In this Guide
Have you ever wondered how we achieve those beautiful, vibrant, and perfectly cool or creamy shades after lightening your hair? The secret is toner. It’s the essential final step that gives your colour its personality.
When you lighten your hair, you’ll always expose warm undertones—that’s just part of the process. A toner is what we use to either eliminate those unwanted brassy tones or enhance the beautiful undertones we want to see.
What is a Toner?
Think of toning as the ultimate customisation for your hair colour. We use a demi or semi-permanent colour to either correct or personalise your newly lightened hair.
A toner can do one of two things: it can add enhancing pigments, like gorgeous golds and beiges, to create warmer shades, or it can add correcting pigments, like violet or blue, to give you a cooler, more ashy result. Either way, toning is a crucial step that not only perfects your colour but also boosts your hair’s shine and radiance.
While purple shampoos and conditioners are great for at-home maintenance, they’re not a replacement for a professional toner. A salon toning treatment is much more personalised, lasts longer, and ensures you get the exact shade you’re looking for. However, using these products at home is an excellent way to keep your cool tones fresh between appointments.
Why Does Hair Turn Yellow After Lightening?
Every time we lighten your hair, we’re exposing the natural pigments underneath. Your hair’s natural colour is a mix of pigments that control its tone (red/yellow) and its depth or darkness (blue). Bleach is fantastic at removing that depth, but it has a tougher time with the tonal pigments.
Our goal is always to get your hair to a very pale yellow. Depending on your natural hair colour and any previous colour history, we might be able to achieve this in just one appointment. The lighter we can get your hair, the cleaner and more beautiful the final toned colour will be.
What Causes Hair to Turn Yellow Over Time?
Unfortunately, even the most perfect colour can start to fade to a yellow shade over time. This can happen to lightened hair and even naturally grey hair. The culprits include:
- Air pollution
- Hard water
- Sun exposure
- Oxidisation
- Chlorine and other pool chemicals
How to Stop Your Hair from Turning Yellow
Since lightened hair will naturally fade to yellow over time, it’s important to use the right products to combat this. Proper aftercare is essential for making your colour last longer and stay vibrant. You can find a list of our favourite products in this article:
