The Great Ombre Cover Up

The Ombre hair trend has been going strong for years now, but in case your enthusiasm for the dip-dyed look has started to fade, we're here to help you go back to single-hued hair. Although it does require a little prep and planning, it's a change you can easily make from home.

First, you'll need two brushes, two bowls, and two Radiant Cream Color Kits—one darker (for the top sections of your hair) and one just a single shade lighter (for your ends). For example, if your natural color is medium brown, you could order Napoli Brown for your roots and Tuscany Brown for your ends.

One caveat: do not go more than two levels darker than your natural color. Your hair will look dull and unhealthy, which is the opposite of what you want. You should also avoid cool tones, particularly if you're a blonde going darker. Neutral or warm tones won't make your hair look bluish-green, but cool tones might.

Need more help in covering your Ombre? Our team of expert colorists absolutely loves to help you find the right color pairing. Once you've found two shades you like, go ahead and get in touch with your dark side.

How to Undo Your Ombre

1. Mix it up: Using the bowl and brush, blend your darker shade with your lighter shade in a 4:1 ratio. Then do the same using four parts light and one part dark. This helps your color look more seamless once applied, and adds a little dimension.
2. Apply darker color: Brush this shade onto your roots to around the mid-length of your hair. Stop and let sit for about ten minutes. Tacking on this additional time for the color to absorb into your roots is important—we'll explain why below.
3. Apply lighter color: Starting at mid-length, coat the remainder of your hair down to your ends with the lighter shade. You want it to overlap just a bit with the darker color. Once you've finished, leave color on for about half an hour. To recap: that's 40 minutes total for the darker shade, 30 minutes for the lighter shade. You don't want over-deposited, inky-looking ends, which is what happens if you leave both shades on for the same amount of time. And you can always leave your color on longer if you think your ends are still too light.
4. Wash and style: Follow the instructions for shampooing and conditioning hair included in your Radiant Cream Color Kits. Then style any way you like.
5. Snap a photo: ‘Cause you look gooood.

Over Ombre and ready to share your color with the world? We'd love to see your new color. Share your photo on social media using the hashtag #MadisonReedColor, so we can see how gorgeous you–and your hair–looks.

More Ombre Posts:
How to Ombre at Home
Before and After Ombre Hair with Nicole Chiu Wang