What is Hair Toning?

Why Do You Tone?

Your Hair Colour can begin to develop Golden, Orange or Yellow Tones, known as Warmth or Brassiness. Brassiness grows through the Hair for a variety of reasons including time in the sun, regular washing, heat styling and as normal part of Colouring. It's also important to note that some Hair Colours are Naturally more susceptible than others to Warmth. Toning counteracts Warmth to rebalance your Hair Colour. These Hair Colours have been Toned using the Toner Kit.


Who Can Tone?

Anyone who struggles with Warmth and is trying to maintain a Cool or Natural Hair Colour can Tone their Hair. Although generally associated with, and is more common in, Blondes, brassiness can affect all Hair Colours.


How often should I Tone?

Everyones Hair is different, therefore we recommend Toning when you need to Tone, but not too regularly to avoid Build Up. The sweet spot generally falls somewhere between 4-6 weeks or when touching up your roots.

If you spend a lot of time in the sun and water, wash your Hair frequently or Naturally throw a lot of Warmth you may need to Tone more regularly. 

If you find your Tone washes out quickly, consider the products you are using. Anti-dandruff or clarifying shampoos are harsh on your Colour as are warming Colour correction shampoos and conditioners.

For Toning longevity protect your Hair in simple ways: wearing a hat while in the sun and wetting your Hair with fresh water or combing conditioner through your Hair before jumping in salty or chlorinated water and giving your Hair a good rinse after swimming.  


What Do You Use To Tone?

Tone your Brassiness away by counteracting it with a Cool pigment. This is done by mixing a Cool Hair Colour — Ash, Beige or Silver — with a No Lift Developer. The most popular Toning combination is a Toner Kit that mixes 9.1 Light Ash Blonde and No Lift Developer.

For Dark Blonde and Brunette Hair Colours, use a Dark Ash Toner Kit.

For a softer Toning result use the Pearl Blonde Toner Kit


Why Should I Use a Hair Colour, and not a purple shampoo, to Tone?

For 3 key reasons.
1. Brassy Hair needs more than just a Tone, it needs replenishment of Colour that a purple toner can't offer. Toning with a conditioning Colour formula refills your Hair with a fresh gloss of Colour.
2. Purple toners leave your Hair Colour flat and matte, we insist our Toners do the exact opposite: give your Hair life and shine. 
3. Each Hair Colour has different needs and so we need a Toner Kit that caters to your Hairs needs.


Why a No Lift Developer?

When you're Toning you need to smooth out your Hair Colour and not Lighten it, so a No Lift Developer is the only Developer for the job.


Can you use any other Colours to Tone with?

Yes, you can Tone with other Cool Colours — Ash, Beige or Silver — depending on the strength of Toning you need. An Ash or Silver Colour will offer you the strongest Tone, while Beige is a softer, creamier option. Read more: Toning with a Hair Colour.

Let our Colour experts show you how

If you're looking for personalised advice about your Hair Colour, our dedicated Colour Consultants are here to help!

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