Getting highlights has been so popular for decades now. You could get various highlights – so you have plenty to choose from!
The most popular types nowadays are balayage highlights or babylights. Babylights are very subtle and only make your hair slightly sunkissed.
Balayage, on the other hand, can make your hair look drastically different. It looks like a soft transition from a darker, usually natural tone to lighter, blonde or gray tones. The lighter tones don’t have to be grayish or blonde. They can be dyed into any color, as long as it’s lighter than the roots!
Highlights are usually used to spark up your look. But, if you commit to having babylights for a while, you could get bored after a while.
So many people get bored with their hairstyles, and you heard from some friends that you can darken highlights with a toner, which sounds amazing.
How to darken highlights with a toner? What’s the best way to darken highlights? Continue reading to find the best methods out there!
What’s The Purpose Of A Toner?
Since changing your hair color can come as a bit of a shock, many people stick to highlights for their first dye job.
The change could still be drastic, but less so than changing your entire hair color. Many people stick to various highlights for years and eventually get bored.
Or the highlights turned out way too light for their liking this time – either way, you don’t love the look now. That’s where toners come in.
Toners are traditionally used for light hair, processed and dyed – usually. Toners are used to remove unwanted tones from your entire hair or highlights.
Today, the most popular hair tones are cold and gray. Gray tones have become so popular that people pay huge amounts of money to hairdressers to achieve that viral, gray balayage.
Unfortunately, you will find that gray hair is achieved with toner and is not permanent. It will last five washes at best before your hair gets that brassy, yellowish look.
So, you will need to tone your hair once a week or every two weeks. The same story is if you want your highlights to have that gorgeous golden tone or make them more neutral.
Toners are an ideal alternative to dyeing your hair because they don’t damage it. It’s not permanent, but the toner gives you the desired tone in just a few minutes. Another plus is that applying toner is easily done at home!
See Also: Can You Mix Toner With Hair Dye?
Can Toner Be Used To Darken Highlights?
We have already established that toner doesn’t exactly dye your hair – the toner just removes the unwanted tones from your hair. The toner just gives your hair a slightly different look, depending on the tones you want to remove – be that cold or warm tones.
So, can you use toner to darken highlights? Actually, yes!
It won’t darken your hair much, but it can be done. Picking out the appropriate toner for this can be a bit of a hassle, but it can be done.
We found that there are there is only one, the right way to darken highlights with toner, so let’s get on it!
How To Darken Highlights With A Toner: Choosing The Toner
To start, you will need to know how light your highlights are – and you can do that using a color chart. It will be best to use the color chart of the company whose toner you want to use – this is the ideal way because you’re more likely to pick out the correct shade.
Hold a strand of your highlights close to the chart and figure out what’s the color closest to your real hair. Most tones range from 1 to 10, with 1 being the darkest and 10 (sometimes 12), being the lightest.
When you pick out the brand you want to use for toning, search the web for their hair color chart. You must use the chart of the brand you’re set on using for the best results.
If your highlights are extremely light, almost white – they likely belong in the 9 or 10 tones on the chart. Now, pick out the color you want your highlights to be. Usually, according to the chart, you would want your highlights to be at least a few tones darker.
Then, go to the beauty store of your choosing. We strongly recommend going to the beauty store in person rather than shopping online. This way, you can consult the shopping assistants if you have trouble picking out a toner.
The toner you pick should be the color you’d want your color to be. When you’re going from dark to light, it can be hard. On the other hand, when you want your hair to be darker, it can be pretty easy to pick a toner – but be careful nonetheless.
Even if you make a mistake, don’t sweat it. Toners are demi-permanent, and they don’t penetrate the hair follicle – they just deposit the shade over the hair.
That’s why toners wash out so quickly, but they are useful if you don’t want to commit to just one hair color. Toners, unlike dye, just neutralize the intensity of the hair color underneath it – making it less light in this situation.
The last step is picking out a developer – it’d be best to use 10 volume. When you mix the developer with the toner, the mix will deposit the color to your hair. We advise you to pick a developer from the same brand as the toner.
Read Also: How To Cancel Out Pink Tones In Hair? Tone Down Pink Hair?
How To Darken Highlights With A Toner: Application
The first thing you should do is mix the toner with the developer and vary the ratio. Usually, the ratio is one part toner to two parts developer. Mix it well in a bowl until the mix gets a thicker, gel-like texture.
What happens if you put too much developer in your dye? Is that dangerous? Read our article to find out!
Expand your hair to at least a few sections to do a more precise job. Use clasps to put up the hair you have already colored.
Using the dye brush, transfer the mix onto your hair. You can apply the toner to your highlights only, but you can also use it on your whole hair.
Begin at the roots, work your way downwards, and start at the back of your head. If you apply it to your darker strand, don’t panic – it will likely not change anything.
When you’re done, comb out your hair. This will ensure all your strands are covered in toner – start at the roots and comb your entire hair.
Depending on the toner, you should leave it on for 20 to 30 minutes before you wash it. Check out the color of your hair, as the time is almost up. If it doesn’t seem dark enough yet, hold it for a few minutes longer, but no longer than 30 minutes.
Use cold water to remove the toner from your hair. Use your fingers to massage the scalp and remove the toner from your roots. Don’t shampoo your hair immediately because it can make it lighter than you want it to be.
See Also: Realistic Stages Of Lightening Dark Hair: How It Really Looks
How To Darken Highlights With A Toner: Color Correcting
If your hair didn’t get the exact tone you were looking for, you can use a purple or
Apply purple cleanser to your hair to address the brazen tone. Purple shampoos are used for removing brassy and yellow tones.
Use the purple shampoo every week, and leave in for a few minutes to get the colder tones. Don’t use it during every hair wash, because it can dry out your hair.
Also, stay away from too light highlights from now on. Processing damages your hair, and if you tone it darker afterward, what’s the point of shade 10 highlights?
Furthermore, if you didn’t achieve the color you wanted with toner, consider going to a professional. A professional may even use regular hair dye to give your highlights a darker, more subtle look.
They may even advise you to stick to babylights or a balayage. After all, they are the more subtle types of highlights.
On the other hand, can you go from golden blonde to platinum? Read our article to find out!
How To Darken Highlights With A Toner: The Bottom Line
To conclude, darkening the highlights can be done with toner. However, you must carefully choose the correct color according to the chart.
If you’re having trouble choosing the color or are unsatisfied with the results – there is a way. Make an appointment with your hairdresser, who will help you get the shade you want!
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