50 shades of brass

I have had an issue with my hair turning brassy since I started dyeing my hair in my 20's. In the beginning--when I didn't know any better I used to walk into a local hair salon asking for a light brown hair color and walk out with a head full of rust. Looking back I'm like "why didn't my parents say anything!" It was horrid. Or maybe it wasn't that bad, I mean my now husband fell in love with me around that time so I guess he dug it.

See I wasn't exaggerating.

 

I didn't know at the time that color doesn't lift color. It wasn't until I met Sami Arjorna of A Touch of Red Salon in Houston that taught me that and corrected and transformed my hair. She would use hi-lift and her balayage technique so I could finally achieve that lighter brown sun kissed look.

I saw her for a few years and then it just started to get too far for me to drive too and then Layla was born and I had less time to get away. I then started to see my high school friend Martha at Highland Salon in Katy. I've been seeing her for the past few years and I love going. Every time I leave I'm happy and have yet to be disappointed.



The last time I got my hair colored was in May and unfortunately, it seems like that one week at the beach really turned my hair super brassy. I did have to wash it almost daily so I know that had a lot to do with it as well.

You see how orangey it got? My hair hasn't grown that much to warrant another trip to the salon, so I thought I'd take matters into my own hands and try a toner from Sally's Beauty Supply. After reading several reviews and watching a few YouTube videos I decided to go with the brand Wella color charm in T18 light ash blonde. It seemed like most of the reviews were for blondes and I was a little nervous because I couldn't find that many on hair color like mine, but I went for it anyways.

Supplies needed:

 

*Hair toner

*20 developer

*Mixing bowl (You can buy one or use any bowl really)

* Squeeze bottle or color brush

*Rubber gloves

 

The firs thing I did was dampen my hair. There was mixed reviews on whether to use dry hair or wet hair, but the consensus was that you should do it on damp towel dried hair.

So once your hair is damp, go ahead and mix 1 part toner and 2 parts developer. So basically, dump the whole toner in there and then fill the toner bottle with developer 2 times and dump it in there as well. Give it a good mix. It's going to be milky white at first and then turn purple. I wasn't sure if I should have waited till it turned purple to apply because every where else I read, it said to put on the toner fairly quickly once you mix it. I'm going to go ahead and say that I don't think it matters if you wait for it to turn purple or not. Start at the bottom of your hair and work your way up.

On the box it says leave on for 20-30 minutes but don't go by that time. The toner can start working in as little as 5 minutes. So it can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes. You need to watch it. That statement I was confused by. I had no idea what to look for. It wasn't until 13 minutes had passed that I understood. I started to see the difference. The orange was going away and the ash was coming through.

I gave it a total of 20 minutes and then washed it out in the shower with lukewarm water. I used shimmer lights also from Sally's which is a blond/silver shampoo that you can use if you have brassy hair. My hair stylist recommended it.



Afterwards, I blow dried my hair and styled as usual and this was the end result.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the result and I would do it again. I was expecting a bit more ash I suppose, but it could be a matter of maybe not picking the right shade. It did make the highlighted strands blonder and while to me it may still seem a tad bit brassy, it's definitely not the orangey red it was when I got back from Florida.

 

I hope this tutorial helps if your hair tends to turn brassy like mine. Have a great Wednesday!