Chapter 4 – Lightening Virgin Hair and Regrowth
4.6 Formulating the Toner
Anytime a colour is applied over pre-lightened hair in order to change the tone, it is referred to as toning. Toners can be used to neutralize or enhance underlying pigment or simply to deepen the level. Generally, a non-oxidative or low alkaline product will be used to tone, such as a semi- or demi-permanent colour product. These options are gentler to avoid excessive swelling of an already compromised hair strand.
Before formulating a toner:
- Determine the level that the hair has lifted to,
- Assess the pre-lightened hair to determine texture and porosity, and
- Decide whether you will be enhancing, neutralizing, or deepening the level.
Level
To create an optimal toner formulation, you will need to determine what level the hair has lifted to. This is crucial for a couple of reasons:
- Underlying pigment is different at each level of lift, which means the neutralizing or enhancing tone will also be different at each level.
- When choosing the toner level, it is always best to tone on-level (or slightly darker if a deeper tone is desired).
Let’s take another look at the underlying pigment chart:
Refer to the chart, and compare the neutralizing base at a level 8 to a neutralizing base at a level 7. At a level 8 yellow, the recommended neutralizing tone is violet:
Whereas at a level 7, only one level darker, the recommended corrective tone for the yellow-orange underlying pigment is a blue-violet:
This visually explains why it is so important to tone on-level.
For example, if the hair is lifted to a level 7 and a level 8 violet-based toner is applied, the violet will tone out the yellow but leave the orange, which will make the orange stand out even more against the neutral background.
Look at it this way:
The violet will neutralize the yellow, and you will be left with an unwanted brassy tone.
When performing a bleach and tone service, you should avoid lifting past the target level, as this will put undue stress on the hair.
Another scenario to consider: The client was lightened in the past and would now like to be a bit darker. When toning in order to deepen the level, think of the above scenario reversed.
For example, it is not ideal to use a blue-violet-based level 7 toner on pale yellow level 8 pre-lightened hair. This will give us a bluish over-toned result.
The violet will neutralize the yellow, and you will be left with a bluish tinge.
A better approach would be to use a violet-based toner mixed with some natural to create your deeper target level.
Consider this example formula to be used on existing level 8 pre-lightened hair where the client would like a neutral level 7:
40ml Semi Activator + 10ml 6N + 10ml 8V
This formula would create a natural violet level 7 (by mixing level 6 and level 8), which will neutralize the yellow and darken the level, without creating an over-toned result.
Texture and Porosity
When assessing the hair structure and integrity, there are s