tips check out the video below...