How to Tone Brassy Hair: Choosing a Toner by Level

A toner only corrects the level you already lifted to. Read the level, name the exact warmth, then pick a toner at that level with the opposite tone. Get those three right and the shade code almost picks itself.

Read the level you actually lifted to

Look at the hair dry, in daylight or a daylight lamp, and judge each zone on its own: root area, mids and ends. Lightened hair is rarely one level from scalp to ends. The root area often lifts faster from scalp heat, and previously lightened ends can sit a level or two above the mids.

Compare each zone to the level strip on your chart. If level numbering is new, start with how to read a hair color chart. Write the levels down before you open a single tube.

This matters because a demi toner deposits. It does not lift. Redken says plainly that Shades EQ Gloss has no lift. If the client wants a level 10 result and the hair is sitting at 8, no toner gets you there. Lift more first, then tone.

Name the exact unwanted tone

"Brassy" is not a tone. It covers three different problems, and each one needs a different fix.

• Yellow. Pale yellow at level 10, stronger yellow at 9. This is the easiest one to neutralize.
• Yellow-orange, or gold. Typical at levels 8 and 7. There is still orange under the yellow.
• Orange. Typical at levels 6 and 7, and red-orange at 5. The hair hasn't lifted out of the orange stage.

These are the underlying pigments that show as hair lightens. For the full level by level map and why virgin regrowth heats up first, see why natural roots go brassy.

Pick the neutralizing tone

The color wheel does the work. Each warm tone is canceled by the tone opposite it.

• Yellow is canceled by violet.
• Yellow-orange is canceled by blue-violet.
• Orange is canceled by blue.
• Red-orange is canceled by blue-green, or by an ash brown at that depth.

Then match the strength. Pale yellow at level 10 needs a whisper of violet. Strong yellow-orange at level 8 needs real blue-violet. Too much violet on pale yellow reads lilac. Too much blue on hair that was only slightly gold reads gray and flat.

Each brand names these tones its own way. Redken Shades EQ uses letters such as V for Violet, VB for Violet Blue and NA for Natural Ash (Shades EQ codes explained breaks them all down). Wella Color Touch uses numbers after the slash, so 8/81 is Light Blonde/Pearl Ash and 10/6 is Lightest Blonde/Violet. Goldwell Colorance Gloss Tones uses letters plus a shade name, and the cool shades sit together on the color card.

Match the toner level to the lifted level

Choose a toner at the level the hair is sitting at, or one level lighter for a sheer result. A toner darker than the lift adds depth. That's the right call when you want depth back, and the wrong one when the client asked for bright blonde.

Lighter levels also carry less pigment. Redken's direction for lighter deposit is to formulate with 09 or 010 shades, and to lighten a formula by mixing in lighter shades or diluting with 000 Crystal Clear, 09M or a 010 shade. Color Touch has 0/00 Clear and Gloss Tones has Clear for the same job.

Toner by lifted level and tone

Example shades from three toning lines: Redken Shades EQ, Wella Color Touch and Goldwell Colorance Gloss Tones. Full charts live under Redken, Wella and Goldwell.

Redken calls 09V Platinum Ice its best true violet toner. Wella names 7/89, 8/81, 10/81 and 10/6 among the cool Color Touch shades stylists use to counteract warmth. The only cool level 6 in Gloss Tones is 6V Deep Lilac, a violet that won't cancel orange, so orange at 6 takes 5PN Volcanic Soil for a touch of depth, or another line.

Demi gloss vs other toners

All three lines above are ammonia-free demi toners, but they don't process the same way.

Shades EQ Gloss is Redken's acidic gloss. Redken says no other developer may be substituted for the Processing Solution, and that wet application or changing the processing time cuts longevity and color accuracy. For resistant hair, process 15 minutes under a plastic cap and a warm dryer, then cool 5 minutes. It lasts up to 28 shampoos.

Color Touch uses its own emulsion at a 1:2 ratio. Wella lists 1.9% (6 volume) for deposit, correction, glazes and toning, and 4% (13 volume) for subtle brightening and more vibrancy. For plain toning, 1.9% is the one. Developer strength and lift are covered in developer volume explained.

Colorance Gloss Tones is the fast one. Shake it in an applicator bottle at 1:1 with 2% lotion and rinse at 10 minutes, or at 5 minutes for a softer result. Goldwell notes the color mass may not change while it processes, so go by the clock, not the bowl.

Permanent color can also tone. Wella Illumina Color tones blondes at 1:2 with Welloxon Perfect Pastel 1.9% for 10 to 15 minutes, with cool shades like 10/69 Lightest Blonde Violet Cendre. It's an oxidative service, so save it for when you want a permanent result, not a quick gloss.

Common toning mistakes

Toner too dark

The most common reason a blonde comes out muddy or smoky. A level 8 toner on level 10 hair adds two levels of depth, and porous ends grab it hardest. Stay at the lifted level or lighter, and dilute with clear instead of guessing at a shorter time. Redken's direction for porous hair is to use the full processing time at room temperature with 09 or 010 shades for lighter deposit.

Wrong tone for the warmth

Violet on orange does almost nothing. Violet cancels yellow. Orange needs blue. If a violet toner left the hair gold-orange, the hair was never at the yellow stage. Go back to the table, read the tone again, and move to blue-violet or blue at the same level.

Toning unevenly lifted hair

A demi deposits the same tone on every level it touches, so uneven lift shows straight through the toner. A warm band at the root next to pale ends stays a band. Even out the lift first, or formulate by zone: a deeper or bluer toner where the hair is warmer, and a sheer or diluted one where it's lightest and most porous.

Write the toner formula down

Record the lifted level by zone, the tone you saw and the exact codes and ratio you used. Next visit, you start from facts instead of memory. Formula Finder builds formulas from real shade codes in your brand, starting from the client's inspo pic.