The Results of Various Toners & How They Work ?

This is the single most common email question/subject I receive and I hope writing a Post about the results of various Toners might help many of you understand the answer.

This answer has 2 separate answers.............. 1 answer would not cover the whole topic. Remember whenever using ANY developer and yes...I mean "ANY"....If you have virgin hair anywhere on your head, that hair will show a "line-of-demarcation" using any Toners or Demi-Permanent Hair Color



 (1)PREVIOUSLY COLORED HAIR
 ( Virgin hair or hair that has never been colored is below) 
 

So it doesn't matter what Volume it is...........USING DEVELOPER CREATES A LINE OF DEMARCATION

(the only exception: if you have Level 10 or lighter) 

 

DURP means : Dominant Underlying Remaining Pigment - which is the annoying color that pops up in almost every single person's hair when lightening. Some of you don't have any DURP at all - but you are few and far between. 
Most of you have tried lightening your hair at some point, that is just a fact I know from talking to so many of you. When you lighten the hair -- the DURP pops out. It is extremely difficult to get rid of by covering it up.
Does DURP only show if you lighten the hair? NO some people have it naturally.

The name of the Tool we have to cover up annoying DURP - is called: "TONER"

Personally my #1 favorite tool on blondes is to apply the lightener 1 more time and lighten it past the brass/gold stage.That way Toners are not necessary, which I feel is why my clientele was so large and grew so quickly.When you can turn out brass-free blondes, the word begins to spread.
I feel many of you Colorists out there are afraid to leave the lightener on long enough or you don't apply enough applications.                                               
 
First of All ..........understand this:

Definition of a Toner -- is any hair color used to deal with the DURP (brass/gold/blorange) leftover from lightening hair. Now this Toner can be a hair color that is used with Developer....and that Developer can be anywhere from 3Volume to 18Volume to create that color into being a Toner as:

 

-- -- -- Developers BELOW 20 Volume theoretically don't    lighten the hair

They don't lighten but they DO leave a line of demarcation.
So it IS really lightening. Because if you have ever seen it, it isn't a darkening line, it IS a line of demarcation though.

To be perfectly honest it can also be any Level and ANY COLOR Toner, for example : ....Asians usually have problems with Red in their dark hair when lightening a little 

 
so.............therefore one can use a Green Based Toner (Darkest Brown ASH in some lines) to conquer that problem which could be as dark as a  Level 3. So Toners are not just for blondes. Toners are for ANY hair color needing to deal with whatever color DURP is in your hair color.

I have Level 8 copper hair, so how does a redhead deal with this? My DURP is GOLD, yes gold is part of copper but many times the hair color is wayyyy too gold. So I look for a Level 8 Red Neutral instead of Level 8 Red-Gold like so many people do. I have tried every single type of Toner in my life and career. 

• LOW - 3Volume Developer 
• 18 Volume Toner.....                                                                     
• Color Touch in 9/16 - it has violet so it works a tiny bit on the gold, but there is no Toner that lasts for 4-6 weeks so it is a never ending game of re-touching.
• I have found that using a Toner even a super low Volume, just is a pain-in-the-ass and never lasts, and I don't know about you, but my GOLD DURP is on my lengths, so to apply hair color on my lengths (my hair is past my bra strap), is difficult to do to oneself That is a lot of hair.
• I have decided on using BOOST & BURST, I have been using Boost & BURST for 15 years, they just were bottles in my shower with no name.
• The Toner I have on my own hair is why many years ago I decided to Shampoo "IN" and Conditioner "IN" my Toner. I find it is the easiest & gives me the most effective result. I LOVE how my hair feels right after.....I truly do. My color is rich there is ZERO Gold. I find this way to be the easiest OVERALL method, especially with long hair.
•  I do it once a week, sometimes I do it in the sink while cleaning or doing laundry, or I will do it in the shower. Sometimes I will apply the shampoo without water at first then add in a little water and shampoo.  Shampoo the hair  then leave in for 5 minutes -- RINSE lightly -- towel dry the hair... -- Apply Conditioner for 10 minutes - while shaving & doing everything else. Rinse lightly and poof it looks superb, it really does - I use Killer Copper 2. It takes less time than breaking out hair color and it lasts a lot longer. Another advantage? If I decide to lighten my hair a Level or 2 (in the Spring) all I have to do is stop using it....use regular shampoo and POOF in a week or two -- its gone and there is NO LINE OF DEMARCATION
• That is how BOOST & BURST were created and sold over the last 1 1/2 year ago...Its why we have H.Ash Brown, for those with Red DURP................Violet Pilot for those with Brass................Breaking Bad Blue for those with BLOrange ...............Wink.Perry.Wink for those with Gold/Brass..............we should have a color for every single color DURP there is.
• I've never really written a Post about BOOST AND BURST and explained things so that is my mistake and I am sorry.

 Prince, Violet Pilot & PERP all work wonders on brass & Gold

(2) VIRGIN HAIR ...hair that has never been colored.

•  Virgin hair will ALWAYS get a line of demarcation, when a Toner using ANY Volume Developer. Yep, even 2 Volume will leave a line of demarcation. In other words, you will see a line on the never colored hair.
• The only Toner you may use on Virgin hair with highlights and not have it color the virgin hair is BOOST & BURST, which is semi-permanent hair color I'm afraid. I know all of these answers are probably not what you wanted to hear, but they are in fact THE TRUTH 
• A toner without the use of a Developer --- ANY developer is the only way you will not color the rest of the hair. Think about it..............why would it only color the lightened pieces? What special thing is mixed in so it will not color the rest of the hair?
• NOTHING
• I'm sorry, BOOST & BURST are your best selection .  Still.
  
  
  

Breaking Bad Blue works wonders on Gold/Blorange

Which Developers Are Lighter & More Liquidy, I Have Thick Yet Baby Fine Hair ?

A recent question from one of our many readers which I do appreciate. They always make me realize that this Blog will never be over ! There are hundreds, even thousands of additions to be answered  and discussed still. 

Always lovely to know !

Developer or H2O2, hydrogen peroxide is the white creamy liquid which is necessary in order for the hair coloring process to take place. Without it there would be absolutely NO lightening happening. It is THAT important, yet when I speak to people even many of you stylists you are afraid of the topic. There really is no need to be afraid of Developer. It is merely 1 molecule away from water! We all know how harmless and how good for us WATER is ??!! 

Right?

Hydrogen peroxide IS Developer. 2 words for the same thing!

Our bodies even produce hydrogen peroxide!

Hydrogen peroxide, the same mild acid that many people use to disinfectant their kitchens or treat cuts and abrasions, is also produced by the body to keep cells healthy. Now, researchers have solved how part of this complex process works.

 Hydrogen peroxide doesn't just come in bottles from the drugstore -- the human body makes it as well. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to use naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide inside cells to switch on gene expression. Their method also serves as a highly sensitive hydrogen peroxide detector, which may help scientists determine the molecule's role in cellular health and disease says Science Daily.

In a normally functioning cell, hydrogen peroxide serves as a messenger, carrying signals through a cell in order to allow the cell to respond to external stimuli or events. Once the message is transmitted, the hydrogen peroxide diffuses and disappears.
"It's an ideal messenger compound, because it's small, fast, and doesn't linger," says chemist Alex Deiters. "It works by oxidizing, or modifying, certain amino acids in proteins, which affects the protein's function."

 For example, when the immune system is activated in response to bacteria, large amounts of hydrogen peroxide are produced by certain cells to fight the infection. Lowther and colleagues studied how a molecule known as peroxiredoxin (Prx) helps control levels of the agent. The role of Prx is important because if the levels of hydrogen peroxide become too high, the cell's DNA and other proteins can be damaged. Scientists suspect that this and similar processes are what leads to cancer, diabetes and other disease.

Prx actually has a dual role in the process. Its usual job is removing excess hydrogen peroxide from the cells by converting it to water. But if levels get dangerously high -- and Prx needs help -- it becomes inactive in its "converting" job and instead becomes a "signaler," telling the cell to produce or activate other proteins to help remove the excess.

"It basically acts as a sensor and warns the cell that levels are too high and that the cell needs to respond," said Thomas J. Jönsson, Ph.D., lead author, and a post-doctoral fellow at Wake Forest. "Once that threat is gone, Prx needs to go back to its normal state."

I want everyone to understand Developer so you are not afraid of it, once that happens you will welcome the use of it and all the wonderful things it does. If our bodies did not make hydrogen peroxide we would not be alive.....so welcome it and welcome what it 
does.........Please

I also want you to know before I learned all of this I felt the exact same way, I don't know if its the name, or what....? But just the name peroxide used to conjure up horrific things in my mind. I have NO idea where it came from either..... so I am just trying to speed up the process for all of you to accept and love the wonderful little miracle called Developer!

Now, to answer your question on thick or thin..... that does not have anything to do with how it works. 
What it does affect is personal preference. 
Some people like the mixture to be runny, some like it to be thick. But what you will find being as I have worked with over 40 lines of color in my days is this...........
If the color in the tube (no matter "what brand") is on the thicker side, then their developer will be runny. 
Such as Wella's, Schwarzkopf's, Kenra, the most runny is our Violet colored developer. I actually feel it is SO runny I mix it with LANZA which is the thickest to include in our OIL BLEACH KITS, which I am just so proud of. These kits really do wonders for the hair if you are blond!

So your question as to runny or thick? That really is a personal preference. Colorists who do a lot of foil work do not like runny, because runny means the liquid will expand as it develops and then pop out of the foil leaving what we used to call "bunny trails" on the hair (or spots!) I'm sure everyone has either had them or seen them, they come from runny developer. 

The advantage to thick developer, like LANZA, which is clumpy almost....is, it has the "good alcohols" in it. Those good alcohols have one chance to get inside that hair strand and that is when the strand is open and hair color goes in, so that is the advantage of that particular developer over a thinner one. 
Personal preference?
 For me, I love Schwarzkopf's blond developer it is medium thickness and has an oily quality to it so it is very smooth to work with. But again ...........it depends on what you are mixing it with and if you are doing a root touch-up or foil work! To me the thickness of the hair shouldn't matter. 


KC

Ratio - Ratio - Who's Got The PROPER Ratio........... of Developer to Haircolor

The Ratio of Developer to hair color is very VERY important and in all this time and in all these Posts I have never stressed the importance of this. That and the way in which you WEIGH your color & developer is also important.

 

When we all line up and make our Oil Bleach Kits we are making a zillion and one of them. At one point we decided to test iweighed 4 ounces of developer versus 4oz, weigh in a measuring cup. It really is pretty far off. But we send those measuring cups for those who are going to just 'guess'. What we discovered is 4oz. measured in the Cup is 3.6 ounces on the scale. So if you absolutely refuse to get a scale you can make thaty adjustment on your own. The color has been tested over and over at the ratio they give you.

For example in Wella:

• Color Touch Demi-Permanent is 1:2
• Koleston Perfect - Permanent, is 1:1.. although all Level 11 & 12 colors are 1:2
• Illumina is 1:1.5

It is SOOOOO important to get the ratio of developer to color correct. If you ever change lines of color ALWAS read the instruction sheet or the insturctions are printed on the inside of the box for Professional hair color

 Schwarzkopf, the line has the most beautiful colors I have seen in many years, their ratio is 1: 1 and I find many people don't use that ratio which will not let the color do what it was designed to do. 

When using Highlift Level 12 Colors use "double 40" or for every 1 ounce of color you need to use 2 ounces of 40 Volume Or it won't lift high enough.