How Do Hair Toners Work?

Have you ever heard of hair toners for blonde hair? Have your ever wondered how they worked?

When I used to get my hair done in high school, I had no idea how hair color worked. I remember that I really liked when she “toned” my hair after bleaching it. She didn’t do it every time, but I did really like it when she did it. At that time, I thought that hair toners made your hair lighter or more blonde, but that is not quite the truth…

The Basics of Bleach:

When you bleach your hair, the end result is going to be “pale yellow.” However, this is usually not the color that people are going for. If you want to be any other shade of blonde, you will have to tone your hair.

When your hair is freshly bleached, it is very porous and will soak up anything you put on it. Lets say you want to be platinum blonde, or strawberry blonde… you will put platinum blonde or strawberry blonde hair toners on your hair. The key is to follow the instructions. I have seen some toners work in as little as 3 minutes, and some take 20 minutes. It just depends on the specific product.

A Word of Advice:

I will advise that sometimes, when using ash or platinum toners, they can turn your hair grey if you let them sit too long. If it looks like your hair is starting to look silver or grey, I would say to wash it out immediately (unless that’s the look you want).

If you hair is over-processed and damaged, it will be extra porous and will grab the base color of the toner and hold on to it for dear life. This is why you should really consider having a professional do your hair as they know what to look for and/or how to fix the problem.

More Uses for Hair Toners:

The other way you can use toners is to balance out unwanted tones in your hair. For instance, lets say you have black hair but want to go blonde. You bleach your hair, but are left with that god-awful neon orange color. Since blue is the complimentary color of orange, you can use a toner with a blue (ash) base, to balance it out. The ash toner on orange hair will end up with a darker beige-blonde. This may not be the result you want, but the harsh reality is that you may have to accept it if you do a drastic change.

You are better-off lightening your hair a little bit at a time. Highlights are a good way to make sure that the brassiness is not as noticeable. It might just be my opinion, but I would way rather have a darker beige-blonde than neon orange hair. The main thing you need to be careful of in this situation is hot roots. If you put the same toner on your platinum blonde roots, they may turn a different color than the rest. I always advise to leave it to the professionals!

Do you have any advice for people toning their own hair? Have you ever used a hair toner? Please leave stories and feedback in the comments section below!

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