What is a toner?

And why do you need one?

before toner 

A lot of clients ask us what a toner is and why we use it for their hair. This blog is to provide a short answer that’s easy for our clients to digest.

A toner, or “gloss” as we sometimes call it, is a semi-permanent hair color. The objective of a toner is to neutralize, change, or enhance the tonal value of the hair.

So why does your stylist apply a toner after highlighting?

after toner

When we highlight hair, we are lifting and lightening the existing color in the hair. When hair is lightened, it goes through a spectrum of undertones that make up the existing color. When we rinse the lightener, we are left with the raw lift, which usually has some natural warm tones left over, or is a very pale yellowish color. The tone of the highlights before a toner are not always going to match the tone of your desired color goal.

Using our knowledge in color theory, and our creativity, we apply the right mixture of toner to either neutralize unwanted tones, add tone to create the desired end result, or enhance the existing tone of the hair.

FYI- the right toner will completely eliminate brassiness from your color!

Toner/gloss can be used on most hair colors.

Toner is not just for blondes, it can also be used to refresh faded ends while you are in the salon for a root retouch. After time, your color may start to fade on the ends, and lack the same richness or vibrancy as fresh roots have. Instead of applying a permanent color all over again, we can save your hair from over processing and use a toner to refresh your ends instead. This gives your hair a freshly colored look, and lots of shine again!

Gloss treatment for SHINE

Another great benefit of our glosses is that we can use a treatment to just add shine and luster to your hair, without changing the color of your color! This is a great add on service when you are in for a haircut, you can leave the salon with the shine of a full color service!