Hair Toners

You know that moment. You have just bleached your hair, rinsed it out, and are looking in the mirror. It is light, but it is not the right light. It is yellow, brassy, or simply not the shade you were aiming for. That is where toners come in. They neutralise unwanted undertones like yellow, orange, and brass, leaving you with the cool, warm, or neutral shade you were after and resulting in a more even, polished colour. Whether you are a colourist finishing a service or someone maintaining their blonde at home, the right toner makes the difference.

The Difference Between Toner and Toning Shampoo

Toners and toning shampoos serve different purposes.

• Hair toners. These are professional treatments applied less frequently to correct unwanted tones and add shine. They are more concentrated and deliver stronger colour correction.

• Toning shampoos. Purple shampoo for blonde hair and blue-pigmented shampoos are lower-commitment maintenance products, used in place of regular shampoo to keep brass at bay. They keep colour fresh between toner appointments, though they do not replace professional toning.

How to Choose the Right Toner

The right toner depends on your current colour and the result you want.

• For yellow blonde. Choose a toner with violet or lilac pigments, which neutralise yellow and create a cool, icy blonde. BLONDME Pastel Toning Lilac is the pick here.

• For orange or brassy blonde. Choose a toner with blue or ash pigments, since blue sits opposite orange on the colour wheel. The Natural Look Silver Screen Ice Blonde Repair Serum contains violet and blue pigments for exactly this purpose.

• For golden or warm tones. Choose a gold, beige, or apricot toner, which adds warmth and dimension without tipping into brass. BLONDME Toning Apricot and Keracolor Toning Drops Gold both sit here.

• For refresh and shine. Choose a clear gloss or a mild toner. Dia Light is an acidic demi-permanent gloss made for salon toning and shine work, and it comes in a Clear shade that adds gloss without changing the colour.

For the Salon Professional

Toners are a core part of any colour service. They let you correct tone, add shine, and land on the exact shade a client asked for.

BLONDME Pastel Toning Lilac and Toning Apricot are intermixable pastel toners built for pre-lightened and natural blonde bases at level 9 and lighter. Pravana Chromasilk Express Toner Gold is ammonia-free and works in under five minutes. Dia Light is an acidic demi-permanent gloss for toning and colour refreshing, available in more than sixty shades. Muk Hybrid Colour is a full colour system with a set of express toners built into the shade range, including Lilac, Ash, Pearl, and Smokey Silver.

For matching tone before you apply, the Muk Express Toner Swatch Ring carries eight swatches so a client can see the shade first.

Complete Your Colour Kit at AMR

AMR stocks toners for corrective work and for maintenance, from professional lilacs and golds through to purple masks and pigmented serums.

Beyond toners, you will find the wider hair colour range, along with hair bleach and peroxides and developers for the lifting that comes before toning. To hold your tone between services, there are blonde hair masks, blonde conditioner, colour intensifier products, and hair products for coloured hair.