Looking forward to making that color change you’ve been wanting for a long time now? We hear you and in order to successfully achieve the shade of your dreams, we advise you to do your research first. If what you want is to go blonde, you need to learn if you should use toner or dye after bleaching.
Going from dark hair to blonde is a process that requires bleaching as a first step, then your hair may be left with some brassiness that can appear in the form of yellow or orange in your hair. And while in fact, you can dye your hair after bleaching, experts recommend the use of a hair toner that will remove remnants of the unwanted pigments left in your hair.
Brassiness is the presence of warm undernotes on the hair, and while some don’t mind it and choose to keep the look, most women prefer a cool ash shade. If you can relate, then what you need to do is learn about toning hair after bleach, which is as relevant as dying your hair the right shade.
These warm undertones are different for everyone, for blondes it appears in the form of an orange look, in their case purple shampoo is recommended. So fear not, if you are confused about whether you should use toner or dye after bleaching, you are in the right place as we’ll be sharing with you everything about toning hair after bleach, how long to leave toner in hair, how long to leave the toner on brassy hair, do you shampoo after toner, and more.
Products Reviewed In This Article
Best Liquid Toner: Wella BLONDOR Permanent Liquid Hair Toner
⇣ Jump to ReviewBest Shampoo & Conditioner Duo: L’Oreal Paris Elvive Total Repair 5 Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner
⇣ Jump to ReviewBest Purple Shampoo: Pantene Sunlit Blondie Purple Shampoo
⇣ Jump to ReviewBest Toning Gloss: L’Oreal Paris Le Color One Step Hair Toning Gloss.
⇣ Jump to ReviewToner or Dye After Bleaching?
Dye After Bleaching
Dying your hair after bleaching is a complex process that breaks the fatty acids causing your hair to be dry and prone to breakages. While you can do it, it is not recommended to do it right after, keep in mind that it isn’t advisable to dye wet hair after bleaching.
By coloring your hair immediately, the bleach may cause further damage, so waiting at least a few days is the best for your hair health.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Don’t leave the bleach on your hair for too long as it can damage the skin of your head.
- Don’t forget to deep-condition your hair when the mane discolors. This makes your strands easy to comb, and it returns the required nutrients after bleaching.
- Perform a strand test before bleaching your hair. This way, you’ll be confident that there won’t be any unpredictable color changes to your locks.
- If you have dark locks and need to color them repeatedly to get your desired shade, wait for several weeks before each procedure to help your strands restore.
- If you want to dye your hair after bleaching, wait two weeks before coloring it. You don’t need to wait this long if your hair feels strong.
Toner After Bleaching
To lighten your hair, you have to use bleach, bleach can lead to brassy undertones and the cure to these orange pigments are you guessed it, toner!
Hair toner works to neutralize warm and brassy tones that show through your hair after dying or bleaching it. These colors appear because, except for people with extremely light blonde hair, most of us have hair with red and orange pigment.
It will not change your hair color. What it actually does is help you alter the shade of your lightened locks.
Since hair toner works to neutralize brassy tones, you should use it after you bleach your hair, given that you won’t know where the brassy areas are until after the bleaching process is done.
Toner offers numerous benefits to hair aside from its all-important neutralizing properties. By using toner, you’ll help your hair achieve more shine, look healthier, and have a more natural-looking color shade.
Toner Types
Many toners exist, given how many different hair types and dyes there are. So, when choosing a toner for your hair, you’ll need to pull out a color wheel. You can find toners for brunettes, toners for blondes, and toners for redheads.
When it comes to toning after bleach which is especially notorious for needing toning, purple toner is ideal for preventing hair from undergoing oxidation.
Toner comes in a variety of styles or forms which include:
- Tinted shampoo
- Tinted conditioner
- Demi-permanent colors
- Glosses
Toning Hair After Bleach Steps
Step 1 Mix toner and apply: Wella BLONDOR Permanent Liquid Hair Toner
Mix your toner with a developer in a 1:2 ratio. Use an applicator brush to work the mixture into your hair, focusing on the areas with unwanted undertones.
Wella BLONDOR Permanent Liquid Hair Toner comes with a Sleek Tint Applicator Brush for easy hair dye application and mixing with developers.
From balayage and highlights to all-over color, transform any starting level into a gorgeous blonde with Wella Blondor.
New Blondor Toners deliver reliable, true-to-tone results with non-progressive color that won’t over-deposit. This collection offers 5 intermixable shades plus a Brass Kicker additive to neutralize underlying pigments to achieve the perfect blonde.
The new Blondor Permanent Liquid Toners deliver fast, reliable, true-to-tone results. The Pale Silver Liquid Toner can be mixed with any of the other shades or the customizable Brass Kicker additive for that extra kick to neutralize stubborn underlying pigments.
How to use Wella BLONDOR Permanent Liquid Hair Toner:
- Use on pre-lightened hair
- Mix 1 part Blondor Toner with 2 parts 6 vol. or 20 vol. Welloxon developer.
- Apply to towel-dried hair and develop for 10-30 minutes, checking frequently for the desired results.
Step 2 Allow toner to work
Leave the toner in for up to 45 minutes.
Step 3 Rinse: L’Oreal Paris Elvive Total Repair 5 Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner
Rinse, and wash with a moisturizing shampoo and deep conditioner.
We recommend L’Oreal Paris Elvive Total Repair 5 Repairing Shampoo and Conditioner for color-treated hair which helps moisturize and enhance the vibrancy of colored hair. This color-safe shampoo provides long-lasting vibrancy for up to 40 washes.
It is infused with an exclusive ProteinFusion blend with Elastin Protein and Quinoa, this color-protecting shampoo and conditioner helps to enhance color.
The L’Oreal Paris Elvive Total Repair conditioner creates an invisible defensive layer to protect essential proteins within the hair fiber. L’Oreal Paris Elvive Shampoo and Conditioner for color-treated hair provide salon-quality hair care for an enhanced and brightened look.
How to use Nexxus Color Assure Shampoo and Conditioner:
- Cleanse hair with L’Oreal Paris Elvive Shampoo. Apply the color-safe shampoo to wet hair, experiencing the creamy lather before rinsing.
- Seal vibrancy with L’Oreal Paris Elvive Conditioner, and leave for a few minutes.
- Rinse.
Toning Hair After Bleach With Toning Shampoo
Step 1 Apply Shampoo: Pantene Sunlit Blondie Purple Shampoo
Gently massage shampoo into wet hair. We like Pantene Sunlit Blondie, this paraben-free purple shampoo helps prevent brassiness with biotin and silk extract.
Pantene Sunlit Blondie Purple Shampoo, with biotin and silk extract, helps prevent brassiness by neutralizing yellow tones with purple pigment. Made with Color Adapt technology by Pantene, this purple shampoo is free of parabens, silicones, and mineral oil.
This purple shampoo helps keep brassy tones away to maintain the color of your blonde or platinum hair and keep it looking salon-fresh.
Step 2 Lather and rinse well
For especially stubborn brassiness, you can leave the shampoo in for 2-3 minutes before rinsing.
Toning Hair After Bleach With Toning Gloss
Step 1 Wash Hair
Shampoo and condition your hair normally.
Step 2 Apply Gloss: L’Oreal Paris Le Color One Step Hair Toning Gloss
Squeeze a quarter-sized amount of gloss into your hand. Spread from the root through the entire length of your hair, and repeat 3-5 times to ensure your hair is evenly saturated.
You can try L’Oreal Paris Le Color One Step Hair Toning Gloss. This toner adds a cool tone to blonde hair, neutralizes brass in highlighted and bleached hair, boosts shine, and deeply conditions in one step, leaving hair looking unbelievably healthy, with a fresh hint of color
It features a coconut oil-infused deep conditioning base; is vegan, color- and keratin-safe, and free of ammonia, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and mineral oils.
Le color Gloss tones and neutralizes brassiness in blondes revive fading reds and add warmth back to brunettes.
This in-shower toning gloss is easy to use with no mixing, no gloves needed, and a no-hassle application; suitable for all hair types and textures, color-treated or natural hair.
Step 3 Rinse
Leave gloss on for 3 minutes, then rinse.
Toner or Dye After Bleaching Additional Tips
- What will determine whether you should use a toner or dye after bleaching your hair is the tone or bleach level you achieve during the process. Also, the color you want your hair to be.
- If you achieve the light shade you wanted, you can apply a permanent hair dye. It’ll neutralize the bright colors and give you the tone you were looking for.
- It’s impossible to bleach very dark hair only once to reach a very light blonde. Instead, your hair will be yellow or orange. In that case, you can use a toner to remove the orange or yellow shades until the following bleaching.
Common Question About Toner or Dye After Bleaching
What’s the difference between dyeing and toning?
Hair dyes and toners both deposit color onto the hair, but they are different. Dye completely alters the color of your hair, while toner is often used to even out the hair’s tones after it’s been color treated.
Should you use toner or dye after bleaching?
Bleaching agents strip the hair of its natural color. Dye deposits color to the hair permanently. Toner corrects the tone of the hair. Toner or dye after bleaching depends on each person and their end goal in terms of hair color.
If you wish to dye your hair immediately after bleaching, it’s best to stay in a color range that is similar to what you are bleaching it to.
The best thing that can be done is to take a break and wait for three or four days. Toner is less harmful compared to the dye.
Toner is widely used by professionals after bleaching because it neutralizes unwanted colors that may arise. A hair dye may be used after bleaching with caution as it may cause further damage to your strands.
Can you put toner on wet hair?
While toner can be used on both wet and dry hair, using toner when the hair is damp and not soaking wet is what experts recommend.
When the hair is damp, the hair is higher in its porosity and this will help the toner penetrate deep into the hair strand, making it work better on the hair.
If you apply the toner on your soaking wet hair, the toner will get diluted and reduce its effectiveness.
Should you use a toner after bleaching hair right away?
The answer is affirmative. Toning hair after bleach will make it work better and more effectively on the hair. The reason is due to how porous the hair is once it has been bleached, it will let the toner penetrate deep into the hair strand.
Do you shampoo after toner?
Yes. You can rinse it off with just plain water, at first, followed by shampooing and conditioning with your regular shampoo and conditioner.
Remember to deep condition and moisturize your hair once you have washed off the toner because, with both bleaching and thereafter, toning, your hair would have experienced a lot of damage.
When should use hair toner after bleaching hair?
Any time you apply bleach to your delicate strands, you’ll need an excellent toner to neutralize unwanted undertones. As a result, toners are a must for any colored hair.
In between coloring sessions at the salon, and especially right after getting your hair colored, use a toner to get rid of brassiness and maximize your color.
You can expect the effect of salon-style toners to last around three to four weeks before a refresh is needed.
Toner or Dye After Bleaching Video Tutorial
Products Mentioned In This Article
- Wella BLONDOR Permanent Liquid Hair TONER
- Nexxus Color Assure Shampoo and Conditioner
- Pantene Sunlit Blondie
- L’Oreal Paris Le Color One Step Hair Toning Gloss
Disclosure: The Hair Products recommended in this article are our top favorites because they have a great combination of quality, features, and affordability. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through the links as a way to support this site. If you buy a qualifying product, you’re not charged anything extra, but I’ll get a small commission to help pay for my expenses. I hope you find our advice helpful and discover the Best Hair Products for your needs on this list.
