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The Best Hair Toners To Remove Brassiness
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As anyone who's ever dyed or highlighted their hair blonde knows, the maintenance is real. Coloring your hair might require a few hours, a couple of hundred bucks, and the occasional burning scalp, but the real work begins once you leave the salon chair. One of the most common obstacles to maintaining the perfect shade of cool-toned blonde is the appearance of brassy undertones, which can show up immediately after coloring or gradually over time. But luckily, fixing said brassiness can be accomplished at home: in fact, many of the best hair toners to remove brassiness are available right on Amazon.
If you’re new to lightening your hair and haven’t used a toning product before, it’s true that you may be better off going to the salon for a touchup. “I always recommend going to a professional for any color service,” Mane Addicts hair stylist Sienree Du tells Bustle. “But if you must,” Du says, “Using a purple shampoo and leaving it on for a few extra minutes definitely helps. There’s also toning conditioners and masks that you could use and you could kill two birds with one stone and treat your hair while toning it.”
So take it from the expert, and if you plan on toning your hair at home, stick with a shampoo or hair mask, which are the most user-friendly. After all, if you use a professional-level toning treatment improperly, you can wind up ruining your color. Typically, the best products to remove brassiness at home will be tinted purple to counteract any yellow or orange undertones that are messing with your cool-blonde shade.
Brassiness doesn't only appear in blonde hair, though. Yellow tones often show up in gray hair, while brunettes might experience red or orange undertones coming through. And though brassy tones might inevitably appear as your color begins to fade, there are a few steps you can take to help prevent brassiness in the first place. Namely, try to keep your hair protected from the sun, whose rays can expedite the oxidation process, by using a hat or UV protectant spray. Also, try to wash your hair less often; the more you wash it, the sooner your color will fade. And, if you think your home might have hard water (hard water has a higher mineral content, which can oxidize your hair), consider investing in one of these shower heads for hard water.
And now, check out these foolproof hair toners to banish brassiness fast.
1The Best Toning Shampoo For Blondes
- Also available on Walmart, $12, Ulta Beauty, $14, and Sally Beauty, $12
Ask any professional colorist how to maintain a cool blonde shade at home, and chances are they'll recommend Clairol Shimmer Lights. Not only is the cult-classic purple shampoo affordable and practically foolproof — the only thing you have to worry about is making sure it doesn't get all over your shower curtain — but it works just as well as many of the toning treatments you'd get in a salon.
The deep purple shampoo can be used to neutralize brassy undertones in both blonde and gray hair; it also helps enhance shine and brighten highlights. The longer you leave it on, the more effective it will be, though the brand suggests between three and five minutes before rinsing.
Relevant review: “This shampoo does what it says. No yellow tones, even colour. Much better than others I have tried.”
2Editor’s Choice: The Best Sulfate-Free Toning Shampoo For Blondes
- Also available on Sephora, $46 and Dermstore, $46
As a current light blonde and an ex bleach blonde, I have a lot of experience with at-home toning products. Shimmer Lights (featured above) was usually my go-to, and it always served me well. However, I’ve recently made the switch to sulfate-free products because of a suspected allergy — and now, my favorite toning shampoo is Oribe Bright Blonde. The sulfate-free, purple-hued shampoo is ideal for blonde, silver, and gray hair, and like all Oribe products, it smells absolutely amazing. Not only will it help counteract brassiness, but it also keeps your color looking shiny and bright between salon visits, thanks to the brand’s Signature Complex and Brightening Complex, which comprise hard-working botanicals that help protect your hair from environmental aggressors and maintain the vibrancy of your blonde.
Relevant review: “Best purple shampoo on the market because it smells so darn good and imbues your bleached tresses with a pleasant yellow-canceling violet hue.”
3The Best Toning Shampoo For Brunettes
- Also available on Walmart, $14 and Ulta Beauty, $21
For brunettes with brassy, red, or orange undertones in their hair, Joico created the Color Balance Blue Shampoo. Not only does it neutralize brassiness, but it also prevents your hair color from fading or becoming dull. Brunettes with balayage highlights are particular fans of this shampoo for its ability to help keep the lighter parts of their hair looking bright and fresh.
Relevant review: “This Joico brand color balance blue shampoo is perfect for eliminating brassy and orange undertones for color treated hair. I've been using this line of products for several years and have yet to be disappointed with the quality or outcome! This shampoo smells amazing, makes my hair super soft, and does a great job of evening out the terrible brassy tones that I sometimes get. Overall, recommended.”
4The Best Toning Mask For Blondes
- Also available on Sephora, $18 and Ulta Beauty, $18
Another option for toning your blonde hair at home is this treatment from Verb. Like Shimmer Lights and Oribe Bright Blonde, it uses a deep purple pigment to banish yellow and brassy undertones, but it's a much more moisturizing option. Packed with nourishing ingredients like sunflower seed and acai extracts, this rich treatment helps soften and repair damaged, dried-out hair as it tones and brightens. Use it once a week after shampooing, leaving it on for five to seven minutes.
Relevant review: “this product does not dry out hair. Moisturizes and tones, soft toned and silky hair, all in one powerful product. Loved it”
5The Best Toning Conditioner For Brunettes
- Also available on Ulta Beauty, $24
Brunettes looking to fade unwanted brassiness also have the option of using a blue-tinted conditioner, like Redken’s best-selling Color Extend Brownlights conditioner. Ideal for neutralizing the appearance of orange tones, the brand suggests leaving it on for five to 10 minutes for best results.
Relevant review: “I have medium brown hair (with some slightly lighter strands) but a lot of brassiness so I wondered if it would do much for my hair if it wasn’t dark brown. It does work and I absolutely love this stuff! My hair (it’s thick, coarse, curly and medium-long), looks so much shinier after and makes the color look really nice. I felt I had noticeable results even with the first use. It suggests to use 1-2 times a week for 5-10 minutes on the hair. By the time I wash it out, my hair is so silky and soft! The blue color is a bit messy in the shower but it doesn’t stain anything. I like that it can be for natural and color-treated hair. Smells nice and fresh.”
6The Expert’s Pick
- Also available on Sephora, $35 and Ulta Beauty, $35
“dpHUE’s gloss+ is great for at home use,” says Du. “They have a great range of colors, [it’s] easy to apply in shower, and is also a deep conditioning treatment.” Though this isn’t a purple-tinted treatment that will counteract brassiness, it will give your color a refresh between salon visits (think of it as a way to disguise brassiness, rather that remove it). The shade ‘Light Blonde’ is perfect for those with very light or bleached hair looking to maintain a cool tone, but the gloss also comes 10 other colors, including ‘Copper,’ ‘Black,’ ‘Dark Brown,’ and ‘Sheer.’ In addition to refreshing your color, this deep-conditioning gloss gives hair incredible shine.
Relevant review: “I have light blonde highlights, and medium to dark blonde natural hair. This made my hair so soft, glossy & brought it back to the natural color without brassiness. Did not change the color like purple shampoo can if left in too long, just brought it back to the color it was when I left the salon with highlights.”
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“Depending on your hair porosity, some parts (usually the ends or double processed areas) may pick up the toner more than others which can leave blotchy and uneven areas. Make sure you only apply [the toner] to areas that it's needed and try to avoid/not overly saturate the areas that are overly processed, as they will pick up the toner more,” Du explains. “If that happens, be sure to have a good clarifying shampoo on hand. You could just apply it to the areas that picked up a little more color. I recommend using the Davines Solu Shampoo, it’s strong enough to level out the color without completely stripping your hair of the necessary oils.
Relevant review: “I used a toner I didn’t like, and this was fabulous way to fade it quickly and didn’t dry or damage my hair in the least!!”
Expert:
Sienree Du, Mane Addicts hair stylist
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