The Truth About Toners!

Anyone who adds bleach to their hair will be familiar with toners, but do you actually know what their purpose is and the impact it can have on your colour?
Toners are used in between the shampoo and conditioning process following a colour, usually left on the hair for anything between 5 and 20 minutes, with the sole purpose of adding a tone (‘colour’) without making your colour lighter or darker and stopping it look dehydrated. 
Mainly used on blonde hair, or those opting for pastels, a toner can make a huge difference to the end look and is something your stylist should always discuss with you during your initial consultation. 
Brunettes can also have toners added to increase the intensity of the colour and get rid of any unwanted orange. We do hear a lot of people talking about toning out dark colours but you have to be careful here because they only change the shade, not the level (light or dark) of your hair so if you are hoping to go from brunette to blonde, a toner isn’t going to do the job. 
They can also be added to your hair in between appointments too. If your colour needs a bit of a lift, it could be that it requires some toner love to bring it back to life. You can buy at-home toners, however we wouldn’t recommend it as the science behind them is quite technical, and we wouldn’t want you to put something on your head that could have a negative reaction. Instead, we offer treatments that you can have at any time in the salon, so rather come to us first. 
Of course, you can buy shampoos specifically designed to improve the tone of your hair, for example silver shampoos for blonde hair and blue shampoos for brunettes, and green shampoos for darker hair but we would rather discuss this with you to make sure we can point you in the right direction based on your hair colour. 
Ultimately, toners have a pivotal role in the hair colour process but are also an essential refreshment between appointments. They should never be underestimated because they can bring something special to your colour and who doesn’t want that!