Do you worry about your coloured hair losing its shine? Try putting a toner on your dyed hair.
A toner does more than just bring out the wrong colours in your coloured hair. It also makes your hair stronger and gives it more volume. To get the look you want, you can use natural hair toners.
This article talks about what a hair toner is, how it works, and how to use it.
Table of Contents
What is a hair toner, and why do we need one?
Everyone’s hair is red or orange, except for those who were born with naturally light blonde hair. So, when you bleach your hair to colour it, you get some unwanted warm and brassy undertones that keep you from having a uniform hair colour all over. Toners come in at this point. They help change the undertone of your hair and neutralise bleached hair, so you can put any colour you want on it. Natural toners can also restore your hair’s natural colour or make coloured hair shine.
“Toning hair has been done since the beginning of time. Kesha Ranjak Gana is a list of the Ayurvedic herbs that tone the skin naturally. Dr. Zeel Gandhi, an Ayurvedic doctor at Vedix, says, “They are Neeli (Indigofera Tinctoria), Amalaki (Emblica Officinalis), Madayantika (Henna or Lawsonia inermis), and Bhringaraj (Eclipta Alba).”
When do you use a hair toner?
Most of the time, hair toners are used:
- After bleaching or dying your hair, you need to change the brassy tones in your hair.
- You need to restore or add shine to hair that has already been coloured.
What’s good about using hair toner?
1. Adds to the tone:
When pollution or other hair colours damage your hair, they can sometimes change the colour of your natural hair colour.
Toners help get rid of the other colours in your hair so that your whole head of hair is the same colour.
2. Helps to colour hair:
Some trendy colours we use now have to be made in two steps. The first step is to make your natural hair colour lighter, and the second step is to use the toner that matches the colour you want.
3. Brings out the colour of hair:
You can use a hair toner instead of colouring and bleaching your hair again if your highlights or hair colour starts to fade. A good hair toner will not only bring back the colour of your hair, but it will also make it shine and make it stronger.
4. Gives hair colour more depth:
If you choose the right hair colour and put it on bleached or coloured hair, it can also change the shade of your hair, giving you a whole new colour without using hair dyes.
5. Talks about the Greys:
If your hair is just starting to turn grey, it’s probably a salt-and-pepper colour. Toning can make all the grey hairs look like they are the same colour as the rest of the hair. Toning is different from dying your greys because it makes your covered greys more reflective and gives them more depth.
6. Gives a sheen:
Toners help you give your hair a fresh start when that’s all it needs. Toners give your hair shine and volume by making the cuticle of your hair look fuller and then sealing it to make it shine.
Know This About Toners
Before you decide to use a toner on your hair, here are some things you should know:
You can’t use toners to make things whiter. They don’t take away the colour from your hair. Instead, they even out the undertones of your natural hair colour.
- Toners aren’t always there. Depending on how your hair feels, you might need to put more toner on it.
- To keep your hair colour, you will need a toner if you dye your hair and wash it a lot.
- If you spend a lot of time in the sun, toners will wear off quickly.
- If you use toners on your hair, you will need to add more moisture to it.
How Many Kinds Of Toners Are There?
1. Permanent Toner:
If you want to completely change your hair colour, you can use this type of toner. Permanent toners last a long time. If you use them for a long time, they will change the colour and texture of your hair.
2. Semi-Permanent Toner:
You should use this type of toner if you want temporary highlights or a light colour. This is a toner that doesn’t have any ammonia in it. It works best on damaged hair and helps even out the colour of your hair. Purple shampoo acts as a semi-permanent toner. They can be washed 10–12 times.
3. Demi-Permanent Toner:
Most of these are ammonia-based toners that are used to get rid of yellow colours, make your hair colour look better, and get rid of unwanted undertones. They last longer than toners that are only half permanent.
How to Use Hair Toners at Home?
Natural ingredients that can be used to make homemade hair toners are easy to find in every Indian home. Herbs from Ayurveda can also be used to make safe hair toners. Some of these herbs are:
A. Kesha Ranjak Herbs
- Neeli (Indigofera Tinctoria) is an ayurvedic herb with strong blue pigments that can balance both Vata and Kapha doshas.
- Take 100–200 g of indigo powder and mix it with warm water to make a paste. Apply this paste to your hair as a natural toner, and then wash it off an hour later.
- Amalaki (Emblica Officinalis): Amalaki, also known as Indian gooseberry, is an ayurvedic hair toner that prevents brassy hair and can be used with blonde and neutral hair dyes.
- By adding water to 2-3 grammes of amla powder, you can make a herbal paste. Put this paste on your dyed hair, wait an hour, and then wash it. Two times a week, you can do this.
- Madayantika (Henna or Lawsonia inermis): Everyone knows that henna can tone and colour hair, and it is still one of the most popular ingredients people use to tone their hair.
- Take 3–4 spoons of henna powder, which is usually enough for hair that is an average length. Mix it with water, put it on your hair for an hour, then wash it.
B. Toners that come from nature
1. Green Tea:
Because it is green, green tea is a great natural way to tone hair.
How to use: Brew 3 green tea bags in water until the water turns green, then put the mixture on your hair. After 30 minutes, use some warm water to wash your hair.
2. Lemon:
Lemon and honey make a great hair toner because it evens out the tones and conditions your hair at the same time.
Take a quarter cup of lemon juice, three-quarters of a cup of water, and two tablespoons of honey. Mix everything together and put it in a spray bottle. Spray the whole thing on your hair and wait about 2 hours. Use a shampoo that doesn’t have sulphates to wash it out later. At least three times a month is needed to see results.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar:
With the help of an apple cider vinegar toner, you can get rid of your orange and yellow tones.
Mix 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with some water. Use the mixture to rinse your hair and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then, wash your hair with water that isn’t too hot or too cold. Don’t do this if your hair is already dry and rough.
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
Olive oil is the best way to darken your hair’s colour and even out its brassy tones. It works best on Indian hair colours, and you can use it before you colour or bleach your hair.
How to use: Warm up a bowl of extra virgin olive oil and rub it into your hair for 30 minutes. Then wash your hair with any herbal shampoo.
5. Camomile:
Chamomile is the best way to make blonde hair shine.
Instructions: Brew a half cup of chamomile in an hour’s worth of water, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Spray this mixture on your hair and wash it out with cold water 2 hours later.
6. Hibiscus:
People with red hair will benefit the most from this natural hair toner.
How to use: Soak 12 cup of dried hibiscus leaves in an hour’s worth of water, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Spray the mixture on your hair, rub it in well, and then wash it out after 2 hours.
How long does it take for the hair toner to work?
The effects of a hair toner usually last for 2–6 weeks, so you need to keep using it every 2–6 weeks to keep your hair colour the way you want it. Also, how long the effect lasts will depend on how often you wash your hair, what hair products you use, and how healthy your hair is. The sun and other chemicals that are bad for your hair can make the hair toner less effective.
Tips for Safety When You Tone Your Hair
- Don’t leave the toner on your hair for longer than it says.
- After using the toner, you should wash your hair well. Make sure to clean it well so that all of the mixture is gone.
- As they are highly pigmented, you should take care not to get them on other parts of your body.
- Don’t mix more than one toner.
- If you have allergies, you should talk to your dermatologist.
Questions People Ask About Hair Toners
1. Is it bad for your hair to use toner?
If your toners have ammonia in them, they can be bad for your hair. On the other hand, ammonia-free toners, ayurvedic toners, and toning shampoos and conditioners are less damaging than chemical toners.
Most homemade or herbal toners are gentle. One can’t say that it’s 100% safe, though. Since it changes the colour of your hair in a way that isn’t natural, it will have some bad effects.
2. Can hair loss be caused by toner?
How much your hair falls out depends on how weak, dry, or damaged it is. Even though toners can’t get to your hair follicles under your scalp, they do make your hair rough. Because your hair is rough, you may feel like you need to comb it a lot. This can lead to hair loss.
3. Can you use a toner on hair that has been bleached?
It is recommended that you use a toner after bleaching your hair and before colouring it. If you use an ammonia-based toner, however, you should wait two to three days before applying a toner because the ammonia will have already made your hair very fragile. If you use natural toners, on the other hand, they will work best if you use them right after bleaching.
The Final Say
You can use hair toners to change the colour of your hair and keep it in good condition at the same time. You can use it to keep the tones in your hair or make the ones you already have look brighter. But you should know how it works before you decide to use it. Also, if you want the results you want, choose natural toners for your hair.
