Hair Care Talk: How to Choose the Right Toner for Highlighted Hair? |

Highlighted hair is a popular trend that’s not going to go away anytime soon. People love getting their hair highlighted to add subtle nuances of shades to their tresses and glam up their look. But what if your highlighted streaks start to look dull and fade after some time? In that case, you'll need a hair toner! Yes - hair toners are a boon for highlighted hair as they help neutralize yellow and orange hues and work as color correctors. Many people are aware of the benefits of using hair toners but don't know how to choose the right toner for highlighted hair. We are here to solve that problem for you! Below are some tips that will help you choose the most appropriate toner for your mane.

But before that, let's talk about what toners are and the different types of toners available in the market.

What Are Hair Toners?

Toners are most commonly used at salons to ensure that the after-results of highlighted and bleached hair are perfect. They are haircare products that are used on bleached hair to neutralize orange and yellow tints and color-correct your hair. Hair toners help revitalize your hair and bring shine and luster to your tresses. They also tame frizzy hair and prevent dryness. If you have bleached your hair, you must add hair toner to your skincare regimen.

What Are the Different Types of Hair Toners?

There are various types of toners for hair after highlights, each with its unique purpose. Let's take a look at them:

1. Permanent Hair Toner

If you want to use these hair toners, make sure you get them applied at a professional salon. This is because they have a high pigment concentration value and give you a completely new shade. Use this toner if you want to protect the hair color for a longer period of time and want a complete hair transformation. Permanent hair toners are so strong that they leave no traces behind of the previous hair color and allow you to enjoy your highlighted hair.

2. Semi-permanent Hair Toner

Semi-permanent toners, as the name implies, allow you to enjoy colored hair on a temporary basis. They help get rid of unwanted brassy tones and allow the color to stay for up to 10 hair washes.

3. Demi-permanent Hair Toner

Demi-permanent hair toners give gloss toning effects and help maintain the shine of highlights for quite a long period of time. They last for up to 6 to 8 weeks and then need a refresh.

How to Choose the Right Toner for Highlighted Hair?

It can feel quite exhausting to choose the right toner for yourself. But with our guide on how to choose the right toner, you can do it easily. Keep reading to know more! (add an expert quote on what parameters to keep in mind when choosing a hair toner for highlighted hair)

1. Hair Toner for Blonde Hair

The best hair toner for blonde highlights is the one that has a purple-ash hue.

2. Hair Toner for Dark Hair

If your hair color is leaning towards the darker side, it's best to go for ash or beige-blonde hues to get the correct neutralization.

3. Hair Toner for Auburn Hair

Green-colored hair toner can be used if you have auburn hair.

4. Hair Toner for Bold And Vibrant Hair Colors

If you have opted for fiery red highlights, you can pick a toner with a green tinge. People with blue highlights can choose a toner with orange or copper hue.

So now that you know all about how to choose the right toner for highlighted hair, let's understand how hair toners work on highlights.

How Hair Toners Work on Highlighted Hair

When you go to a salon and ask to get your hair highlighted, you'll be asked about the hair color level that you desire. Level 1 means the hair will be as dark as it can be, and level 10 implies that the color will be the lightest blonde. These levels decide how much and what kind of toner you will require. If you have decided to go for level 8, your hairstylist will need a toner to neutralize warm and brassy tones.

Toners work on highlighted hair by aligning the colored hair with your natural one. If you have darker hair, you might need to visit the salon more than once because the pigments deposited onto the surface won't give you the desired result in one go.

What Are the Benefits of Using Hair Toners?

You might think hair toners are used only to preserve highlighted hair color, but there's much more that toners can bring to the table. Take a look at the various benefits of using hair toners below:

1. They Help Improve the Tonality of Your Hair

You spend so much time, energy, and money to get your hair highlighted — so you would obviously not want the color to fade quickly and get brassy tones, right? This is where hair toner comes with an advantage! They act as color correctors and add visible tones to your highlights, making them look appealing.

2. May Add Shine to Your Hair

Hair toners can give a glossy and shiny look to your tresses. If all you need is to refresh your mane and flaunt it, go for a hair toner.

3. Add Dimension to Hair Color

When you choose the right hair color and then use a toner accordingly, it can give a whole new look to your appearance and make you look gorgeous.

4. May Help Hide Gray Hair

If you have gray hair, you can hide it with the use of a hair toner. When you use a hair toner, your gray hair strands get merged into your natural hair color - which helps you get a new hair look.

What Are the Cons of Using a Hair Toner?

One of the major cons of using hair toners is that they might contain harsh chemicals like ammonia which can cause health problems (inflammation and higher CRP levels), damage hair fiber, and cause irritation (1), (2).

How to Use a Toner on Your Hair

Toners are applied on hair to let your highlighted color stay for a long time. After you are done with the hair coloring process, toner will be applied to your hair. It's up to the professional whether they want to use a foil to apply toner on particular sections of the hair or use it on the entirety of your mane.

Hairstylists use the color wheel to understand what type of toner will suit you. Generally, the toner that's selected is the complete opposite of the color you are trying to eliminate. For example, if you have an orange hue, the professional may use a blue toner; if your hair is on the yellowish side, they will use a purple toner to neutralize the color.

If you are using a toner at home, follow the instructions carefully given on the packaging bottle.

Other Ways to Protect Your Hair Color And Prevent Fading

1. Use Color Safe Shampoos

After getting highlights done on your hair, you should invest in color-safe formulas to preserve your hair color. No matter what hair care product you use - shampoo, hair spray, or a conditioner, make sure they are color sensitive.

2. Avoid Overwashing Your Hair

Washing your hair too often can make the color fade away quickly. That doesn't mean you don't need to shampoo at all - just make sure to cleanse your scalp and hair once a week (3).

3. Stay Away from the Sun

We know it's hard to completely avoid going out, so make sure that whenever you step out of your home, you wear a hat or cover your hair with a scarf. Exposure to the sun can make your hair color deplete quickly, so take preventive measures to reduce UV-induced damage (4).

4. Keep Your Hair Nourished with a Conditioner

Keep Your Hair Nourished with a Conditioner

Use a hair conditioner after you shampoo to keep your hair hydrated and manageable (5). Conditioners not only tame frizzy hair but also make up for moisture loss that occurs during the hair highlighting process.

5. Resist the Use of Hair Styling Tools

Avoid using heat styling tools such as curling iron, hair straighteners, etc. as they can cause hair loss and damage and ruin the look of your magnificent locks (6)

Conclusion

Hair highlights can take your beauty game up to another level and make you look like a diva. How to choose the right toner for highlighted hair is a question that comes to everybody's mind once they decide to color their hair. It is highly important that you follow the color wheel to get the desired result. Choosing the right toner can help you combat unwanted brassy tones, and flaunt your new hair color. Don't forget to take proper precautions after getting hair highlights done - use a conditioner, stay away from the sun, and don't wash your hair too often to rock the look of your newly colored hair.

Sources:

1. Airway inflammation and ammonia exposure among female Palestinian hairdressers: a cross-sectional study

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25653315/

2. Comparison of damage to human hair fibers caused by monoethanolamine and ammonia based hair colorants

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260609990_Comparison_of_damage_to_human_hair_fibers_caused_by_monoethanolamine_and_ammonia_based_hair_colorants

3. Protection of oxidative hair color fading from shampoo washing by hydrophobically modified cationic polymers

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19450422/

4. UV damage of the Hair

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23781276_UV_damage_of_the_Hair

5. Shampoo and Conditioners: What a Dermatologist Should Know?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4458934/

6. Hair Styling Procedures and Hair Morphology: A Clinico-Microscopic Comparison Study