Toners are used frequently in salons for clients who lighten their hair. I personally use toners on 90% of my highlights and balayage clients. While it is so frequently used, it is also fairly misunderstood. For this reason, I am asked time and time again, what is a toner and why do I need it? Read on to learn everything you need to know about hair toner so you can make more informed hair choices!
A toner is a process, not a product. The process is done on pre-lightened hair in order to add the desired tone, or undertone to the hair. When we lighten our hair using bleach, pigment is removed from our hair. This lifts the shade (lightness or darkness) of our hair, but doesn’t add tone ( warmth or coolness). Usually lightened hair will be warm, it could even be bright yellow or orange depending on how light or dark it is. A toner is used to either neutralize warmth or to add a secondary tone to the hair such as ‘beige’ or ‘champagne’.
To understand toners, one must first understand the two elements of hair color: shade and tone. What is the difference between shade and tone? And how does this effect our hair? I will answer these questions in detail in this post.
Shades
Hair shades are the lightness and darkness of the hair. This is measured in numbers with 10 being the lightest and 1 being the darkest.
It is important to remember that the darker your natural color is, the more warmth undertones it has. In other words, if you have very dark hair and you wanted it to be very light, the process of lifting could make your hair very warm and brassy. This would potentially be very damaging to your hair, if possible at all. Toners are ideally designed for hair that has been lifted to a level 8 or above. Anything darker than a level 8 would usually require a second bleach process before toning is a viable option.
For this reason consultations are so important. Most salons welcome clients for a free consultation and this is the opportunity to discuss your wants and needs to formulate a plan and establish if your hair goals are compatible with your hair. For instance, someone who has been coloring their hair dark for years will have a color build up on their hair. If they decided they wanted to lift with bleach to a level 8, this might not be possible without compromising the hair health, and would need multiple processes.
Tone
Tone is the warmth or coolness of the hair. In other words, the undertone. This has a huge impact on the overall color of our hair. We could get the hair to the desired shade, but if the tone isn’t right, the color will not look good. Hair tone can clash with our skin tone and make us look pale and washed out. It can be yellow or orange and make our hair color look unnatural and unhealthy. This is why toning is so important.
To illustrate the subtle yet important role of a toner I will show you two pictures of Jenifer Aniston. One with her hair properly toned and one with her hair brassy.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty ImagesCan you spot which is which?
How about Hailey Bieber:
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty ImagesOne final example, Beyoncé:
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty ImagesOnce you know what to look for it becomes quite obvious. Properly toned hair should have a more neutral, soft undertone. For example cream, beige or champagne tones for more of a natural look, or platinum (cool) tones for a bolder look.
Now that you have a better understanding of what we are trying to achieve with a toner I will discuss in more detail how we achieve our hair color goals.
The Color Wheel
In order to understand how a toner works, we start by examining the color wheel.
An example I often use is something we might all be familiar with. Did you ever have your hair turn green from chlorine as a child and was told to put ketchup in it to remove the green?
This is a great example of the color wheel and tone. If you notice the opposite of green on the wheel is red, this is the reason why ketchup would remove the green. In the same way, if your hair is any combination of orange / yellow we would use a combination of blue / violet to tone.
This is a very subtle art, and arguably the most important step of the color process. Toner formulation is something that takes many years to understand and I speak for myself when I say I am always learning and asking questions about toning. For this reason it is not something I would ever recommend doing yourself at home.
How to maintain toner between appointments
You might be familiar with purple shampoo, and now it is clear why this is often used for very light blondes. Purple shampoo can maintain a toner between appointments by adding pigments which neutralize yellow. Be aware that purple shampoo will only help very light blonde, as you can see the darker shades like orange and red will need blue / green tones to neutralize. Aveda have a lovely purple conditioner which can be used between appointments but I generally advise only using it once a week, twice at most. It can cause a build up in your hair and ultimately your hair could be more dull or dry from overuse.
I often recommend to my clients who come less frequently for their root touch ups to do a toner between appointments. If you do your roots every 3+ months you might want to schedule in a toner (and perhaps a nice treatment) in the middle of those two appointments.
Related questions
Is a toner the same as hair color?
Toner is usually a semi-permanent color which is more gentle on the hair and will usually stay on the hair to process for around 10-15 minutes. As stated previously though, toner is a process – not a product, so stylists may use other types of color to tone such as concentrated color drops, shampoos or conditioners.
Is toner bad for your hair?
Strictly speaking toner is usually a gentle application that will not harm your hair. As with any other chemical process, this greatly depends on the exact products being used and the technique used when applying. You can ask your stylist what specific toner they use and the extent of any damage, if any. Personally I use organic color and the toners I use are extremely gentle on the hair.
Is toner the same as a gloss?
Toner and gloss aim to achieve different things. While toner is about the color tone, gloss is to add shine and refresh the color. A toner can also be a gloss, depending on the formulation but a gloss is not necessarily a toner. Gloss alone is simple a semi permanent color which is aimed to achieve extra shine and quite literally, gloss the hair.
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