How to Mix a Toner to Cover Gray

Written By
Elyse James
Elyse James
Published: Feb 23, 2011
Updated: Dec 13, 2021
1 minute read
How to Mix a Toner to Cover Gray

Women who have discovered their first gray hair are always faced with a dilemma: to dye or not to dye? For women who have chosen the option of dyeing their hair, one of the best ways to cover up grays is to bleach their hair to a lighter color — that way, roots are less noticeable. However, sometimes bleaching can leave your hair with a dull grayish tint — the solution to this is to use a toner. Toners are essentially translucent permanent hair colors that will add a more natural “tone” to pre-lightened hair and cover grays caused by bleaching, or just gray roots.

Mix one ounce of your red- or orange-based hair color into your plastic dish. You should always use a plastic dish and applicator brush when dealing with chemicals so as to not create any chemical reactions with the metal.

Add one ounce of the peroxide and two ounces of deep conditioner. Mix thoroughly.

Apply the toner to the gray areas using your applicator brush. Be sure to thoroughly saturate the area. Your hair should be clean and dry.

Cover your head with a plastic cap and leave the mixture on the hair for about 10 minutes. When the time is up, rinse the hair.

Repeat the process if any gray occurs. If you find this does not work, you can get a darker hair color for the mixture.

References

Elyse James

Elyse James began writing professionally in 2006 after deciding to pursue a career in journalism. She has written for "The Algonquin Times" as a general assignment reporter and published blogs and articles on Webcitybeat. James holds a…

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