Fixing a brassy toner mess without starting from scratch

A regular client came in with orange hair from a box dye she tried at home. I was annoyed because she didn't consult me first, and now I had to fix it. Instead of stripping all the color, I mixed a blue-based toner to neutralize the brassiness. It took some trial and error with different developers, but I got it to a nice cool blonde. She left happy, and I reminded her to always book a consultation before drastic changes.

4 comments

4 Comments

hannah_burns11mo ago

Yeah, that "strand test first" rule is real. My friend ignored it and her toner made her whole head a weird gray color. She had to get it corrected at a salon.

gracer161mo ago

Tried to fix my own brassy ends with a toner paste, ended up with a weird green tint. Learned to ALWAYS do a strand test first.

hayden2091mo ago

Wow, @hannah_burns1's gray hair story and your green tint show why strand tests are key.

the_alice1mo ago

That part about trial and error with the developer strength is the real story. What made you go for one volume over another when you were mixing the blue toner? Was it just about how much lift you still needed, or was there more to it with the box dye already on there?