Natural ingredients and DIY toners can help color-correct unwanted undertones, make your natural hue more vibrant, and deepen or brighten your hair. To start, use a sulfate-free shampoo, baking soda, and lemon juice to create a baking soda hair toner. Lemon juice’s acidity allows it to lift color by changing the hair’s pH. Hair toning helps remove brassy tones, such as yellow tones from blondes and orange tones from brunettes.
There are numerous ways to ton your hair, whether you prefer a salon or at home. A majority of Good Housekeeping readers color their hair themselves, saving money and time. Highlighting your hair at home doesn’t have to be complicated, and a step-by-step guide on how to highlight hair at home safely is provided.
Purple shampoo is a popular choice for blondes, protecting against dullness, brassiness, and dullness. To tone the hair perfectly, mix the toner with a developer in a 1:2 ratio. For brown hair, use a blue shampoo and conditioner to prevent orange tones from seeping through. For red hair, use a green shampoo.
DIY natural toner ingredients to try at home include apple cider vinegar, lemon mask, Hollyhock wash, Betony wash, Green tea wash, and Indigo powder. Mixing food coloring diluted in apple cider vinegar as a rinse is an excellent option.
📹 How to Professionally Tone Hair At Home
In this video I want to show you how to professionally tone your blonde or brunette hair at home using products available at Sallys …
Do you put toner on wet or dry hair?
To tone hair after rinsing bleach, use a small amount of sulfate-free shampoo, but avoid using conditioner as it closes the hair cuticle. Towel-dry hair to 65-75 degrees before starting toning. Color and bleach are typically applied on dry hair, but toners that use developer are recommended for towel-dried hair. Applying toner on wet or dry hair will allow faster absorption of color pigmentation. Toner is best used on damp hair, as it is the best for faster absorption of color pigmentation.
Can I tone my hair without bleaching?
The toner can be used without prior bleaching of the hair, as it contains ingredients that can be used to clean and nourish the hair.
How to tone brassy hair at home naturally?
To forestall the development of yellow and orange hair, a mixture of 2-4 tablespoons of organic coconut oil, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 1 cup of water, and 4-5 drops of liquid purple or blue food coloring should be prepared. The mixture should be applied to the hair overnight, after which the usual shampooing procedure should be followed. Following each application, the vinegar-color mixture should be rinsed from the hair. It is recommended that this process be repeated every two weeks in order to achieve the desired results.
How to make toner at home for hair?
A hair toner is a product used to normalize or personalize a hair color by changing its undertone. It can be made by adding 2-3 drops of green food color to conditioner or 2 drops of green food color and 1 drop of blue food color if the hair has more orange tones. After shampooing, apply the mixture to the hair and leave it on for 10 minutes. Wash it off with cool water.
If you’re dealing with brassy hair color, consider using a DIY hair toner instead of expensive commercial toners. Homemade toners are gentle on the skin and help fade the hair color effectively. Here are some tips on how to make DIY hair toners at home:
Use ingredients from your kitchen: Use ingredients from your kitchen and use food coloring to create a unique toner.
Use hair dye boxes: Use food coloring to create a unique toner for your hair.
Follow the instructions on the infographic: How to prepare homemade hair toner solutions.
Which is the best homemade toner?
DIY toners with ingredients like witch hazel, aloe vera, essential oils, rosewater, apple cider vinegar, green tea, and cucumber witch hazel are available. These toners are astringent, brighten skin, and may help fight acne. Healthline offers products that are useful for readers and may earn a small commission if purchased through links. The team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations on the site to ensure that the product manufacturers meet safety and efficacy standards.
What toner cancels out orange?
Orange hair can be neutralized using blue toning formulas, which are complementary shades that cancel each other out when combined. Purple shampoo is used to neutralize yellow brassy tones on lighter blondes, while hair dye may help mask brassiness, depending on the hair’s brassiness and the color chosen. Hair toners come in various forms, including professional treatments, at-home glosses, tinted shampoos, and masks. The best toner for orange hair depends on the severity of the brassiness and the time, money, and effort invested in upkeep.
In-salon toners, often hair glosses or demi-permanent dyes, deposit sheer pigments onto the hair to enhance its overall color. These formulas help neutralize brass, impart shine, brighten color, and make the hair feel silky-soft. Professional glosses are ideal for stubborn or severely brassy orange hair and can last six to eight weeks, depending on the frequency of washing.
Can I make my own toning shampoo?
The OGX Purple toning drops are a violet liquid that can be added to any shampoo to create purple shampoo, allowing users to tone blonde hair without buying a full bottle or abandoning their favorite shampoo. However, access to the page has been denied due to a potential security issue detected by the system. The issue may be due to technical issues with your internet browser, such as disabled or blocked Javascript or browsers not supporting cookies. To access the site, users should check the box below.
Is toner damaging to hair?
Hair toner is generally not harmful to hair when used properly, as it doesn’t penetrate the hair fiber deep enough to cause harm. Permanent toners may cause dryness or frizziness in tresses due to the ammonia they contain, which can lift hair fiber cuticles. Professional stylists can help avoid this issue. If you notice signs of toning issues like flat, lacklustre tresses, dry, brittle hair, straw-like strands, more hair breakage than usual, or dry, irritated, or itchy scalp, consider cutting back on toning or changing the product brand or formula to one with lower ammonia levels.
Can I tone my hair without damaging it?
Hair toners are essential for maintaining hair color and can be used in two categories: in-salon toners used by hairdressers to finish color treatments, and at-home toners used at home. In-salon toners are used to enhance shades and correct unwanted undertones, while at-home toners help maintain hair color between salon visits. They come in natural and fashion colors, and can be used for post-lightening, highlights, and balayage. Overusing toners can cause pigment staining and dryness. It is important to use toners only once a week, as overuse can cause hair to become dry and brittle.
How can I tone my hair at home?
To tone at home, consider tinted shampoos. For natural blondes and bleach-blondes with bright yellow or golden undertones, a simple purple shampoo can neutralize warm, brassy tones for a cooler, more natural-looking blonde. For brunettes, a blue shampoo can work with darker shades of brassiness, as they naturally have copper, red, and orange tones. These shampoos can help tone out unwanted warm shades and create a more natural-looking blonde.
Is purple shampoo a toner?
Purple shampoo is a toner that employs pigmentation to modify hair tone, effectively neutralizing brass through its pigmentation.
📹 HOW TO TONE YOUR HAIR AT HOME WITHOUT DAMAGE | REMOVE BRASSY TONES & REFRESH YOUR COLOR
Teaching you how to tone your hair at home to refresh your color and add shine. It’s super fast, easy, and won’t cause any …
At one time professional products were available to people without a license until hairdressers started whining about not being able to make as much money because of that. The hairstyling products that you can buy in a salon have usually a 50% mark up but some go even higher than that. What they charge for hair styling products now has reached the pure greed stage. Some are now charging around $31.00 dollars for a hair styling creme plus tax and that is for a tiny jar.
I saw too many articles with other hairdressers, but for me, your`s the best. Light voice, beautiful hair (we always look at the hairdressers’ hair, this is a quality indicator for the client) informativeness, precision for advice, no blah blah, no unexpected screams (sorry B.M)Go ahead, gorgeous, be healthy, be happy.
Whoa! I am the darker-haired example that she used in this article haha – so crazy to see myself on an ellebangs article haha! My result was actually just from using a grey/titanium semi permanent colour on top of my light brown golden hair. It worked really well (although temporary), and was not damaging. Just wanted to put that out there if anyone is looking for a less damaging solution (my article is called How To Tone Dark Brassy Hair). Of course the 7A example that she used would work too! 🙂
It’s so nice to see someone giving out toning advice other than T18&T14… lol 😂 nothing against those, but I myself personally have never had just fabulous results with the Wella Toners.. As a pro myself I do have to agree that shades EQ is definitely where it’s at!!! However, the closest pro store to me is over an hour away 😫 so anytime I’m doing color for someone outside of the salon I usually end up going to Sally’s and trying me best to find products that perform as closely as possible to the ones we use in the salon .. I’ve discovered a toner at Sally’s that is the BOMB 💣 they are so close to shades 10P & 10T !!! It’s the Ion Color brilliance cream Toners the Platinum Lace is similar to 10T and Snow Cap is similar together 10p!!!!! Like I can’t brag on those toners enough!!!! I highly recommend giving them a try!!!
Hi Silvia, I have a question for you which is a bit puzzling to me. Wella Activating Lotion is basically a 20 Vol. Developer. For Demi Permanent Hair Coloring/Toning in general, the recommendation is to mix with 10 vol. Developer. So there must be something in Wella’s Lotion that makes it safe to use with Demi Permanent Hair Color. My question is, what exactly is the difference between Wella’s Activating Lotion and 10 Vol.(which is a no-lift) developer?
I’m so happy to have toning explained now that I’m coloring my hair at home, what with the pandemic going on and all. the only thing I’d like to see more of is an explanation of how to put this on the hair – do you put it all over your head, like all-over hair color, or do you apply it only to the brassy sections individually? And then, how long to let it on? Thank you for the at-home hair help!
What a good idea, using the wella demi as a toner! I work at Sallys Beauty Supply and I am a licensed cosmetologist…Blond Brilliance (found at sallys) Also has a GREAT line for blondes leaning a bit more brassy! I was pleasantly surprised by their brand! Thanks for the article, very helpful as always!
Thank you so much for doing this article! I know a professional will always give me the best color, but I love doing some things at home. I have been using demi permanent color at home for months now, I love how it is no commitment, and if I mess it up I just need to wash it like crazy to get it out. Thank you for the product names and describing them, it great for those of us that primarily color at home.😙
Super informative article, but I have a lot of questions. Looking through all these comments, I see many people with the same questions. I understand you are very busy, but I was hoping you would answer/reply to some of these questions so I can get a better idea of how this would work. Please answer some questions if you get the chance!!! We value your professional advice. <3
Thanks for the article. You’ve taught me all about toners. I couldn’t help but notice that some of the comments below are suggesting that this doesn’t work. Elle has multiple articles on how to tone and where you need to be to get the right color shade for your current hair color to tone properly. Not being rude but if your results are not what you’re seeking, then maybe go back to one of her older articles to learn more about the concept of toning. Btw I’m not a professional but since I’ve been following this website my at home results are spot on. However, I’ve made learning the entire process of lightening my own hair by carefully perusal almost all of her articles that relate to lift, and toning my hair.
I have my hair bleached to level 10 it was dark.brown and done professionally over about a year plus. It was toned to t18. However, I have not have it toned for about 5 months due to neck disk hernia. It was still pretty light with a little orange so I decided to follow your instructions to use Wella demi dye. I felt my hair was way to light and wanted something more darker. I used a combo of 8A light ash and 7A medium ash. My hair came out MUCH darker than I expected. I am not unhappy with the color though – very soft natural looking. My question – since my hair was at a level 10(almost as light as yours) when this Demi Permanent finally fades (I don’t wash my hair frequently and I just installed a new water softener and my hair is soft) will this eventually fade back to my level 10blonde? And if I wanted to could I then use a level 10A to tone back to lighter ash blonde? Or will this not fade back to my very light blonde hair?
I needed to just thank you for your wonderful content!!! Im a military spouse and a SAHM therefore spending a couple hundred dollars at a salon every 6-8 weeks is just not doable. I am very grateful to you for creating this website. You explain everything and give such clear examples/photos. Keep up the amazing work!!!!
Thank u so much for your awesome articles! I have been into doing my own hair since I was 16. Your guidance has been priceless. I follow you and somegirljess for my blonde ambitions. Well, my hubby gave me a gift card for a salon/spa and I decided to use it to get additional highlights. It was a traumatic disaster. I noticed the gal was over lapping my old lights. I asked her what vol she was using since i knew the existing lights couldn’t take much more processing. Her reply “40 vol! You want it light you said.” You can imagine what happened next. We rinse and my hair is falling off and damaged more than it has ever been. I’m on my 2nd olaplex treatment which has helped. But I still can’t even run a comb thru it while wet. Sorry this is so long. The color is super patchy, brassy, and damaged. Can I safely use this demi to color over this mess? I’m mostly wondering if the color activator is as harsh as a 10 vol developer. I cant afford any kind of processing. I’ve considered what jess has shown in her vids on damaged hair. Just use fanciful rinse. However, I’m afraid the rinse will not allow my deep treatments to penetrate the hair while I’m rocking a rinse. If anyone can help me, please…I’d be so thankful.
Just finished doing this, and I have to say – it does NOT make your hair ashy AT ALL. It also doesn’t touch orangey tones, AT ALL. That said, it DOES make your bright yellow hair a more ruddy beige color, but it’s a WARM beige, not cool at all. It made my too-light-at-the-ends and too-orange-at-the-roots hair more of a monochromatic color, which I LIKE, actually, but it still needs a blue violet toner without a doubt, because this is a very warm tone, not cool AT ALL. While I had very high hopes for this, I’m disappointed that I didn’t get the outcome I expected based on the info in the article, HOWEVER, it did even out my color and now when I tone it, it’ll tone much more evenly. So this was good, but don’t expect it to cool down your brassiness, unless beige is what you want.
I just came across your website and love it so much. Do you have any articles regarding having a Keratin Express on hair and then having to do a single process color on roots only?Specifically I mean, touching up roots on hair that has already been treated with a keratin treatment.. Throughout the life cycle of the treatment, roots will have to be touched up. Would applying a deep conditioner on rest of hair be an extra layer of protection to protect that keratin treatment? Or what would you recommend to be used? Thanks.
THIS DID NOT WORK. I have blonde balayage some pieces even white. My hair was turning brassy so I did lots of research and ended up here. I was so excited to try this out I went to Sally’s and bought the 10NA. This turned my hair dark like dish water colored. I’m not happy about it all. I would’ve preferred to stay brassy. Waste of money and time using that product.
T11 and t18 wella toner combo cannot be compared to this demi permanent ash 10 color. They’e totally different. The toner makes your hair more white/grayish and this demi permanent made my hair a way darker ash and it looked just like Silvias did in this article before I tried the demi. Only reason I tried this was because the toner made my roots so warm looking and so I tried this which didn’t affect the roots but I’m not a fan of the color. I much prefer the toner.
I am interested in trying a demi color as a toner. I am opposite of most of you advising to add Ash. I have a beautiful copper with honey colored highlights going on. My ends have left over Ash tint. What do you think about using the color I used before highlighting with a conditioner on the Ash ends only. I really hate to lose the highlights I did. since I had copper hair naturally about a 6-7 level I’m comfortable with this color and actually think it suits me better. Or, I do have long hair should I just cut it out? I have had so much fun doing my hair maybe I have found my calling but, I prefer super low maintenance and have a few random grays so my stylists want to bleach me to blend and I’m just in love with the honey highlight and ginger/coppery color. I would prefer brown but, I was blessed with the red hair. So, removing Ash on the top layer ends about 4-5 inches worth. Tone or cut? Help…Thanks.
My only concern about this is that you’re recommending applying an ash color (blue base) over top of yellow hair ( blue + yellow = green). For orange tones, this makes complete sense, but for yellow, not so much. Because i work with this line, i know that most of the demi ash colors run more on the violet side than the blue. So in this case, you’re usually okay. But someone who is not a professional may misunderstand when you recommend ash to tone out yellow tones. Also, you can mix any of the Wella T series toners with a 10 or even 6 vol developer (which is what the demi activating lotion is) for application on hair with lowlights or roots, and it will not lift the darker hair. I personally still find this works better to tone the hair then the demi colors.
Thank you so much for your articles!!! Your level of professionalism and easy to understand explanations are fantastic 💜 currently I wear bellami dark brown extentions as I have Lupus and experience hair loss. I would like to add a few highlights similar to a very, very light balayage. What color of toner would you recommend for a light to medium ash blonde? Thank you
I’m scared after reading all the comments. I’m brunette with a super ashy balayage, probably a 6/7, and near my hairline I’d say I’m a 10….when I wait a month to see the stylist for a “tone update” it’s too long, I’m brassy in 3 weeks I’d say. Once I lightened my roots with a 10 developer & now I have many lowlights & varying degrees of highlights I don’t think I can just throw on to the lightest lift & go….it just feels far more complex. As we get older, and gray is an issue – we can just throw on our natural color anymore, it’s a science I don’t understand.
Thank you so much for making this article! I am a recent cosmo graduate who just got her license. Unfortunately I wasn’t trained very well in my school. So articles like this are a god sent! I love how well you explained how the wella line worked and what to look for when picking out a product. Thank again. If you could do a similar article on the redken shades eq that would be amazing! I hear such great things about that line but I’m intimidate to use it. Love your content!
Hi Silvia could you make a article with ideas to cover greys! So for example I am brunette and I have lots of greys but I would like to go lighter but I still need to cover my greys. But I would also would like to embrace my greys but don’t know how! And if you can give ideas for salon and home DIY ideas. Beijos
I am wondering how do you do for your eyebrows, I am a brunette but had my hair bleached at the salon at a level 10, it’s very pretty but I’m concerned about my eyebrows looking really dark compared to my blond hair. Yours look really good and harmonized with the rest of your hair, do you do anything to change their color ? Thanks 🙂
Thank YOU SO MUCH for doing this article and finding a product like This! I have had SO much trouble keeping my ends toned, but my roots virgin! The regular Wella toners would turn my roots brassy and defeat the whole purpose! I was ready to throw in the towel…until I saw this article! My ends are a level 7A, but my roots are a level 2, black. So as you can imagine, there is a lot of brassy pigments between the two levels! Thankfully this toner did everything you claimed it would and my hair is nice and Ashy, just how I like It! 🖒😉
Thanks Elle, your articles on wells T18 white lady works really well. On my hair and 14 lightest ash blonde. Looks really pretty. So I am going too try this, because it sounds like it’s more gentle. Thanks your a god send. I appreciate all your tips on how to get amazing looking blonde hair.. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧♥️from UK..
The color product is just color — it’s the developer (or activating lotion) that dictates results. This activating lotion still has hydrogen peroxide in it like what’s used for color charm toners — just less of it. My guess (I searched and haven’t located percentage yet) is the activating lotion is equivalent to a 10 volume developer (3% H2O2) which deposits only and doesn’t lift — which is why it won’t do anything to someone with dark roots like Sylvia. But it seems Sylvia doesn’t understand this concept that you can swap developers and color with some caution. I always disliked color charm toner recommendation of a 20 volume developer — that’s insane. You just bleached the heck out of your hair and doing another process with 20 volume is horrible for your hair and unnecessary for what is required. When you’re at a 8 or 9 level, you ARE only depositing color so a developer meant for deposit only is all you need – 10. I’m dismayed Sylvia hasn’t clarified this and advocated it to help save the health of hair. But then peddling Monat might be moot… 😉
hi elle, i’ve been perusal your articles about toning hair and find them useful. if you’ve already bleached your hair with permanent dye on, how often should you be toning your hair with demi-permanent dye? love your articles, i find them rly educational and love that you’re a professional who advocates educating yourself to make your own decisions. could you go into toning for asian hair that’s been bleached and dyed to ash?
I did this and it semi worked! I had pretty brassy brunette on the body blending into a pretty light blonde on the ends. What I ended up doing was using a level 8A on the darker part of my hair which was about a level 7-8 and blended into 10A for the lighter part of my hair at the bottom. It worked pretty well( way better than T18 or 14) on the lighter strands that were more blonde than brunette and muted the brassiness a bit on the reddish orange parts. Its not a cure all for sure and I will def need to go to the salon, but it will work for the time being. IT WILL MAKE YOUR HAIR DARKER, but usually so does toner so im not complaining. Its Demi- permanent so it will fade. Thanks Elle!
I just did this tonight and the results were NOT what I was expecting at all. It still looks nice and toned down my brassiness, but also deposited a lot more color back to my hair. I had a level 7/8 baylayage on my level 4/5 natural hair, and the ends were getting so brassy. I used the 7a wella demi with the activating lotion, left on for 20 min, and washed out with a deep conditioner. While I don’t dislike the final color, which is basically an allover ashy medium to light brown baylayage, some of my golden tones still show and it’s very hard to even tell the difference in level between my roots and ends without curling it and being in natural sunlight. I was hoping to be able to do this long term and save some money from going to the salon just for toning, but now I’ll have to have my next appointment lift my color again and tone/color correct. Maybe if I only left this on for 5-10 min it would have deposited just enough to get my desired effect? Too late to know now :/ Also if you have baylayge I recommend applying from ends to roots.
I posted this in another article, but thought you might more likely see it in a newer one: I started going grey/white pretty young (maybe 32?) do to health issues. I just started coloring in my early 40’s kinda regularly, to look a little healthier than I am, but nothing I try will hold. My stylist finally decided I needed to go really dark, which I have been scared to do in the past for fear that it would age me. Anyway, she used her darkest shade of brown (almost black) and added a little violet for shine. I am using her recommended shampoo to keep it from being stripped, and only washing twice a week (sometimes 3). I am only a few weeks in and already see grey/white!! Would a toning shampoo help this?i haven’t seen one for really dark hari, and i can’t afford a subscription service right now. Any advice on things i could do? The only reason i am not embracing the grey/ white is because I look so much sicker and older when I let it go. If I can’t be healthier (trying), I atleast would like to look it. Love your articles, and thankyou!
I have a question, naturally dk dk brown. I’m trying to achieve the Ti8 toner, i used 3 boxes plus a regular developer, should i have used the wella activator? The girl at sally’s told me, to also get this ion ion brilliant tube? My hair is still brassy? I’m sick of bleaching my hair. Can you help me, please Thank you in Advance Gina
This did not work, on me at least. I used this on my icy blonde hair that had a tint of brass and it turned my hair into a very dirty dish water color with the 10na. It canceled my blonde and made my hair look dirty. I had to re-highlight my hair and put a purple shampoo on for 30 minutes to get my blonde back.
I know this problem so well! Right now I have really dark chocolate brown hair with platinum blonde pieces throughout. Toning my blonde pieces is a pain in my ass! I’ve always used the color charm toner in T18 with a 20 volume and have had to work very fast and not get it on the dark. I switched to a 10 volume and it worked great 👍🏻
I lightened my hair from a med dark brown with Revlon ultra light ash blonde which turned it a strawberry blonde orangey color. So I just tried the products mentioned. 7a and activator lotion on a strand test 2x. 1 for 55 min the other for 30 and both did absolutely Nothing. So I’m guessing I’m not light enough or that I wld have to mix a similar color w a 20v developer bc the activator lotion is equivalent to 10v and doesn’t lift or open shaft to let color in. Demi w No lift developer will not tone Orange unless u go darker. I want to stay lighter since I’m already one step closer
I tried WELLA 10NA & my brassy parts in my hair are worse… they are orange and my blonde highlights are now dull … ash is ugly… have to go to the salon to fix my hair… just glad this is Demi and not semi and hope to wash out and lift out of my hair so I can have my blonde hair… thank my lord there is purple hair… this process does not take out the brassy in your hair… it makes it orange… you truly have to see a professional…
Hello!!! my hair is natural 6 level. I have gotten highlights in order to be blonder, but orange tones keep showing to my hair and I don’t know what to do. I already use a purple shampoo and conditioner but my hair keeps getting more and more orange (not only the highlights, I feel my whole hair gets orange). I bought the colorcharm demi-permanent hair color in color 8A-8/1 and 10NA-10/01 (light ash blonde and lightest ash blonde, respectively) to mix it and apply it all over my hair and see if that way I can fix and tone my whole hair. I have not done it yet and I would like to know if its a good idea or if I should use a toner directly/ what would happen to the parts of my hair that are not bleached (but that I feel are orangish too) if I apply a toner all over my hair (say for example a T18 or T14 from Wella? Can I mix both colors or would it be better to apply just one? I am so sorry that I have so many questions but I feel I dont know what else to do to tone my hair. I have already gone to the hair dresser, I go to get my highlights there, my the oranges keep coming back 🙁 Thank you very much, I would appreciate any kind of help
If my clients hair is level 8 or lighter I use a Demi that’s I shade lighter…level 8 with level 9 Demi, level 9 with level 10 Demi, level 10 with color charm toners…Demi colors deposit more pigment than toners…I think level 7 Demi is too dark especially if it’s ash…your hair may end up looking muddy or green
Hi! Thank you for sharing this! I went and got the Color Charm demi-permanent color in 10NA-10/01 and activating lotion last night. I have level 10 hair from coloring (not bleaching) my hair with a level 11 high lift color/40 volume developer. My roots are always a little bit brassy. Should I apply this on damp hair as I would a regular toner or dry? Also, do I need to apply this to the entire length of my hair or just the brassy root area? Thanks! 🙂
Hi love your articles . Question I bleached my hair and it is yellow . I know I have to tone it but I don’t want silver or gray hair I want more natural blonde . I know it’s hard to recommend something without see it but what would I use as far as a toner. I thought a semi permanent in a 9 . Natural blonde.
Sylvia- my friend did my highlights the other day, all bleach in the foils and then she put an ‘all over color’ on all of my hair left outside of the foils, but only on my roots (which were down to my eyebrows). The problem is that she used a different color than usual for the ‘all over color’ and that part turned out a little orange. We tried to tone it, and I’ve used purple shampoo 3 times since but nothing will make the orange warm color go away. She said it will only tone as much as that color will allow, which wasn’t much. I am wondering, with your tips, is it possible to tone any shade of blonde? Can I ever make it more cool toned, or am I stuck with the top of my head not matching the cool tone I have throughout the rest of my hair?
Hi, I was wanting my hair to look like the 7ash. Now I gave naturally dark blonde hair with blondes hair in it. I had my hair dyed really light about almost 2 months ago, the guy didn’t tone it and it was not so great. So I dyed it darker and then bleached it out because it was to dark, and then put ion medium ash blonde with a phone binder and red cancellation etc… Now for almost 2 months my hair looks like the picture you have with 7ash toner.and it’s got like a reddish copper tone to it like the picture you showed. I would like to get my hair with the picture you showed using the 7Ash. Can I put that over my color now, or do I have to rebleach it and then put the 7ash on it?. My Hair is also very health I use reconstructores and bonding sulfate free ion shampoo and conditioner, don’t was my hair every day. I love them and a zotos hair treatment which activates with heat tools. And let my hair air dry as well . It’s baby fine and wavy/curly. 😊 I really want my hair to stay that way though permanently not just for a few washes. @ellebangs @somegirljess
Can you mix 2 different colors of demi permanent colors like you did when you mixed 2 different colors when you were doing permanent? I’m interested in doing the demi permanent but was curious if I can mix 2 different colors together using the demi permanent? I know this was uploaded 4 yrs ago but I just saw this today January 2022. I’m going to be bleaching my hair & want to use a demi permanent color toner. I really appreciate your help & expertise. Prayers & Wishes Lisa Hampton 😃
How would you describe your hair color in this article?? I’m absolutely in love with it and want my stylist to best understand exactly what I want when I get my hair done. I have strawberry blonde undertones and a lot of that color at my root, so combating that has been nearly impossible which is why I think it may be best for me to go darker at the root rather than light blonde
hey thanks for the article! Question though, I am a natural blonde I have never dyed my hair, my blonde hair is more on the neutral warm side and I would prefer it to be more neutral/cool toned but not grey. Would it work on my natural hair and if so which shade of this toner would you recommend for me? My blonde hair has natural highlights to it and it is a couple shades darker than yours 🙂
You can’t get the Redken stuff without a license? That’s weird because I recently purchased those Redken EQ products on eBay. I have that exact same EQ developer you showed, as well as a larger bottle that says Gloss on it…and then I bought 2 of the Redken colors, 09V and 09NB (something like that) that you suggested in a article – a article I cannot find again to save my life, so I can’t even use the stuff I bought without that tutorial article. Ugh. Don’t suppose you know which article that was? You were doing a client’s hair and you used this to tone her hair.
How would I cool down my dark brown hair that went brassy orange when I used Wella toner? I used a 20vol and I usually use a 10vol. I’m wondering if the 20 lifted but not strong enough to lift it light enough to take the toner and stayed at orange? =( I loathe orange/red in my hair and it’s just impossible to get out! Worked on it for over 20 years trying to find a formula. Sometimes I’ll get it spot on, but next month, have to try it all over again and it’s not the same.
So the demi doesn’t lift? I’m scared to put anything on my hair …but need toned badley …I wanted white Silver color hair ..what do you suggest I can use to get that Icey silver white color? Im like a banana color with some orangey highlights an want all that orange an yellow out ..thanks for your help
I can purchase salon products at CosmoProf bc I’m an esthetician. My blonde balayage is really brassy right now; if I wanted to get it as cool as possible (like the photo that pops up at 0:32), which Redken Shade would you recommend? Unless I should stick with the Wella products, since I still have a lot of brown in my hair and I’m not a professional. TIA!!
Hello Elle, I appreciate your article on toners. I followed your first article and used Wella T18 with 20 volume, and indeed it turned my ‘brown’ low-lights and roots a brassy orangey shade. I waited a couple weeks, then viewed this article, and tried the demi-permanent Wella in the 10NA, because I have very blonde in much of my hair. It didn’t seem to work at all on the ‘brown’ areas and they are now still as brassy orange as before. Reviewing this article to see if I missed something, I’m wondering if I was given the wrong developer…It’s colorcharm but does not have any blue on the bottle. Would this affect the outcome? What do you recommend now? P.S. the lady at the supply store said to me, you have many different colors in your hair…yikes!
Hey! I have previously salon bleached hair (full head highlights) and i have left it for over a year and have crazy huge regrowth, like brown/strawberry blonde color. I am thinking of doing a home dye back to blonde using Feria absolute platinum and would just like to know if i need to tone my hair BEFORE I dye it or do I dye it and then tone afterwards? With the toner, I was thinking of using the mix of t11 and t18 with a 20 vol developer. Thanks in advance 🙂
I’ve tried this and it didn’t work for me. I was a level 10 with brown roots, But It was a little brassy so I used the 10A and it actually darkened my blonde and made it more yellow, although like she said it didn’t lighten my roots which was nice. If you’re wanting to lighten your blonde or make paler, unfortunately this won’t do that.
Is processing liquid the same as activator lotion? I got processing liquid because a friend told me I could apply it to my bayalage hair without it affecting my roots. I used it with redken shades eq in the color opal glow because I wanted to take away the dark gold tones in my hair and have a ashy blonde look. It worked but my hair is a dark ash blonde now. I did one part of the color to 1 and a half parts of the processing liquid. Does processing liquid not work as good as developer, or do I need to mix shades next time to get a lighter ash blonde?
I have brown hair with blonde highlights. I want to tone out the brassy ness but don’t wanna tone my hair again. I’ve toned it 2’s this month with T18 and a 20v developer. Will using this make my blonde highlights darker? They’re at about a 7A-8A. So if I get this in 8A how would my results work? Don’t want my highlights to get darker. Plz help
Silvia! Hi, so I had my hair highlighted in the salon a few weeks ago, for some reason my stylist didn’t tone, she was tired so she may have forgot. Anyways I had toner at homme so I thought no biggie I will tone it myself. Not even thinking I toned my whole head with an ugly ducking toner and 20 volume developer. It turned my pale yellow blonde into a beautiful pearly blonde and my level 8 dark blonde to a lighter, orangey blonde. Now I don’t know what to do because my bleach blonde is beautiful but my dark or what’s supposed to be my darker color is now orange 🙁
I have done this twice, using the demi permanent method and activating lotion that is not supposed to lift your hair. It definitely does lift and definitely turns your roots orange. The activating lotion absolutely DOES lift your hair. If you want to keep your roots their natural color, do not follow this.
Question! I have virgin roots (that I would like to keep) that are about a level 7 or so. I want to tone just my ends that have been bleached (they are like a 9-10 now) but I’m not sure if I apply the toner ONLY to the blonde, or can I apply it to my roots as well? Again, I don’t want my roots colored at all- but I was thinking it might be easier to apply it to my entire head. I’m using a 10% developer and a permanent creme color in Wella Kolestone Perfect Me+ in 10/38 and 9/00. Any help would be amazing!!
So what’s mixed with a Demi permanent if not developer? Activating lotion. Does that only come with box dyes? Should I be worried? You mentioned the 2 dos and dont’s and I must be really slow in the head because I had to replay that part numerous times why I’m asking if I should be worried. I’ve never even heard of “activating lotion” I wanna mix 2 toners because I don’t want complete ashy colour but some caramel toner mixed together. Oh okay, yeah I’m looking to tone properly with 2 different toners. Don’t know what I was looking for in this article. You just confused me a little bringing in that box dye.
I used a new purple shampoo that I hadn’t tried before and it stained my lightest strands a faint green color. It’s been a few weeks and it’s only noticeable in certain lighting now. The rest of my hair is getting brassy. My base is a level 6/7 and mid shaft to ends vary, levels 8-10. Would I be safe to use an ash to tone or will it just bring back the green tint again? I’m trying to avoid lightener or color remover to remove the remaining green. Any ideas? Preferably single process to cut back on damage.
I am considering going blonde. But not completely. I like that “White over dark” type of contrast. I’ve seen this done a lot on very short layered cuts. I have wavey to loose spiral curls & virgin hair that is about a level 6 or 7. It’s almost a mousy brown or a super dark, dirty blonde. Can I lighten some pieces around the face doing that white over dark? I love that super ashy cool toned white. How can I obtain this look using your at home techniques? Would I have to change the color on the parts of my hair that aren’t being bleached/toned? Or would I just use a toner on the rest?
Hi! I found your article very interesting. My ex-hairdresser used 10.0 and 9.01 wella touch toner. She recommended it to me but never emphasised that I have to use activating lotion, hence the result was never the same (if any). Could you please recommend some site where to get those ingredient from, such as T11/T18 or 10A toner, Wella Colour Charm demi-perm and activating lotion and how much volume to look for? Sorry for the stupid questions, I have never been a hairdresser 🙂
I have a question for anyone more educated than me on hair. I’ve always been a golden/warm blonde and I recently just went to a salon and got my hair colored and toned to give it a more cool blonde look. She gave me a toning shampoo but it’s just not giving me the results I want and my hair is already going back to the warm blonde it’s always been. I want to tone it but the stylist gave me a smudge root. I was wondering if toning my hair is going to ruin the smudge root?
Hi everyone! Does anyone know how to tone dark brown hair with orangy brassy money pieces/highlights. I just want everything a tad deeper and just get rid of the grassiness and orange. I’m about to slap some black dye on and call it a day but I’d love to try and fix it before! I would love your input as well Silvia 🤍
Why can’t you mix permanent dye with the activating lotion exactly? I’ve seen people do it. Not saying it’s ok but I just what to know specifically why it’s not a good idea. Also I recently dyed my hair a honey blonde that went way too yellow. I want to tone it using a demi however every demi I’ve used goes too dark. Also according to the reviews of the brand I got (Ion. They were out of stock of most of the Wella demi perm…) is known to go dark. I’m about a level 7 or 8 and I got a 9NA. Will this work? Last time I used my own level in a demi dye it went almost 4 shades darker and I was really pissed off (it was a long process of removing the color, lightening my hair back to its original level, redyeing and then not doing anything with it and letting it get healthy again for over a year. This is the first time I’ve dyed my hair in about a year). What if I mixed a 7N with the 9NA?
Okay so I made mistake. I had bleached my hair because I wanted to achieve a very light blonde to add a pastel pink at the end of the day. However I did the misteak of toning my hair with a Wella T15 which is warmer. I quickly realized that as soon as I saw the wrong box and saw my hair getting darker. I rinsed immediately, I had the product in my hair for about 5 to 8 mins in. After seeing my hair dry, I see it looks more like a light yellow gold kinda color as to what I wanted t14 or t18. So I have not done the pastel pink, because I kinda felt like it was to much of a deep tone to achieve the pastel pink afterwards. So my question is can I re tone my hair again right afterwards to a t14 or t18? Will it be safe to do So? Or do I have to wait a couple of weeks to tone it again or how can I go about this dilemma? Thank you in advance… God bless and have a great day!
Hi ellebangs! I’m a subscriber from the UK and love your articles. I was hoping for some advice. I have had a balayage and because of my colouring I have a warm blonde in my hair. Ash tones doesn’t look good on me 😩 I still suffer from the dreaded green tinge to my hair due to old copper pipes in my home i recently moved too. Ive used Tomato ketchup which has helped but what would you recommend for keeping the dreaded green tinge at bay without making my blonde highlights ash. I also would like advice of what wella tonner to use to keep my balayage looking fresh and with warm tones. I feel like the odd blonde one out as I don’t want ash tones but the brassy ones 😂 please help! Much love from the UK x x.
HELP HELP! I recently got my hair done about two weeks ago at a hair school. I told the stylist I wanted a soft natural blonde/bronde balayage. Instead she gave me I don’t know what! My hair is so damage, brassy and I have this huge yellow stunk looking strip on the top of my hair! What can I do to save my hair? I am a teacher and I start work in about 3 weeks. I need help 😭😭😭
I have gone to at least 5 colorists this year trying to find someone who will give me that perfect ash blonde. I keep running into the issue that my natural hair (roots/lowlights) or the pieces not highlighted to a platinum color end up orange (I can’t even call it brassy because its much worse that that). I feel that it is probably exactly what you are describing in the beginning of this article – using 20V and lifting those pieces which gives them the orange hue. You mentioned that you use Redken EQ shades in the salon to avoid this. How else can I instruct my colorist to finally achieve the ash blonde that I am looking for? It seriously appears that there is not a single blonde specialist in my city that has achieved this, which is why I have taken to researching myself. Thanks!!!
Re-watching this wondering what I did wrong! Highlighted my brown hair to a light orange which seemed 7/8 to me. I used 7A on most of my hair, and 8a in front, then ended up trying the 7A in front, both times I ended up looking like a redhead! My cool tone skin is not happy. I need to try again, but not sure if I should be changing the toner or trying to lighten the front a bit more?!
I don’t know if it’s me but I am completely lost when perusal your articles. You speak too fast, and for someone who has no notion whatsoever in hairdressing, toning, colors etc, I don’t understand what you mean by volume, mix with 20 volume of what??? Makes no sense… and I don’t understand the process at all! It is not very clear, there are too many information thrown in your face at the same time and it gets really REALLY confusing…. it’s a shame because I am looking for an easy and clear way of toning my hair but after just perusal this I feel even more clueless. I’ll try to watch a second time but honestly you might as well be speaking Chinese………..
Hello Ellen thank you so much for this article exactly all I wanted to hear and noone ever just said this. I really wanted to know what u said if the lightest in my hair is a level 10 but I do have some bronze in my hair also u said to do the t10 cuz I want the blonde like the pic u inserted right before the ash brown u showed. So it would be good to do wella t10 or should I do t18 and t14? Or what’s the difference between doing t10 alone and doing t18 t14 together. I really want an ice blonde but not grey blonde. Thanks again
Hi Elle, so glad I found you today – your website is fantastic! I pulled my hair through a cap twice to get sort of low and highlights with two colors but it took ages and hurt like hell. Any tips? I haven’t had the nerve to try foil yet. The UK has these uk.wellastore.com/wella-colour-technical-uk.html#?category_ids=797 which one is closest to the demi ash 7? 7/1 most likely TY!!!!!
Hi… thank you for all your articles. I am def learning a lot. Would this also work for grey hair? I touch up my own roots at home in between hair appts. I don’t touch my ends. I have about 30% of grey hair, all in the front my face and where my hair parts. I am touching up my own roots every 4 weeks. My virgin hair color is a regular brown. When I use 7N my hair comes out a little reddish. Trying to figure out how to eliminate that red?
Hey girl! thanks for the article! love your website… 🙂 I have a question: i was going to re bleach my highlights (theyre actually handpainted & also im a guy so i have short hair just FYI) but anyways i was gonna rebleach my highlights and then after, i have Paul mitchell permanent creme hair color (toner) that i was going to mix with 20 vol creme developer…. my question is, after bleaching, can i just mix the toner and developer together and put it all over my head (like shampooing it) to tone my bleached parts or will it leave my darker nonbleached hair brassy/orange? Does that make sense? Thanks and i hope to talk soon!!!
Quick question, I just bought salon lightener and developer (planning to lighten some of my hair) then bought a permanent colour, that I thought was a toner because it mentioned something about toning in it…. could I use that after lightening my hair as the toner?? (I’m thinking no but wanted to check) thank you!
This literally could not have come at a better time for me. It’s like the “beauty gods” sent Elle. LOL My hair is blonde, but it’s pretty damaged, and I was coming on here to see if Elle had advice for a gentle developer, because it needs to be toned and I don’t want to damage it more. For some very odd reason, I have two full bottles of Wella’s activating lotion (even though I don’t think I’ve ever used their demi color before, so it’s a big mystery). It sounds like all I need to do it go to Sally’s tomorrow and pick up some demi color. I’m living on a budget, so I love how I only have to buy one thing. I’m sure I have a coupon too if it isn’t already on sale. Maybe not, but either way, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!!
You are the BEST. I live in Boca Raton, home of very expensive highlighted blondes. I’m a natural dark blonde and I do my own lightening (roots) and highlights.Now toning too! I get compliments on my hair color all the time! I always refer them to you! Thanks for answering all our questions and challenges with blonde hair. XOXO
Yeah umm… my mum dyed my hair in a max blonde. She only washed it and did not put shampoo but did do conditioner. The next day (today) my hair was extremely yellow and I went to school and my hair looked like a wig. People in my school made fun of me laughing at me even some of my friends teasing me and people who I didn’t know were laughing at me so I kept my hood on when I was in school so I can hide it. Went home early today because of that my mum got a toner to make it white blonder instead of a yellowish blonder. Not going to school tomorrow. Damn I hate it when I get insecure
HELPPP!!! I recently had my hair bleached and toned. The color wasn’t as bright as I wanted to be. I used the combination that you recommended with the activation lotion & 10NA. For some reason my hair turned out to be even more yellow/orange. My natural hair is blondish grey. I honestly don’t understand what I did wrong for the result to be this way.
hello, I have naturally light hair, that is going mousy. So, I started using demi 10NA with 10 volume developer, 1:1. It actually lifts my hair and I get roots from this mix. I have noticed that my hair is looking a bit orangie, so I’m wondering if what you are suggesting on here will do anything for the yellow and orange tones, or is there a better approach. I’m nervous to go over 10 volume on my hair. It’s very fine. Don’t want to damage it. Would an actual toner be an option? Thank you! Anna
OK I just got a partial highlights my hair is like dark blonde and I like the highlights but they didn’t tone it I hate when hairdressers say I don’t need a toner because now it’s that like golden yellowy color, so I have no idea I’ve never toned my hair I’ve been perusal articles I don’t know if I’m supposed to get a toner or an ultra lift I just wanted more Asheer but still natural not like whiteAlso what do I buy for the toner so do I am I buying hair color I’m just so confused lol
I struggle with understand what does “tone” mean? I’m not licensed so some terms are foreign to me. I have been coloring and highlighting my hair for over 20 yrs. I use to use highlighter kits to create platinum highlights in my hair. it worked cuz box color was always crap, the smell was awful and the color even worse no matter what shade I picked. I’m a natural platinum blonde who is now a dark mouse blonde if I were to let my roots out. the shade is not great. I’m looking for something that kinda keeps its shade but eliminates the mousy non shiny shade that doesn’t compliment my highlights. I’m guessing that toners will do that. I don’t like ash at all, I like shades like gold and caramel.
Was so helpful…. Iv been using developer with the toner on my Balayage and now it’s a total mess because it bled into my shadow box. No I understand I should have used an activator. Very helpful I am curious am I able to mix olaplex where’s the toner and activator. Also I am a brunette so I might be a level 6 or 7 in my hair and the top half is really dark and I want to keep it that way and stay Blended
Hey guys! I just posted my first YouTube article ever of how I got ASH hair at HOME doing a balayage and toning it with Wella, BUT WITH A TWIST! Revealing my best tips and secrets which could be helpful during the stay at home orders put in place 🙂 (and fun edits) Please let me know if you liked the article! Thats so much and I hope you’re staying bust during these challenging times, I hope my article can bring some happiness to your day!
Here is what happens to me. They use a toner and all my blond goes away. Also, I am having so much trouble finding a stylist who will do my hair the way I want it. One that I go to highlights over highlights. Then the other person I went to made my hair so bad I need to go back and have it fixed. 5 years ago I had the best hair ever. Then no one since can do it well. Is this normal??
Hey Ella, I tend to dye my beard a lot for my star Wars lightsaber battle legion at Disney! I’m a bit of a geek I’ve been told, there ‘s not really a lot of info on if you can use certain products on facial hair so I end up doing a lot of trial and error! There’s a lack of products made for men so if you have any tips or advice on how to get the bright colors and not destroy my beard it would be awesome! Or if you know of any products already out that I can try please help a Jedi out! Love what you do! And, May the force be with you!
I wonder if you could help, basically whenever I leave the hairdressers I love the tone of blonde and colour of my hair but I feel like after about a week my hair becomes brassy and more yellow, are there any tips on how to stop the toner fading out fast apart from not dashing hair as frequently and going to hairdressers to have it toned again because that’s an it expensive? x
Hi Elle, many thanks for this great article. Just watched this after the first article you did about this. I have originally light brown hair (ashy) which photographs darker and just revamped my balayage .. I have many golden tones – which I really like but I’d like to try something different for once. Interestingly engough where I live the demi-permanent Wella tonter is availabe (in Germany) but I could by the Redken EQ shades via amazon. I just looked at the color map and the colors are all golden… which color would you suggest to ashen my color? Really greatful for your help. I appreciate all articles because I find hairdressers in my area are not up to date with all the techniques so I do it myself 🙂
So, what I am wondering is how to fix the bright orange roots I now have from using the demi 10 na. Anyone experience this with the Wella Demi and know how to fix it? Everything but my roots look ok, just darker than what I wanted. I cannot stand the orange roots though. I did not have any orange before trying this method. I tried it because I thought it wasn’t supposed to do anything to my roots.
I need help… I dyed hair black for many eyars. A year ago I decolored them, so I could regrow my natural dark brown hair without visible color change line. The color I got was at good level, but it left them with a lot of redness. During sunny summer days color difference is very visible. Is there anything you could recomend for that?