At Home Color Correction: How To Use Toning Shampoo To Fix Brassy Hair

Whether you're a regular blonding client or are new to lightening service, you may notice that your freshly colored strands have developed unwanted yellow, orange or red tones since your trip to the salon. If you're not ready to book your next appointment, you may be wondering how to keep your color bright and toned at home.

The solution? Toning shampoo. By integrating this color-correcting shampoo and conditioner into your haircare regimen, you can help eliminate unwanted brass and correct color in between salon appointments. Read on to learn more about fighting brassy hair, color correction, and at home color care. From pigmented purple shampoo to blue shampoo, find the Redken toning shampoo system that is right for you and your hair color.

Yellow or orange tones, or “brassy hair”, often occurs in hair that has been lightened or highlighted. When the hair is lightened, it can expose underlying red, orange or yellow pigments in the hair. At the salon, your colorist will then apply hair color and toner to help you achieve your ideal hair color. In between salon appointments, brassy hair and unwanted tones can begin to appear in the hair as hair color fades. This is where toning shampoos and conditioners come in. Think of them as your at home toner, there to help you correct these colors and banish brass.

“Redken’s toning shampoos correct brassy and unwanted tones with ultra-pigmented formulas,” says Redken Artist Sami Skinner, “When we want to cancel out brassiness in the hair, we want to utilize the pigment that’s located opposite on the color wheel which is also considered its’ complimentary color. When mixed together, these tones will neutralize, which is essentially what is done when your colorist tones your hair in the salon.” 

For a full breakdown, check out our guide to understanding and preventing brassy hair.

Toning shampoos and conditioners are haircare products that contain purple, blue and other pigmented formulas to help cancel out the brassy tones that can appear in hair in between salon appointments. If you think of the color wheel, blue and purple are located directly opposite yellow and orange, which is why blue and purple-pigmented shampoo helps to correct color and remove brassy tones from the hair. This at home color correction solution is perfect for maintaining and protecting your artist's beautiful color!

Regularly integrating a toning shampoo and conditioner into your haircare regimen 1-2 times per week can help you to color correct and control brassy hair in between salon appointments. The rest of the week, you can rotate your toning shampoo and conditioner with your usual color-protecting shampoo and conditioner to ensure best results. For color treated hair, we recommend Redken Color Extend Magnetics as a great daily solution.

The best toning shampoo and conditioner for you depends on your hair type and color. Our guide below will help you discover the best Redken toning haircare system for you:

Redken Color Extend Blondage toning purple shampoo and conditioner features a pigmented purple formula to help to cancel out those yellow and orange tones on blonde and highlighted hair.

“Redken Blondage is life changing for blonde and highlighted hair,” says Skinner, “It’s perfect for guests who do not like to see any warmth in their hair. It also helps to keep blonde and highlighted hair soft and silky.” 

For an extra icy finish, check out our Color Extend Blondage Depositing Mask. This 5 minute treatment provides enhanced tint for an ultra cool result.

Redken Color Extend Brownlights blue toning shampoo features a pigmented formula to help counteract brassy tones on brown hair. It is a great solution for correcting brass on both natural and highlighted brunette hair, targeting those stubborn red and orange tones appearing in brown hair.

“Redken Color Extend Graydiant is a wonderful toning shampoo for natural or color-treated gray and silver hair,” says Skinner, “ Gray and silver hair can sometimes experience yellow tones, and Graydiant’s purple formula helps to counteract that. It is also strengthening and helps to soften that coarse texture that naturally gray hair can have.”

When it comes to color-correcting unwanted tones, you can also schedule a 20 minute hair gloss service with your stylist to cancel out unwanted brass and maintain your ideal tone in between color appointments.