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When your red hair goes brassy, using a little bit of toner goes a long way. With properly applied toner, you can get rid of unwanted brassy tones and get the desired, beautiful hair color you're after. It doesn't matter that you don't have professional hair coloring skills, you can rock it no problem. With a few basic supplies and hardly any time at all, you'll fix your hair and get the gorgeous color you want.
1.
Mix your toner. The selection and mixture of toner depends on the desired outcome: if you're after a light, ash shade, you need to use more ash tone, and if you want more of a golden shade, like a vibrant red, you still want to change the tone of your hair slightly to get rid of the brassiness, but you need to limit the amount of ash -- or forgo it entirely and use a neutral shade -- to keep those warm undertones. Read the instructions on the box before using. Mixing your toner in a hair coloring bowl -- or other container -- works best to offer you easy access to the mix.
2.
Apply some of the toner mixture onto a front section of your hair and rub it in with your fingers. You can wear latex gloves for this; although not necessary, it does prevent you from having creepy, weird-looking stained hands afterward. Typically, you apply toner directly after coloring your hair, but it also helps anytime you notice any brassy tones coming through in your hair.
3.
Continue applying toner around on your hair, working from front to back, until all of your hair is saturated.
4.
Wait for the toner to process. This is usually a pretty quick process, much faster than actually coloring your hair. Refer to those instructions again to be sure, OK?
5.
Rinse the toner out. Cool water works best to allow the toner already on your hair to penetrate and not rinse away. Now your color is gorgeous and sublime, and you can't wait to show it off.
Tips & Tricks
If you can't seem to find a container anywhere that works -- check out your local beauty supply if you have time -- an applicator bottle, such as those that come included in most standard hair dye kits, works just as well.
It's not only about timekeeping when you're using toner on your red hair. Keep checking your hair every 5 to 10 minutes while the toner is processing to see how the color is turning out. Once you see it's the desired color, you can rinse the toner off.
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