How to Mix Hair Toners to Get Hair Blonde

What is a hair toner?

Blondify Liquid Hair Toner

A hair toner is an oxydative product which color corrects hair.

Very often a hair toner is used on bleached hair or on highlights.

When used in this way, hair toners make the hair color less yellow and more ashy and more cold.

How does a hair toner work?

A hair toner is always used with a developer, which is essentially hydrogen peroxide.

The combination of the two creates an extremely alkali mix.

This mix opens up the hair fiber and penetrates into the cuticle.

Depending on the exact type of hair toner you use, the mix may lift the hair up by a couple of levels.

The mix then re-colors the hair cuticle, very often using purple and blue pigments to make the hair less yellow and more ashy.

Which hair toner should I use? 

Use this chart to decide which toner is right for you.

It all depends on what you are trying to do.

There are essentially 3 types of oxydative toners:

Permanent toners with extra lift.

Use these if your hair is very very brassy, level 7 and level 8.

Permanent toners with regular lift.

Use these toners if your hair is yellow level 9 and level 10.

And non-lifting demi-permanent toners.

You should use these if you need to tone blonde highlights without lifting your dark base.

Or if you are looking for a blonde refresh without a dramatic makeover.

We will cover these 3 types of toners now, plus show you how to mix and apply them.

Permanent Toners with Extra Lift

This result was obtained using 100V Intense Pearl Blonde toner mixed with 20 Vol developer

Is your client's hair very very brassy?

Yellow-orange and level 7/8?

And are you trying to get to an uber-white, pearl or silver blonde result?

We would of course recommend that you bleach first to get this hair all the way up to level 10.

But your client's hair is not lifting any more, or unwilling to bleach the hair further, we would suggest you use Ugly Duckling's intense toners.

These are the only toners with a booster in the formula which kicks out yellow and "boosts" the level by an extra level.

These toners should be mixed with 20 Vol developer, in a 1 part toner to 2 parts developer mix ratio.

Make your mix in a plastic bowl and stir until you have formed a totally smooth, creamy paste.

Then apply onto the hair.

These toners with booster are truly rather powerful.

You need to watch carefully and rinse as soon as you attain the desired hair color.

USING INTENSE PEARL BLONDE TONER 100V: WATCH VIDEO

Hair by Elona Taki

Permanent Toners with Regular Lift

Pearl Blonde 10V Before and After. Used with 20 Vol Developer - Hair by Elona Taki

These toners are what we suggest you use when the hair is level 9 or 10.

In other words, well lifted and lightened but still very yellow.

These toners should also be used with 20 Vol developer, using a 1 part toner to 2 parts developer mix ratio.

Mix them as above.

Hair by Elona Taki

Demi-Permenant Non-Lifting Toners

Blondify Natural Ash Blonde Toner. Used with 20 Vol Developer.

Hair by Elona Taki

Natural Ash Blonde Toner 010A.

Natural Violet Blonde 010V

Ugly Duckling makes these toners in liquid form.

They are non-lifting and so can be used on blonde highlights without lifting the base.

You can use them with 10 or 20 Vol developer, depending on the lift required.

The mix ratio here is 1 part toner to 1 part developer.

You can mix them in a plastic applicator bottle and pour directly over the hair.