Is it safe to tone hair after bleaching?

• If your hair is in good condition after bleaching it, you can tone it the same day.
• That’s true whether you decide to use a toner or use a mixture of developer, shampoo and dye on it.
• Now, if after bleaching your hair, you notice that your hair is fragile or prone to breaking, it’s best to wait about 10 days. In the meantime, you can strengthen it with hydrating treatments.

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Bleaching your hair is an aggressive process. In addition to that process, afterward, you should also do something that hair colorists call toning.

Do you know what toning your hair means?

When you bleach your hair, you’ll see that what you’re doing is getting rid of the color pigments. Each hair fiber is made up of different layers of color. As the bleach mix works on your hair, it exposes the underlying pigments that you can find in the innermost part of your hair.

That’s why, if your hair is dark, when you bleach it, some orange or reddish tones can appear, and if you have lighter hair, then those infamous yellow tones can appear.

 So, bleaching your hair won’t ever get you that definitive color that you’re looking for, and to get rid of those ugly, unwanted tones, you’ll need to cancel them out. 

How can you do that?

You can cancel them out by using a toner or a special mixture of developer, shampoo and dye.

• If your hair is healthy after bleaching it, and you want to use the smallest amount of chemicals possible, you can use a toner or the mixture of developer, shampoo and dye.
• But, if your hair isn’t healthy and bleaching it left it dry, pale, and prone to breaking, then the best thing would be to wait to tone your hair 10 days and use that mixture of developer, shampoo and dye.

Nobody wants to go through their day with those dull, lifeless tones that are always left in your hair after bleaching it, but you must take into consideration your hair’s health.

You can get rid of those tones by toning your hair immediately, but only as long as it passes the bleach test with honors.  If not, wait 10 days because one false step and no toner will be able to get you that perfect color you’re looking for. 

So, stick with me, because I’ll tell you:

• How to tone your hair immediately after bleaching it if it’s healthy
• How to rehabilitate bleached hair to then be able to tone it afterward

Tabla de Contenidos

• How to tone hair immediately after bleaching it if it’s healthy
  • Mixing developer, shampoo and dye
  • Toner
• How to fix damaged bleached hair to be able to tone it
• Conclusions

How to tone hair immediately after bleaching it if it’s healthy

If your bleached hair is healthy, you can tone it the same day,and you can choose between two different methods of doing it: use a toner or use a special mixture of dye, peroxide, and shampoo.

If you’re worried about your hair’s health and if you don’t want to use any more chemicals on it, I recommend opting to use a mixture of developer, shampoo, and dye, especially if you don’t have much experience with coloring your hair.

If you have a little more experience, you can use a toner, a stronger product containing chemicals like peroxide and dye.

Mixing developer, shampoo and dye

• To tone your hair with this special concoction, you should mix equal parts dye and 10 volume developer (peroxide) in a plastic container with a tablespoon of shampoo until you get a smooth cream.
• You should use the mixture on your wet hair, being careful to distribute it onto the areas of your hair where you see those unwanted tones.
• Once you’ve used it on the right parts of your hair, wait one minute, then rinse. You don’t need to leave it in your hair any longer since pigment penetrates recently bleached hair very quickly.

Toner

Toner is a product you’ll need to buy at the store and then mix with a 20 volume developer.

As you can see, the difference between it and the developer/shampoo/dye mixture is that the developer you use with toner is stronger, which is why your hair needs to be healthier for you to use it.

Most brands recommend leaving it in your hair for 15-20 minutes, but I recommend reading what your specific product says closely and follow exactly what those directions say, word for word.

And keep an eye on your hair as the product works on it, since every person’s hair reacts differently to pigments, so the right amount of time to leave it in can vary from person to person.

How will you know when it’s time to rinse?

• Put yourself under white light and keep an eye on your color.
• If you notice the yellow, golden, or copper colors have disappeared, and now you have a more neutral color, it’s time to rinse.
• But, if you see that there are areas of your hair that are already toned and other areas that aren’t toned yet, I recommend rinsing it all out, then making a little more of the mix, and only using it on the areas where you still see the unwanted tones.

If you don’t do it this way, you run the risk of ending up with gray hair, definitely not what you want.

Now you know that you can tone your hair immediately after bleaching it, using either that mixture of developer, shampoo, and dye or a toner, if your hair conquered the bleach and ended up healthy.

But what about if your hair didn’t beat the bleach? I’ll tell you about that right now.

How to fix damaged bleached hair to be able to tone it

If your hair is weak, prone to breaking, and pale after bleaching it, don’t tone it right away. You shouldn’t use either the developer, shampoo and dye mix or a toner.

You should wait 10 days, and don’t spend those 10 days just waiting around.

Nurture your hair and use deep hydration masks on it. You can choose masks that contain argan oil or make your own masks, like with honey, for example.

You can also use a few drops of oil on your hair, wrap it in a bathing cap, and leave it in all night.

Everything you do in those 10 days to help strengthen your hair will make your hair look even more radiant when you finally tone it.

If, after 10 days, your hair still seems to be weak, opt for the developer, shampoo and dye mixture to tone it, which is always gentler than a traditional toner.

Conclusions

After bleaching your hair, it is essential that you consider your hair’s current state before toning it.

• If you see that it’s healthy without any signs of damage, you can tone it immediately, using either a mixture of developer, shampoo, and dye or a toner.
• If your hair was damaged during the bleaching process, wait 10 days before you tone it. And, in the meantime, use hydrating masks at least once a week.

And now tell me: What will you use to tone your bleached hair?

Can you use toner after bleaching hair?

Will toner damage my bleached hair?

Can you bleach and tone your hair in the same day?