Do you ever get that client in your chair that just starts off their color service with “Please, NO toner?” Well.. I DO! All the time. It can be a tad annoying. So, I want to take a moment, and share to my beautiful clients reading this to explain why toners are the best thing!
Toners are not just there to cancel out unwanted tones but in fact, they are there to add nutrients to the hair. I mean who doesn’t like a beautiful, and shiny head of locks? Before moving on, let me give you a little color theory lesson. When your stylist is doing a lightening service on you, the lightener is going to pull three underlining pigments from the hair shaft. Red, orange, or yellow. These underlining tones, can only be cancelled out by using on thing.. TONER!
Now, let’s talk about the different tones in hair. We have our blondes, brunettes, and red heads. Each one having their own little spice. Toners, can get a misunderstanding of only being used on blonde hair clients. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all. Did you just learn something new? I hope, you’re yelling YES, because yup, that’s right. Toners are used on every tone of hair. Not only are they used to cancel out unwanted warmth tones in the hair, but they are there to add shine and life back into those tones, as they start looking lifeless.
As much as I love my other tones in the family, I want to focus on my blondies for a second. As, a blonde stylist, I see a lot of blonde hair clients in my chair. The first most important factor to consider when coloring your hair, is finding that perfect tone that fits you. And when I mean fits you, I mean fits your skin complexion, and eye color. These are so important to find before starting a color service. So, with any blonde that wants to have a natural sun kissed look, allowing some natural warmth to pop through, most the time a toner won’t be used. We will allow the hair to give us that beautiful tone through the lightening process. Now, if you are a client, who absolutely does not want to see any warmth in your hair color, toner is the ONLY thing that will cancel that warmth out. Yes, I am going to touch base on the known little helper you keep in your shower.. Purple shampoo! Purple shampoo is a great addition to have to your product regimen. But do not replace it for your toner service at the salon. Purple shampoos, if overused can make the hair dry and brittle causing minimal breakage to the hair. And we DO NOT want that, do we?! Again, they are not bad to have in your hair care regimen. A little fun fact, purple shampoo is considered a TONER. The difference between the two, is a color service toner is hydrating to the hair strand and leaving a longer lasting effect in the desired tone. Almost like a lip stain. Compared to a purple shampoo, which lays on the hair more as a lip gloss, allowing minimal lasting effect in the desired tone.
Ladies, the moral of this blog post. Do not be afraid of toner. It is, and will be, your hairs best friend!
xoxo, Noel