To tone or not to tone is often the question?When you have blonde hair it’s ideal to have it healthy shiny and bright, not many people want flat matt blonde hair. Some people end up with flat matt blonde hair through incorrect advice on low lighting and toning.Flattening or the matt look of blondes quite often occurs when clients continually want to have low lights with their highlights, eventually the low lights fade and flatten and sometimes leave a matt muddy look. Often a toner is a much better option to low lights and here’s why.We will give you expert tips on how to achieve and maintain a great blonde hair colour no matter what reflect is desired.Your stylist should start by selecting the most appropriate lightener and developer, whether this is powder lightener, a lightening crème or a high lift tint. To protect the hair from damage with any of these lighteners it is always recommended that a product such as Fibreplex is added to protect the hair from breakage and damage through the colouring and lightening process. Fibreplex minimises breakage by up to 94%. Choosing the correct lightener and developer will allow your hair to maintain elasticity and not become porous and fragile, hence your toning services will last longer. Lightening is not a one stop shop for all people just because your friend has a certain lightener product used on their hair doesn’t mean it will be right for you so listen to your stylist they are the trained experts.Many clients ask why I need a toner. Well when hair is lightened it has had the cuticle opened and the natural and or pre coloured pigment removed to the desired level. Sometimes getting to this desired levels needs to be done over several appointments.Toners are used for several reasons. Once the hair is lightened it is in its raw state and a toner needs to be applied to achieve the desired tone. Sometimes we need to use a toner to counteract unwanted tones e.g. if the hair is reflecting too much gold reflect. Another reason we tone is to deposit a fashion tone this can be chosen from a huge array of colours, some of these include natural ash, pearl, soft auburn, creamy beige, violet, champagne, soft raspberry. Many clients change the tone of their blonde at different salon visits depending on the season, fashion or simply to just change things up a bit.

soft raspberry fashion toner

Simply applying silver shampoo is not a substitute for toning, silver or coloured shampoos should be used in conjunction with a toning service along with a good colour care conditioner and regular in-salon and at home treatment for maintenance.By toning the hair it deposits pigment back into the raw blonde, gives shine and a great reflect. A toner is a great way to also smudge new growth at say 4 weeks after the initial highlight service, clients come back at 4 weeks have the toner reapplied this deposits the desired pigment again and adds shine and lustre with the added bonus of smudging new growth.

lightened hair, pretoner at v for hair and beauty merivale
Natural champagne toner hair v for hair and beauty, Merivale

To maintain a great blonde we recommend that every three to four months having a deep cleanse service to lift all unwanted pigment and leftover toner so you are starting on a fresh palate again.Creating and maintaining a beautiful blonde initially, can take several appointments at the hair salon, and is an ongoing art perfecting this with your regular stylist. Having a regular stylist is a huge factor to creating a great blonde as they know your hair history.So next time you think do I need a toner on my blonde hair the answer is YES because you want your blonde hair to look fabulous

Shades of toners