Your Ultimate Guide to Blue Hair Dye

Icy-toned pastel and baby blues. Deep, intense cobalt, navy and royal blues. Jewel-toned teals and turquoises. There’s a practically limitless range of distinctive, expressive shades of blue – and choosing the one that’s perfect for you depends on your unique style and how it matches with your natural features.

What blue hair dye is best for my skin tone?

Not every blue will sit nicely with your complexion, so it’s always worth considering your skin tone before committing to a colour. The right hue can brighten your features and create a balanced look – the wrong one may feel overpowering or leave your skin looking dull.

Here’s our quick guide to which shades of blue complement different skin tones and undertones:

• Pale skin: Soft, light and icy blues work beautifully without overwhelming paler skin tones. Our Pastel Blue hair dye is a great fit here, as are baby blue, periwinkle and silver-blue. Alternatively, dark navy can deliver a gorgeous gothic effect if that’s your aesthetic.
• Medium skin: Almost any blue can suit medium skin tones, but vibrant mid-tones such as our Lagoon Blue and Atlantic Blue shades really pop against more neutral skin colours.
• Olive skin: This pairs especially well with rich, slightly green-leaning blues, including our distinctive Turquoise shade. Teals and peacock blues also complement the natural warmth of olive complexions, but avoid pale pastels as these can appear washed out.
• Dark skin: Deep, saturated and jewel-toned blues create rich contrast against darker skin tones. Think royal blues, sapphires and cobalts, as well as our Midnight Blue and Neon Blue tones for a bold yet sophisticated finish.
• Warm undertones: Lean toward blues with a touch of green or warmer undertones that harmonise with your skin rather than fight it – teal, turquoise, aquamarine and similar shades are your best bet.
• Cool undertones: Pure, cool-toned blues are the sweet spot here, including sapphire, cobalt, periwinkle and indigo. Another option is a blue with a silvery-grey undertone, including our Denim Blue hair colour.

Remember: These are only recommendations. Numerous shades of blue pair nicely with different skin tones, so it’s always good to experiment and find the blue that enhances your features and suits your distinctive style.

What blue hair dye works with my natural colour?

Another deciding factor when choosing a shade of blue is your natural hair colour. How light or dark your base colour is will determine how true-to-tone your blue will appear without any pre-lightening.

For the best results, we always recommend using a hair lightening kit before dyeing your hair blue, especially if you are interested in a pastel or fluorescent hue.

However, our darker shades of blue hair colour can still deliver strong, vibrant results on brown hair, or leave a subtle, sophisticated tint on darker hair.

Dyeing blonde hair blue

If you have a pale blonde base (Level 9-10), your hair is likely light enough to absorb practically any shade of blue hair colour with little or no lightening. This means you can apply the trickier, more delicate blue tones, such as:

• Pastel blue hair
• Sky blue hair
• Powder blue hair
• Periwinkle hair
• Silver-blue hair
• Denim blue hair

However, keep in mind that yellow or brassy tones can make certain shades of blue turn green when applied. If you’re worried about this, use one of our dedicated hair toners to neutralise these yellow hues before applying your chosen colour.

Dyeing brown hair blue

Because brown hair naturally carries warm pigments, such as red and orange tones, applying blue shades directly can risk making it appear more green or grey than intended.

For this reason, we recommend pre-lightening brown hair to achieve a true-to-tone blue colour, even for lighter or medium-brown bases. 

However, if you choose not to go this route, more saturated blues can work better with the natural warmth of your brown hair:

• Cobalt hair
• Sapphire hair
• Electric blue hair
• Royal blue hair
• Turquoise hair
• Teal hair

Deeper shades like midnight blue, indigo and navy blue are also reliable as they are often dark enough to overpower the warmth of light and medium-brown bases.

Dyeing black hair blue

Black hair holds the most pigment of any shade, so attempting to dye this blue without any pre-lightening is unlikely to achieve anything more than a hint or shimmer of blue, rather than a complete colour transformation.

However, deep midnight blues, navy blues, indigos and inky “blue-black” shades can look incredibly sleek when applied directly – a subtle blue sheen that catches the light against an almost-black base.

Have you found your best blue? Then it’s time to bring it to life. Here’s our short step-by-step guide to dyeing hair blue at home, from the all-important preparations to the final rinse…

1. Before you dive into your chosen blue, make sure you perform a strand test and skin patch test. It gives you a preview of how your shade will show up and checks for any allergic reactions.
2. Have a darker base? Use a hair lightening kit to give yourself a paler canvas to work with, ensuring your shade of blue comes through truer and bolder.
3. Wash your hair with our Pre-Colour Shampoo to remove any residue or buildup, and give your hair the perfect pH balance to absorb every drop of blue.
4. Spread a little Vaseline, baby oil or petroleum jelly around your hairline and ears, wear protective gloves and drape yourself in dark towels or a salon cape to protect against stains.
5. Transfer your chosen blue from its pot into a mixing bowl – this gives you far more control and a much tidier finish.
6. Clip your hair into sections, then sweep the colour from the roots outwards with a tint brush, making sure to cover every strand evenly.
7. When you’re all covered, give your colour 15-30 minutes to develop, or follow the timings suggested by your strand test.
8. Rinse with cool or lukewarm water, keeping things well away from your eyes, and carry on until the water runs clear.
9. Towel-dry, style it up however you choose, and step out in your brilliant new blue!

How do I lighten blue hair dye?

Want something even paler than our Pastel Blue? Then mix your chosen shade of blue with one of our hair toners or conditioners.

All Directions semi-permanent hair colours are fully mixable, giving you the freedom to lighten our range of blues to create completely custom shades.

How do I get blue hair dye off skin?

You want blue in your hair, not on your skin. If the dye does end up on your skin while colouring, wipe it away as soon as possible with a damp cloth or cotton pad. The sooner you act, the less time the pigment has to settle.

For more stubborn stains, we suggest using micellar water, a gentle facial cleanser or a cleansing oil. Gently massage this into the affected area in small circular movements, then rinse it away with warm water.

How do I get blue hair dye out of clothes or carpet?

If blue dye gets onto your clothes, first rinse the area with cold running water – work from the back to lift it from the fabric. After this, use a liquid detergent or stain remover on the stain, allow it to settle for a few minutes, then put it in the wash.

What about stains on your carpet, upholstery or furniture? Gently blot stains with a clean cloth, then dab them with a mixture of warm water and a small amount of washing-up liquid or white vinegar. Avoid rubbing too hard, as this can make the stain even worse.

Want to ensure your blue stays brilliant for as long as possible? Blue hair colour will naturally fade over time, although the rate of fading varies depending on your hair type, condition, porosity and aftercare.

• Wash your hair with Pre Colour Shampoo before you begin – it sets your hair's pH just right, so it's primed to soak up every bit of blue.
• Limit your weekly hair washes to 2-3 times a week – the less often you lather up, the longer your blue stays bold and beautiful.
• Stick to cool or lukewarm water when you wash – it keeps your hair cuticles sealed tight and your colour locked in.
• Switch to a Colour Protecting Shampoo and Conditioner – these are specially formulated to keep your blue vivid while leaving hair soft, shiny and full of life.
• Slow down with the heat styling – regularly exposing your hair to high temperatures is a fast way to fade out your blue.
• Shield your hair from the elements – long stints in strong sunshine, chlorinated pools, and salty seawater can all take the shine off your shade.

How long does blue hair dye last?

Because Directions is a semi-permanent direct dye, it does not have a specific longevity. Results vary from person to person depending on hair type, porosity, previous chemical treatments, chosen shade and aftercare. Some shades, particularly deeper blues, may remain visible for considerably longer than others.

Using our earlier tips, you can maximise the longevity and vibrancy of your blue hair colour, regardless of how soft or delicate it is. Also, regular top-ups of your chosen colour keep it looking fresh and fierce.

Does blue hair dye damage hair?

At Directions, we take great care to ensure our semi-permanent blue hair colours are kind to our customers’ hair. Each shade contains nourishing, deep-conditioning ingredients that moisturise as they colour, protecting your hair's health and delivering sleek, shiny results.

Stay away from permanent blue hair dyes if you value the long-term health of your hair. Although these last longer than semi-permanent dyes, this is often achieved by using harsh chemicals such as ammonia, peroxide and PPDs. These make hair more fragile and susceptible to damage.

Because all Directions hair colours are fully mixable, we give you the freedom to blend our blue shades – or with other colours in our collection – to produce unique custom colours.

While we absolutely encourage you to experiment with our shades, we do have a few suggestions for colours that mix well with our range of blues:

• Blue & green hair dye: Arguably the most popular shade to mix blue with, adding green allows you to create anything from jewel-like turquoise and aquamarine, to deep oceanic teals.
• Blue & purple hair dye: Blending a touch of purple into your blue deepens and cools it into an evocative indigo or moody blue-violet colour.
• Blue & pink hair dye: Because pinks and magentas have warm red undertones, adding them to blue allows you to create a diverse range of purple mixes, from orchids to lilacs.
• Blue & black hair dye: A small amount of black can add significant depth to blue shades, creating navy blues, midnight blues and inky blue-blacks.
• Blue & silver/grey hair dye: Mixing in a silver or grey leads to muted, desaturated finishes – such as dusty denims and steel blues.
• Blue & white hair toner: Cutting blue with a white hair toner or conditioner lightens it into baby blue, powder blue, and icy tones.

On the other hand, we suggest avoiding blending blue with red, orange or yellow shades. Because they sit on the other side of the colour wheel, mixing them neutralises the result into muddy brown, grey or murky green.

When mixing colours at home, remember:

• Use a mixing bowl and tint brushes to combine colours
• Measure your ratios carefully to get the best outcome
• Perform a strand test to try out your custom shade
• Mix a maximum of 2-3 colours at once

What hair colours go well with blue hair dye?

Blue is very versatile for split-dyes, balayage, ombre and other multicolour patterns. While there are no definitive dos or don’ts here, some of our favourite colours to pair blue with include:

• Blue & purple hair dye: As neighbours on the colour wheel, a blue-purple split looks cohesive and almost gradient-like where they meet.
• Blue & green hair dye: Like a proud peacock, blue and green play off each other vividly without clashing, since both are cool tones.
• Blue & orange hair dye: Blue and orange are direct complements, so this is the most visually punchy option – maximum contrast, high impact.
• Blue & copper hair dye: Follows the same dynamic as the blue and orange pairing, only for darker or more metallic shades of blue.
• Blue & red hair dye: Blue and red have always been an iconic duo, leading to hair with a Spiderman or Superman aesthetic.
• Blue & pink hair dye: The warm pink against cool blue creates a strong contrast that still feels playful rather than jarring.
• Blue & yellow hair dye: Bright yellow against blue is bold and graphic, and works best when both are vivid and saturated.
• Blue & black hair dye: A black-and-blue split is bold and graphic, and the black makes a vivid blue look even more saturated by comparison

What happens if you put blue hair dye over red?

Put simply, you rarely get a clean blue, and you rarely get the nice purple people are hoping for. You usually get something muddy and unflattering.

Blue dye doesn't replace the red underneath – the new colour layers over the existing pigment and the two combine. Because many red hair dyes have orange undertones – the opposite of blue on the colour wheel – it neutralises these areas into brown, grey, or a flat, murky tone.

Ready to say goodbye to your blue hair? If you want to switch to a new colour, here are a few ways to remove blue hair dye faster:

• More frequent washing with warm water – this may help encourage fading, although results vary depending on the condition and porosity of the hair.
• Use a deep conditioner when washing – leave this on for 10-20 minutes before rinsing, and this will help lift the blue. Using a nourishing conditioner will help keep the hair healthy throughout the fading process.
• Talk to a professional colourist – they'll be able to offer tailored advice on shifting that blue safely.

Please avoid using bleach or colour strippers at home unless advised by a professional – these can dry out your hair and lead to uneven results when the blue lifts.

What colour does blue hair dye fade into?

While this depends on the specific shade of blue hair colour you use, the general rule is that blue almost always fades cooler and greener, then lighter, eventually fading to a softer blue-grey tone. Depending on your hair, a subtle stain may remain for longer before fading further.