Brassy hair can be difficult to manage, especially if you don’t have the time to go to a salon often enough. But the good news is that you can handler brassy undertones at home too!
You need a good toner and some skills to do that by yourself. In this guide, we will address everything you need to know about toning your brassy hair at home with no struggle. So, keep reading to obtain that perfect shade you always wanted to have!
Brassy hair tends to be more difficult to fix than hair with yellow undertones. One of the main reasons for that is the fact that the orange undertone is hard to neutralize. And because of that, you might have to use a stronger toner and leave it in longer than usual.
The average time a toner needs to eliminate your brassy undertones tends to be about 45 minutes. But you might be tempted to leave it in even about 50 minutes or closer to one hour. It is important to not leave the toner in too long though, so more than one hour would be too much time.
Also Read: How To Use Hair Toner After Bleaching?
Can You Leave Toner on Too Long?
One of the most common concerns for women who use a toner to even their hair color is if they could leave the toner too long in their hair. The average time to leave your toner in your hair is about 30 minutes but you should not give it more than one hour.
In general, the amount of time you leave the toner in your hair varies. It will depend according to the type of toner you use but also the color you want to end with.
If you leave the toner in your hair too long, it can damage it beyond repair. You might even have to cut it in order to save what is left of your hair. And you don’t want to get to that level of damage, which is why it is essential to respect the instructions.
While some toners will need more or less time to take action, all of them will do their task faster than one hour. If one hour passed and you don’t see the results you aimed for, chances are you will not get to them if you wait longer.
What to do if You Left Toner in Your Hair Too Long?
There are situations when you might leave the toner in your hair even more than one hour. Being it that you didn’t know there is a limit or you were misled by the idea that you will obtain better results, chances are that your hair will be damaged.
If that happens, you should moisturize your hair a lot more afterward. Toner can dry your hair as well so nourishing it and using a high moisturizing conditioner will help in these circumstances. There are also situations when your hair will be extra fragile due to leaving toner in it too much. This is the worst-case scenario and you might need to get a haircut if that happens.
It is important also to not wash your hair with too hot water after you used toner and left it in too long. Hot water will damage your hair even further and you will find it difficult to repair it no matter how hard you try. Sure, your hair will regenerate over time but it is going to take a lot of patience.
Also Read: 5 Easy Homemade DIY Hair Toner for Brassy Hair
How Long do You Leave Toner on Orange Hair?
If you have orange or brassy hair, you will leave the toner longer than if you had yellow undertones. Generally, this means that you might have to look at the instructions and go for the maximum time length.
For instance, if the instructions say to leave your toner on between 30 minutes and 45 minutes, you should choose the 45 minutes longer if you have brassy hair.
Also, you should check your hair every five or ten minutes before you wash your toner off of it. You should notice your brassy hair going away every time you check your hair.
The results will depend on how strong the toner is as well. But checking the effect of such a product on your hair will help you determine how much longer you should allow it to take effect.
How Long do You Leave Wella Toner on?
One of the best toners on the market is the Wella toner. This is a product used by many hairstylists but you can also use it successfully in the comfort of your home. As this is a professional toner, you will also notice that it takes effect on your hair a bit faster than other toners.
Wella offers the Color Charm Toner in different categories such as silver toners, ash toners, and beige tones. Each category is split into smaller sections with specific toners for different hair colors.
It is almost impossible not to find the perfect toner for you in this range. The toner for beige blonde and the pale blonde is the best if you need to cancel brassy or orange undertones.
In order to cancel brassy hair with a Wella toner, you should leave it in a minimum of ten minutes. However, this will only work if you have light orange strands.
For more serious and intense orange hair you will need to extend that time to 30 and even 40 minutes. But the manufacturer doesn’t recommend leaving the toner in for more than 45 minutes, so this should be your upper limit.
Also, you will have to repeat the toning process if you don’t eliminate all the orange shades from the first try.
What Color Cancels Out Brassy Orange Hair?
Many times, after you bleach your hair, you observe orange shades spread randomly on it. This can be extremely frustrating and it can ruin a gorgeous hair color.
But the good news is that you can fix such a situation if you know a little theory of colors. Each color has an opposite shade that cancels it. This rule applies when you dye your hair as well.
One-color will cancel or severely reduce the intensity of its opposite color.
The best toner to neutralize orange or brassy hair is the blue toner. Keep in mind that purple will not be as efficient because purple toners will neutralize yellow strands the best. So, go for a blue toner to eliminate orange hair.
Read the instructions and see what type of hair color is the toner intended for. This will help you choose the best product for your hair and eliminate those unpleasant brassy strands that damage your overall hair color.
If you chose the toner correctly for your orange hair and you apply it the right way, you should end up with a blonde or light brown shade. The color you obtain by the end of toning your hair will depend on the original shade you had on your hair.
Conclusion
Brassy or orange hair can be very difficult to eliminate from your hair. This is why choosing the right toner is essential in such a scenario.
If you bleached your hair at home, chances are that you will end up with some strands that don’t follow the pattern you want. While this is normal, it is also easy to fix if you use the toner correctly.
Pay attention to the tips in this guide and invest in a high-quality toner. You want a product that will not damage your hair as much as others but it will give you the best results you can get.
Keep in mind that you might also need to repeat the process in order to get the right color you always wanted to have. If you don’t use the toner correctly, you will end up with damaged hair and poor results.