Luxe Ed: So What’s the Deal with Toners?
We are A-L-W-A-Y-S asked about toners here at Luxe. We’ve heard them called the Fairy Godmothers of Hair, and in a way it is true. Bleaching and coloring cause blonde hair (whether it be highlights or a head full) to turn “brassy,” meaning it can be left with undesired warm undertones that make it look unnatural. Put simply, toners help to solve this problem. And that is just the start of their charms.
They allow us to incorporate the basic color principle that opposite shades across the color wheel will cancel each other out, and they do this by neutralizing and correcting the tone of your hair without lightening it further. A toner’s formula grabs on to shades of orange and yellow and neutralizes them into a different shade of blonde, silver, or even pastel. Toners can mean the difference between flattering and non-flattering.
An added bonus to toners is that they can also have the effect of brightening dull looking hair and enhancing the shine and condition by closing the hair’s cuticle.
Depending on what’s best for the hair, we apply toners at the shampoo bowl and sometimes let it process under heat. It all depends on the hair color correction that we are doing and the level of intensity needed. So yes, toners are for color correction, but not because a stylist makes a mistake. They are part of a careful plan that a skilled stylist uses to deliver exactly what a client wants when it comes to her hair.