Let's uncomplicate hair colouring, one step at a time. Starting here:
What Is Hair Toning? And, how toning actually fixes brassy colour
What "Toning" Actually Means
In the hair industry, generally toning refers to applying a demi-permanent or semi-permanent colour to the hair. This is usually done to correct or adjust unwanted warm brassy shades or to enhance existing colour and add a healthy shine.
This might be controversial but here's how I see it..
You can tone with all kinds of products (not just those labelled 'toner' or those that are strictly a demi or semi-permanent colour). Anything that addresses brassiness, gives you the result you’re after, and aligns with your hair goals?
That's a toner in my eyes.
Why Hair Turns Brassy
I'd say that the majority of the time, you'll be wanting to tone to remove brassiness. There are a few reasons hair turns brassy but they all come down to one thing: the natural underlying pigment in your hair.
Underneath all natural hair colour is a range of shades. Red, orange, yellow... and all of those colours are what we call brassy.
When you lighten your hair, essentially what you're doing is working through all of those colours, which gets you lighter and lighter with each colour - ending with pale yellow.
But here's what I find people often don't realise. Any time you colour your hair (with a demi-permanent or permanent colour) it will also fade to a brassy shade. Every single time. Even if you're dying it a super similar shade to your natural colour. Because of the way hair colour works, you truly can't avoid this
How Toning Works on Brassy Hair
So, toning works in two main ways: Adding colour or neutralizing colour.
Adding colour is as simple as it sounds, you're working with the colour you already see in your hair and just adding more to it. Like, if you're looking for a warm blonde and your hair is already quite yellow, you're just adding a different warm shade on top to make that yellow more flattering.
Neutralizing, on the other hand, means you're trying to cancel out the brassy shade you're seeing completely, which gives a neutral or cool toned result. Say your hair is really orange and you're looking for it to be an ash brown, you're adding in super cool tones to reduce that orange brassiness and give you the coolest result possible.
How though? You use the colour wheel. When you're adding colour, you're simply going to look for shades that contain the same, or very similar, pigment to what you're seeing in your hair already. Maybe you'd be looking for shades that contain gold. When you're neutralizing, you're looking for the exact opposite shade on the colour wheel to what you're seeing in your hair. You might be seeing red, so you'd be looking for the exact opposite of that - green.
The Different Types of Toning
As I already mentioned, I think that anything that addresses the brassiness in your hair, gives you the result you're looking for and aligns with your hair goals is something you can tone with. Starting with the most gentle to the strongest:
Toning Shampoos & Masques
I think of Toning Shampoos & Toning Masques as more of an upkeep product to extend the life of your already toned shade and not as a fix. Generally, they're not strong enough to make a big change to brassy hair.
Semi Permanent Colour & Toners
Think of Semi Permanent Colour & Toners like foundation on your face. Like foundation, they stay on the outside of the hair, changing the colour temporarily and do not effect your natural hair in any way. Usually they last a few washes and are a great choice for something temporary. They are not mixed with developer.
Demi Permanent Colour & Toners
This is where we move into stronger options. Demi Permanent Colours & Toners are mixed with a low volume developer, usually 3, 5, or 10 Vol. This allows the colour to deposit more effectively than a Semi Permanent and, if used with a 10 Vol Developer, slightly lift the cuticle. The result is a longer lasting tone, typically a few weeks rather than a few washes.
Permanent Colour & Toners
Permanent Colours & Toners work inside the hair strand, creating a permanent change. These are the strongest option and are often used when you'e looking for long lasting brass correction, grey coverage, or a small amount of lift (usually just one shade) while colouring. Permanent colour is mixed with 20 Vol Developer.
High Lift (Hi Lift) Permanent Colour
High Lift Permanent Colour is the only type of colour that will significantly lighten your hair while adding colour or toning at the same time. These are generally used on very light hair or natural silver/grey. Mixed with 20 or 30 Vol Developer, they can lighten the hair by around two to three shades while adding tone in one step.
When Toning Helps (and When It Doesn't)
As we've talked about, I personally think any product that addresses the brassiness you're seeing and brings you closer to the colour you want can be used as a toner.
Where toning won't help is when you're looking for a big, dramatic lighter change. For example, if your hair is currently brown with strong orange brassiness and your goal is to be blonde, toning alone won't get you there. In that case, the hair needs to be lightened first, and then toned afterwards.
That doesn't mean toning has failed — it just means it isn't the right step yet.
Choosing The Right Kind Of Toner
Hair toning isn;t as complicated as it's often made out to be. It comes down to understanding what your hair looks like now, the type of brassiness you're seeing, and what you'd like to achieve.
Once those pieces are clear, choosing the right kind of toning becomes much easier. And it's rarely limited to products that simply have the word “toner” on the label.
If you’d like more help with that next step, I've put together a Complete Toning Guide for Brass-Free Hair, which you can download by clicking here.
