Ask the Experts: What is a "Toner" September 27, 2022 08:55
Anyone who has had their hair lightened has probably had a "toner" applied...but there is still some confusion as to what this service involves, so we asked Morgan & Morgan salon owner Jennifer to explain
“Tonal Glazes are every colourist’s best friend,” says Jennifer. “They works magic on coloured and bleached hair and helps us to correct the tone and personalise your colour.”
“We typically use toner to neutralise unwanted warm undertones, as brassiness on blondes (which can also occur on redheads and brunettes) is something we want to avoid,” Jennifer adds.
For toner to work, hair needs to be pre-lightened or coloured first. "Bleaching is a tool that we use to take colour, or pigment, out of the hair,” explains Morgan. "The professional term is a 'pre-lightener'. During this process, you are pulling the pigment from the hair, stripping away the colour but not adding any colour." Your final colour then comes from the toning process.
“You can go anywhere with a toner," she says. "On blondes, cooler toner makes the colour more silvery and warmer toner makes it more coppery.”
Ice, Honey, Carmel, Biscuit,…the list goes on and on! There is not one hair shade for all. Your colourist will help you find the right shade depending your skin tone, your eye colour, the level of lightness of your colour and the effect you are after.
So what is a Tonal Glaze and what does it actually do?
A Tonal Glaze is a sheer form of demi-permanent colour which personalises your colour result. The glazing shade is applied once your highlights have been rinsed off (sometimes to dry hair but often to wet) to help create a bespoke shade.
A Tonal Glaze is most frequently thought of for light blonde hair but can also be used on darker to help remove any unwanted warm or brassy tones.
How long does the application take?
The application is fast and simple and is usually applied after all the lightening colour has been rinsed off. It’s applied into your hair from the roots to the ends, sometimes using more than one colour depending on the desired result)
This gentle, conditioning, shine enhancing colour will add the perfect reflect to the lightened hair to create a perfectly toned blonde.
After 10-20 minutes (depending on the chosen shade) it is rinsed off before your hair is conditioned
How long does it last?
A Tonal Glaze generally lasts around 3-4 weeks (depending on your hairs integrity and porosity), it will slowly fade at which point you can book another appointment to freshen the colour. We recommend you use a colour-friendly shampoo and a customised FabPro or ChromaID conditioner to prolong the results