Q&A for How to Use Hair Toner

Go in with a clarifying shampoo! A couple of washings with a clarifying shampoo will help pull the toner out.

Use a blue shampoo, which is designed to remove orange tones. Joico Color Balance Blue Shampoo is one example of a quality blue shampoo that you can look for.

The toner is mixed 1:1 with the blonde brilliance developer, applied to wet or dry hair, and left to process for 5-15 minutes, until the desired deposit is achieved.

You can, but I would recommend that you don't. Applying toner to dry strands is more likely to take unevenly or to deposit too much pigment, resulting in a dull too-dark color. If you don't want to wet your whole head, mist it with a spray bottle of water and comb through.

Anywhere from 5-30 minutes depending on your hair's porosity, the desired level of deposit, and the recommendations of the manufacturer.

A toner is a mild translucent color used to add shine and pigment to pre-lightened hair.

Not at all; you can apply toner to dry hair. You will get much better results if you apply it to damp (not wet) hair. This is because the dampness in your hair will help make it less porous and allow the toner to go on more evenly.

Yes! In fact, many people choose to apply toner to bleached hair to make it less-brassy and to minimize any yellow or orance tones.

It depends on your current hair color. If it's dark, it'll likely turn into a more reddish-orange color, but simply using toner might help with lightening it. If it doesn't, you might want to talk to a professional stylist.

Certainly! The main purpose of toner is to neutralize brassy tones, so if your dark-brown hair turned out too red, you can tone it down with toner. The results will be more subtle on black-colored hair, however, because of how dark it is.

You can apply toner to either damp or dry hair, but you will get better, more even results on damp hair. You shouldn't be applying toner to dripping-wet hair.

If you just recently bleached your hair, use a purple shampoo right after bleaching and do so each time you wash your hair to maintain that white blonde and prevent it from getting brassy.

Yes, it will take the brassiness out of sun-bleached hair. I have used it for exactly this purpose.

Yes! It will only show up if your hair is light already, though. For instance if you have blonde hair naturally and want a different shade, a toner will help. It will not show up on dark hair.

Yes, that's the point. Depending on how light/dark your hair is before, using toner will make it more or less intense.

Yes, they are basically the same thing, though it depends on the brand.

It all depends on the level of blonde you are at on the ends. There’s no miracle toner. You mix formulations to cancel out existing pigment and match the level of blonde shade.

Just wash your hair after bleaching, then tone, wash again, and condition hair last!

No you can't. Possibly you mean that you want to break the base, which means lifting the natural hair 1 to 2 levels up without exposing the orange/yellow. Go to a professional stylist to do this as its a matter of selecting the appropriate colour and developer strength for you particular hair colour. Also, you have to apply it very quickly and visually time it to avoid over lightening or exposing unwanted undertones.

Use it straight away. Mix toner with a 5 or 6 Vol developer 1 part toner to 2 parts developer and apply starting at the nape and working upward. Leave on until the desired colour is reached. If you over tone though, it is not the end of the world. Toner only sits on the outside of the hair and will slowly wash out over time.

Shampooing directly after bleaching, colouring or toning is generally not a good idea. However, using a deep conditioning mask should be okay, it all depends on how processed your hair is.

It won’t work well. You can buy a color additive for red/god corrector to add to color which will give the color a more purple/blue base, which will help reduce brassiness. And the color depends on the color you choose. It is a good idea to speak with a sales person at a beauty supply store.

if you're trying to cover up white and grey hair, you don't need toner, only dye. And with that, get a dye and use 20 volume developer to dye it. If you're trying to achieve white or grey hair, bleach it to a light yellow and use T18 or T14, respectively.

You can apply toner to dark brown hair by dampening it and applying it by the directions on the package. This would make it ashy and take out any red or golden tones, but would not lighten your hair.

It's best to use it every 6-8 weeks, which is usually when it fades. If the toner isn't making your hair the color you desire, don't apply more of the same kind, instead look into a different brand or tone.

When you are at the point of wanting to tone your hair, your hair should already be bleached and lightened to where you need to be. There is no need to mix your toner with more lightener. T18 is a level 10 blonde toner, so using it on level 8 hair will do nothing. Toner doesn't lighten hair, it gets your already lightened hair to the right to tone of the level you have lightened it to.