Hair toners work by depositing micro-pigments onto the hair shaft to neutralize unwanted undertones, creating a more balanced and desired hair color.
Understanding Hair Toning
Toning is a crucial step in achieving the perfect hair color, especially after bleaching or lightening. It's not about lifting the color of your hair; instead, it's about fine-tuning the shade to get rid of brassiness or other unwanted tones.
How Toners Work
- Pigment Deposition: Hair toners, as described in the provided reference, work by depositing micro-pigments onto the hair fiber.
- Counteracting Undertones: These micro-pigments are specifically designed to counteract the unwanted undertones that often appear after lightening or bleaching. For example:
- Purple toners neutralize yellow brassy tones.
- Blue toners counteract orange brassiness.
- Green toners can neutralize red tones, though this is less common in general hair toning and more often used for color correction.
- Achieving Desired Shade: By counteracting these undertones, the toner helps achieve a more neutral, balanced, and desired hair color.
- No Lift: Unlike dyes, toners do not lift or lighten the natural color of your hair. They only deposit color.
Types of Toners
Hair toners come in different forms:
- Demi-Permanent Toners: These are the most common type of toners. They contain a low volume developer that deposits pigment onto the hair and lasts for several weeks.
- Gloss Toners: These are designed to add shine and subtle tones to the hair.
- Purple Shampoo/Conditioner: These products deposit a minimal amount of violet pigment over time and help maintain toned hair between salon visits.
Toner Application
- Preparation: Hair must be clean and towel-dried before applying toner.
- Application: Toners are usually mixed with a developer and applied evenly through the hair.
- Processing: The toner needs to process for the recommended time, which varies depending on the product and desired result.
- Rinse: Once processed, the hair is thoroughly rinsed.
- Finalizing: The hair is styled as usual.
Practical Example: Eliminating Brassiness
Let's say you've lightened your hair and it's now a brassy yellow color. A purple toner will deposit violet pigments that are opposite yellow on the color wheel. These pigments cancel each other out, resulting in a more neutral, less yellow-looking blonde.
| Undesired Undertone | Toner Type |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Purple |
| Orange | Blue |
| Red | Green |
Key Takeaway
Hair toning is essential for achieving the desired shade after lightening or bleaching. It neutralizes unwanted undertones by depositing micro-pigments on the hair shaft.
