Top 5 Toning Mistakes Stylists Make—and How to Fix Them

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Toning should feel like the finishing touch on a masterpiece, not a game of Russian roulette with unpredictable results. We break down the five most common toning mistakes and provide practical solutions to ensure consistent, beautiful results every time.

• One minute of toner processing equals one shampoo of longevity—rush the process and watch color fade fast
• Always tone on level: if you lightened to level 9, use a level 9 toner for effective neutralizing
• Uneven porosity creates blotchy results—use bond builders or porosity fillers before toning
• When going darker (more than 2-3 levels), always fill with warmth first to avoid muddy, green results
• Clarify your goals: know your starting level, target level, whether you need to fill, and if you want to enhance, erase, or neutralize

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whether you're a new stylist still building
confidence, or if you're aseasoned pro who runs into a few
surprises behind the chair,today's episode is for you.
We're talking about toning.
You know that final touch thatcan either make your masterpiece
shine or send you scramblingfor Malibu Sea and a redo.

(00:20):
If you've ever toned too dark,too ashy or wondered why did
this toner fade after threeshampoos, you're not alone, so
let's unpack the five mostcommon toning mistakes stylists
make and, more importantly,let's learn how to avoid them at
all costs.
Welcome to All About Hair,where we talk shop, share

(00:43):
stories and spill the secretsbehind great hair and a great
career.
I'm your host, denise Kylitz, aformer salon owner, educator
and a lifelong hair crusader.
Whether you're a new stylistbuilding your book or just
someone who loves learning aboutall things hair, you're in the
right place.
All things hair, you're in theright place.

(01:12):
Okay, so toning should reallyfeel like the icing on the cake,
don't you think it shouldn'tfeel like you're playing Russian
roulette with the color wheel?
So why does it sometimes gosideways?
Well, many of us were nottaught toning rules deeply
enough to make confident choices, especially when the canvas is
so unpredictable.

(01:33):
We've got uneven porosity,stubborn warmth, clients with
virgin hair I'm saying that inquotes, that isn't so virgin,
after all and toners that fadebefore the weekend.
Now, let's be honest.
Sometimes it's easier to blamethe client's water or hot tools
or shampoo than it is to take ahard look at what happened in

(01:56):
the bowl.
Right, we've all been there.
So let's break down the topfive toning mistakes and the
real reasons they happen.
Okay, so mistake number oneyour toner's fading way too fast
.
Have you ever had a toner thatlooked perfect for about five
washes?
Yeah, me too.

(02:18):
Here's the deal.
Toner longevity often comesdown to one simple rule.
At least that's how I've taughtit.
It's not science.
We always used to say oneminute of processing equals one
shampoo.
Let me repeat that.
So one minute equals oneshampoo.
So if you leave it on for fiveminutes, it's going to last five

(02:41):
shampoos.
If you leave it on for 20minutes, it's going to last five
shampoos.
If you leave it on for 20minutes, it's going to last 20
shampoos.
So if you've rinsed your tonertoo soon because the toner
looked like it was done and youwere getting, you know, scared
that you were going to overtoneit, you probably didn't give the
oxidative dye time to grab holdand so that tone washed away

(03:05):
within a week.
Okay, so what do you do?
Well, first of all, you need totone on level.
What does that mean?
If you highlighted them to alevel nine, then you need to
tone at a level nine, not at aneight, not at a 10.
Okay, and you need to trust themanufacturer's instructions and

(03:26):
give your toner the fullprocessing time to allow it to
do its job.
Full processing time to allowit to do its job.
You want staying power, notshort-term pretty, because don't
you hate it when three dayslater, you see them and their
hair is brassy.

(03:46):
Now, okay, there are somepeople with overly porous hair.
You need to teach them and youneed to use their products to
close that cuticle.
I say it all the time right,and you also need to use
products when you're putting thecolor on that fills in the
holes and the porosity beforeyou put the color on there.
If you have questions aboutthat, reach out to me.

(04:07):
I'll let you know, and I alsohave a download that you can
download it's free aboutbecoming a great colorist.
So just go over on my website,denisekeilertzcom, under my I
think it's my store front andjust download your free copy of

(04:29):
how to become a Great Coloristand it'll teach you all these
things.
So all right.
Mistake number two your tonerturned out blotchy or it's
uneven.
Yep, this brings us right backto porosity.
Uneven porosity equals uneventoner results.
Yes, so think of the hair likea bumpy road, healthy mid-shafts

(04:53):
, smooth ends are fried fromprevious lightning, full of
potholes.
We call them potholes.
That's where toner pools, or it.
You know it gets darker.
It causes this like marblinglooking effect or splotches or
patchiness.
So that's why you have to evenout the porosity first, use a

(05:17):
post-color treatment or a bondbuilding product.
Every color line out thereseems to have a bond building
product.
This helps to level the playingfield before you tone, helps
fill in all the porosity andalways work clean no drips, no
stains.
Make sure you're saturating thefull hair so you don't have any

(05:41):
dry spots and then you won'thave blotchy or uneven color.
Okay, mistake number three nochange or toning at the wrong
level.
If you tone a level seven witha level nine toner, you might
see a slight shift, but it won'tbe enough.

(06:01):
Toners need equal or greaterdilode to neutralize the warmth
at the level that they'reneutralizing.
That's why I'm saying you toneon level.
I used to make this mistake onmy own hair because I didn't
want my highlights to go toodark.
I think we've all been there.
So I would always tone with alighter color and wondering why

(06:24):
my highlights still lookedorange.
We've all done it, okay, sodon't, don't worry about that.
But if you can get in your mind, if you tone on level, so if
you have to use swatches tocheck what canvas you're working
with, you, don't tone lighterthan the actual level.

(06:44):
Trust your eyes and trust thescience.
If you just lighten them to alevel eight, use a level eight
toner.
They're designed with theneutralizing base in there to
neutralize out any of thatwarmth, if that's what you're
trying to do.
But it works on level.
So if you didn't get them lightenough and you're trying to

(07:09):
tone them with a level 10,because all your toners you work
with a level 10, it's not goingto do anything.
So a level 10 violet won't toneall your highlights.
Believe me on this.
Don't just reach for the sametoner every time you're toning.
You have to tone on level.
That is a really, really hardrule to grasp.

(07:33):
It really is because you thinkthat it's going to cover up your
tone or your highlights.
It's not, trust me, it's notOkay, all right.
Mistake number four your tonergrab too drabby, ashy or green.
Yes, we've all, we've all seenthat, right, and you've probably

(07:55):
all heard I want to go dark forfall.
You know, when the autumn comes, great, and you go, reach for a
toner and you just put it onthere and the ends look like
they look like seaweed becausethey turn green, right.
Well, what happened?
You skipped the filling part ofthe hair, right?

(08:18):
If you're going to go more thantwo to three levels darker, you
must always fill with warmthfirst.
Always fill with warmth first.
Do not skip this just becauseyou're in a hurry.
It will cost you time in theend.
And I know some people say, hey, I could take a toner and I can

(08:39):
add my warmth or my filler intomy toner and then it won't turn
muddy on me and maybe 20% ofthe time that works, but I can
guarantee you it's not going tolast very long.
Okay, so if somebody comes inand they say they're a level
nine, 10, and they and forautumn they want to go a level

(09:03):
seven or six, even, you have totone them, put that warmth back
in their hair so that that tonerhas something to hold on to.
That that is a common, commonmistake and, yeah, sometimes
we're just in a hurry and weforget or we just don't want to
take the time.
You know our next client'ssitting there waiting because

(09:25):
they're early, or whatever.
You have to take the time.
You have to do it.
You have to do it right Ifyou're going to do it at all.
You got to do it right, right,right, all right.
Mistake number five the resultis way too dark.
Oh, we have all been there andthis one happens more often than
we'd like to admit.
Oh, my gosh, you chose theright toner, but the result

(09:50):
still feels really heavy andshadowy, kind of Just darker
than what you want it to looklike.
Why?
Maybe the hair was over porous,maybe, or maybe you picked an
ashy tone that lackedreflectiveness, maybe, or maybe
you toned too dark withoutmeaning to.
We've all done that, okay.

(10:10):
So you have to clarify yourgoals.
What's the starting level?
What's the target level?
Do I need to fill?
Do I want to enhance?
Do I want to enhance, erase orneutralize Every time you color
anybody's hair?
Those are the questions thatyou have to ask Starting level,

(10:31):
target level don't need to fill.
And what am I trying to do withthe tone of the hair?
Pre-tone with intention, andalways process the full time for
lasting, predictable results.
Always All right, so toningdoesn't have to feel like

(10:55):
guesswork.
Okay, once you understand thewhy behind these mistakes and
you learn how to fix them whenthey do happen, you're going to
gain confidence, you're going togain speed and you're going to
gain reliability behind thechair.
You will.
It takes some time to do this,but just keep this episode and
you know.
Every time you need a littlehint or or reminder, just listen
to it again.

(11:15):
It's short enough to listen to.
Mistakes happen, but now you'vegot a toolbox of solutions to
move through them like theprofessional that you are right.
So, hey, thank you.
Thank you for listening to thepodcast.
Make sure you go over to ourYouTube, subscribe over there.
We've got our foundationalhaircut series out and, like
always, always remember when youknow better, you do better.

(11:39):
Thanks for tuning in to AllAbout Hair.
If you loved this episode, hit,subscribe, leave us a review
and share it with a fellowstylist or hair-loving friend.
You want more tips, tools andbehind-the-scenes goodness,
follow me on YouTube or head tomy website at denisekeilitzcom.
Yes, I know it's hard to spell,so don't worry, the link is in

(12:00):
the show notes.
Until next time time, keeplearning, keep creating and keep
loving what you do.