Hair toners: they’re something you’ve likely heard of and perhaps even used before, but do you actually know what they are and how they impact your hair color? It can be especially confusing as there are two kinds: salon versions – used after professional coloring (often referred to as a glaze or gloss) – and at-home toning products – such as purple shampoos and rinses – available on the shelves of nearly every beauty store. So what’s the difference?
Both work by correcting and enhancing the tone of natural light or chemically lightened hair. Your hairdresser will use toner to create a more bespoke color, either by adding warmth with, say, a peach or caramel tone, or to cool things down with a champagne or silver hue. In-salon toners tend to be more pigmented and therefore create a color that lasts longer. But at-home toners are a super-easy and affordable way of refreshing and extending the life of your color, too. They’re an amazing hair hack for those times you feel like your locks are looking a little lackluster. Plus, if you’re looking for ways to embrace your natural grays, a purple toning shampoo is essential for ensuring your cool-blonde remains fresh and brass-free. Here’s how an at-home toning purple shampoo might help your hair look its best…
Using purple toning shampoos to get rid of brassiness
Purple toning shampoos are a must for keeping silver-blonde hair free from brassiness, especially when they boast hair-nourishing ingredients to counteract the damaging effects of the coloring process. The Nexxus Blonde Assure system contains the unique PROTEINFUSION blend made with keratin protein (the hair’s natural building block) and a purple pigment that neutralizes unwanted yellow and orange tones. When hair is bleached or ‘pre-lightened,’ its pigment is diluted before being replaced by the artificial pigment of a hair dye. Brassy tones are usually yellow in lightened blonde hair, and orange in lightened brown or black hair (which is best treated with a blue-toned shampoo) and can start to reclaim the strands as the color you left the salon with begins to fade. So how do toning products work? Blonde Assure Purple Toning Shampoo deposits a violet pigment onto the hair, a bit like a top coat, to neutralize brassy tones. It does this because purple sits opposite yellow on the color wheel, therefore canceling it out. Another way it helps to preserve new color is by fighting fade – a process sped up by daily rituals such as hair washing and heat styling.
It's worth noting that, unlike the daily Nexxus shampoos, the use of the Blonde Assure Purple Toning Shampoo should be limited to once or twice a week – too much purple pigment can build up and actually make lighter hair appear darker.
Having a hair-color transformation comes hand in hand with daily maintenance, and using intelligent hair care will keep your locks looking salon-fresh long after you’ve stepped outside. This is where toning products come into their own, and a purple pigment can be the difference between color that wows for a week then fades, and color that stays and continues to turn heads for the right reasons.
