What is Hair Toner? An Expert Answers the Most Googled Beauty Question

Hairstylist Michael Van Clarke explains everything you need to know about the product and how it’s used

Posted on

13 October 2019

What is Hair Toner? An Expert Answers the Most Googled Beauty Question

All Credits: PA

What would we do without Google?

From sourcing recipes and restaurants to settling arguments about what year a song came out, and satisfying that most irritating of feelings when you can’t identify where you’ve seen a certain actor before, the search engine has been helping us out with life’s questions, big and small, for 21 years now.

When it comes to beauty queries we’re hair-obsessed, it seems.

There were 3.3 million beauty-related searches across Europe in the last 12 months, according to research by Fragrance Direct, and looking at the most common questions for 16 countries, hair was the topic in nine instances.

In France, long locks are evidently in demand because, ‘How to grow your hair’ was number one, whereas in Croatia people are going for the chop with, ‘How to cut your own hair’ taking the top spot.

Other hair hot topics included, ‘How to curl hair with straighteners’ (Norway) and, ‘How to straighten hair’ (Portugal), but colour questions were the most popular of all.

In the UK, 195,700 searched, ‘What is hair toner?’ Add to that 61,000 people searching, ‘What is toner?’ in Turkey and you’ve got Europe’s most googled beauty question.

Are you also in the dark about what toner is or what it’s used for? To save you trawling through search results, we asked hairstylist Michael Van Clarke to give us the low-down on this much-googled mystery…

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What is hair toner?

Van Clark describes toner as: “A semi-permanent colour that can enhance and correct natural or artificial tones.

“For example, toning bleach highlights to create a warm or cool tone. To give a natural highlighted effect.”

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Toner is very often used on bleached hair but that’s not its only use.

“Toner can be used on all hair types and colour. For a client whose colour has faded and wanted more vibrancy in the hair, we would use a rich toner to add a warm tone back into the hair,” Van Clarke adds.

It’s also used to create fashion-forward hues, he says: “If a client wanted a soft crazy colour, after a scalp bleach we could put a pastel pink toner over the top to create a soft blush pink.”

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#instavintage Opalessence by Illumina Color for metallic pink tones on blonde hair . 60g Titanium Rose + 60g Silver Mauve + 120g Welloxon Perfect Pastel. Applied to dry hair for 30 mins no heat. Lasts phenomenally well! . The issue with toners not lasting has nothing to do with the tube and all to do with the application and the integrity of the hair. If you pop a toner on wet hair at the back wash for 3 minutes, it has only barely deposited and will wash straight back out, maybe lasting 2 washes max? The longer you leave a toner on, the longer it’s going to last. . Another factor is porosity. If the cuticle scale is damaged there’s nothing for the tone to hold on to. . #pinkhair #opalessence #illumina #illuminacolor #pastelhair #pastelpinkhair #pinkmetalic #metalicpink #titaniumrose #silvermauve #haireducator #haireducation #wella #wellahair #wellalove #wellalife #wellafamily #wellatoner #wellaegc #pinktoner

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What is the process for applying toner?

“Toner is usually applied to shampooed hair at the backwash and can be left on for anywhere from five to 25 minutes,” Van Clarke explains.

While it’s not as strong as bleach, it can cause an itchy sensation, especially if your hair has just been bleached. On top of the usual price, toner will add about £30 to your colour appointment.

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Are there any downsides to using toner?

“Any chemical service not carried out by a professional could have negatives consequences,” Van Clarke warns, but if you go to a reputable salon you’ll be in safe hands.

“Toners are very mild and, used professionally, do not impact condition.”

After-care is important to ensure the shade lasts as long as possible.

“Regular use of a leave-in conditioner, such as my 3 More Inches LifeSaver Pre-wash Treatment (£54.50/AED253.21 for 1 litre, VanClarke.com) will maintain best condition, and save the vibrancy of colour.”