Toning at Home - Get your Best Blonde or Brunette

We all know that amazing feeling walking out of the salon. Our color is perfect, exactly like that picture we found in the magazine. Fast forward to one week later and... well it's just not the same. Where did the shine go and how did the brassy orange and yellow tones appear? And why? Follow along as we answer these questions and explore one of the easiest ways to prolong your salon perfect color.

The drier and more damaged your hair condition is the more likely it is going to end up brassy. Often these unwanted tones come from many uncontrollable environmental factors. The world seems out to ruin our cool toned tresses. Everything from natural sun bleaching to the oxygen and pollution in the air to our own sweat and body chemistry is discoloring our hair as it is absorbing these coppery tones. Your hair can also be affected by your home's plumbing pipes, if they are old copper pipes, or from smoking or certain medications but many times it is the natural environment that does the most damage to your beautiful salon locks.

The biggest toning bully is the sun. The sun causes our hair's composition to change and naturally lighten which fades the toner your hairdresser applied, and the brassy tones become visible. Another thing you can't control is your hair oxidizing. Your colored hair chemically reacts with oxygen in a similar way iron and other metals react; yes, your hair can rust. The oxidation from your hair has a similar color as rust which is where the yellow and orange colors appear in your hair. Minerals are microscopic, but if you could, you would see the natural brassy tones that are harbored and magnified when trapped in your hair. Minerals are added to our hair from many different sources. The water in your shower, the sweat from our heads, and even the products we use all contain many different minerals that can slowly alter the color of your hair.

Phew, well now that we all know brassy tones are everywhere and it's an inevitable part of having cool toned hair, let's cover how to fix it. The answer to your brass problems are toning shampoos! Purple shampoos have been popular for many years and almost every popular hair care brand has one. The other amazing toning product that is just starting to gain popularity is blue/green shampoos. If you have ever seen a color wheel before then it may already make a little sense as to why your hair would need blue/green to purple shampoos. If you haven't, we can break it down for you. The color wheel is a simple chart that visually shows the relationships between colors. It takes our visible color spectrum and places it in a wheel shape. The very center of the wheel is neutral or white. Colors opposite each other are complimentary. It's these complimentary colors that counteract each other in your hair. If your hair is looking a little yellow than the complimentary color is purple. If your hair is looking more orange or red, it will react better with the blue/green shampoos.

WARNING: An important part of toning to remember is it does not stop at neutral. If you use your toning shampoo too often your hair will pull too much of the purple or blue. So ideally it is best to use these shampoos weekly or every few days.

The reason it's helpful to have a basic understanding of the color wheel is so you can pick the best toning shampoo for your hair. Not all toning shampoos are made equally. For example, ColorProof Signature Blonde Shampoo is a pale light purple with almost lilac undertones. This shampoo is best suited for someone trying to battle pale or lighter yellow tones. On the contrary Surface Pure Blonde Violet Shampoo is a deep purple with blue undertones. This shampoo would be much more effective on deeper yellows that even have hints of orange to them.

On the brunettes best choices are the green and blue shampoos. You could pick a shampoo like Pravana's The Perfect Brunette. It has a lighter blue color to it with strong under tones of green. The Perfect Brunette is best for battling stronger orange brassiness that could even look red in some lights. If your brass tones appear to be more of a traditional orange a deeper blue toning shampoo like Matrix Total Results Brass Off will be the best choice for your hair.

PRO TIP: Use your pro! Cosmetologists have studied the color wheel a lot. They know what your color is likely to attract and can help you pick a perfect toning shampoo for it. We have licensed cosmetologist answering our phones (866) 409-7227 to help you choose the perfect tone to achieve your hair goals.

The environment would like us all to have warm and brassy hair. If that is not your style, then toning shampoos will be your best friend! Don't let your salon perfect color be temporary! It's time to put your best blonde or brunette forward!