What is Toner?

Have you ever been sitting in the chair at your hairdressers and thought ‘What are they doing to my hair?’
We hairdressers use a lot of buzzwords and terminology that sound like gibberish. On top of that, the rise of Tik Tok Hairdressing has caused a lot of confusion with what a stylist is doing.
In its early years ‘Toner’ got a bit of a bad reputation. This was because toners were used mostly to neutralise yellow (for that ashy sparkle) and was used to touch up parts in the hair where highlights bled. Because of the miscommunication as to ‘Why’ the hairdresser chose to tone, it became common to assume that the hairdresser made a mistake.
Attitudes like ‘They needed to tone it ashy because they didn’t do it right’ or ‘I was at the basin for so long, something must have gone wrong’ were formed.
Today, our language has expanded and so has the possibilities of what we can do with colour. The Toner is the finishing glaze to your colour. Thats where words like ‘Gloss’ ‘Glaze’ ‘Smudge’ ‘Tap’ ‘Zone- Tone’ come from.
In the end, toner hasn’t changed. It is a Semi Permanent deposit only colour that is applied all over your hair. The purpose of the toner is custom mixed with your colour goals in mind.
So whether its for that clean, icy finish, or for a natural biscuit blonde, to a rich vibrant copper. The toner will deposit our desired tone for the custom finish.

Do I really need a toner?
Sometimes the hair lifts so beautifully and blends so well that a toner isn’t required. This usually happens when your colour goals align with what your hair is like before the appointment started. Remember, all hair types lift warm. So after the highlights are rinsed it will be left with the raw underlaying pigment ranging between: Red, to Orange, to Yellow. If warmth isn’t your goal, you will need to tone.

Remember!
A toner is not a magic wand. It cannot lighten your hair, only deposit or deepen. Meaning, if you are stuck feeling orange or brassy, you will need to first highlight or lighten the hair first so the toner can deposit the tone on the right level of depth!
Follow your hairdressers recommendation and if you have any questions or concerns don’t be afraid to ask them.