Hair Toner: Toning Hair Tips and Techniques

Advice on using hair toner effectively to rid the hair of unwanted hues.

Surely you've heard the expression 'bleach and tone'? Toning hair is done to neutralize brassy (yellow or yellow/orange) pigments.

After bleaching hair is the most common time for using hair toner.

Because bleach leaves the hair in a raw-pigment state which is less-than-attractive, you need to add back pigments to create a 'natural' look. So... whip up a toner!

Neutralizing brassy tones
Toning to achieve platinum blonde
Deepening dull or washed out hair color

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Not just for blondes!

Not all hair toner processes are reserved for going blonde. Anytime you pre-lighten the hair and add another color to tone out the underlying pigments, the process can be considered "toning". It's essentially just a way to say you're using hair color to change an unwanted tone.

What To Use

The most effective product to use for toning hair is a semi-permanent hair color.

They contain a nearly non-existent volume of peroxide (between 5 and 8 percent), so they're considered deposit only hair color products.

Look for a product that contains no ammonia as well.

On this page, you'll find recommendations for which products to use for different toning purposes (neutralizing, brightening, and deepening).

NEUTRALIZING BRASSY TONES

PREPARE THE HAIR

Ion Color Brilliance Pre-Color Treatment

A porosity equalizer that helps ensure even color results. Prevents over-porous areas from grabbing too much ash or other pigments and taking on an unwanted tone.

If you've been lightening your hair with permanent hair color, you've probably noticed that it's become more difficult with time to get the brassy-yellow tones out.

That's because as we mature, our hair naturally darkens and the underlying pigment deepens to a point where the neutralizing pigments in hair color can't combat the yellow/orange tones as effectively.

You may need to kick it up a notch and pre-lighten by bleaching your hair.

If you're mixing hair toner for most blonding processes, look for a light or lightest ash blonde tone. However, because overly porous hair tends to absorb mostly the ash tones from hair color, if you're coloring this type of hair, add in some neutral... even a bit of light golden blonde. If you still get a muddy looking color, forgo the ash entirely.

LIGHT BLONDE

Color Charm Demi Permanent Haircolor 10NA

MEDIUM BLONDE

Color Charm Demi Permanent 8A

DARK BLONDE

Color Charm Demi Permanent Haircolor 7A

PLATINUM BLONDE

Manic Panic Virgin Snow

A true platinum blonde is off the charts light, as far as the international coloring level system is concerned. It's white. Completely lacking in pigment. And devoid of any telltale signs of yellow!

The Manic Panic Virgin Snow temporary hair color is a perfect toner for achieving a beautiful translucent platinum blonde.

NOTE: Hair must be lightened with bleach to the pale yellow stage before toning to get platinum. If there is too much pigment left in the hair, the toner will not have enough deposit to neutralize it. Learn more about bleaching hair.

TONING TO BRIGHTEN/DEEPEN COLOR

A color gloss can liven up a dull blonde or brunette shade or deposit a more favorable hue if your shade is dull or slightly off-tone.

And it'll amp up the shine, making your hair look healthier!

Sometimes highlights are just too light, especially in contrast to a very dark natural color. In that case, using a hair color to deepen the tone works nicely to restore some balance between the hues.

Here are some products that work well for brightening or deepening blonde tones...

LIGHT BLONDE

Color Charm Demi Permanent Haircolor 10NG

MEDIUM BLONDE

Color Charm Demi Permanent Haircolor 9NG

DARK BLONDE

Color Charm Demi Permanent Haircolor 8N

Application

Start applying the toner in the area that needs it the most. Avoid getting any of the formula on pieces that don't need toning (coating those sections with a bit of conditioner will help keep them from getting processed if you accidentally get color on them).

Let the toner process for the full time recommended by the manufacturer (usually 30-45 minutes). However, in cases where only slight toning is required, you can rinse it sooner.

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