To try and tone my own hair (and ask the hairdresser what colour they use?)

[bloodyuselessme]

I have blonde ends and darker roots, and when I have it done I get it toned to a dark blonde/light brown colour. It washes out really quickly and goes to a lighter blonde so I've been going to the hairdresser to get it toned, but it's upwards of twenty pounds and I'm a bit skint.

Would it be really cheeky to ask the hairdresser what colour the toner is and try and do it myself? And does anyone know how hard it is to tone your own hair?

Many thanks for any advice

Your hairdresser will be likely using a professional level toner, and won't be able to sell it to you. However you can buy toning shampoos and conditioners that are quite good for home use. You would probably want a caramel-colored one (if you want a warm dark blonde) or a violet one (if you want a cool dark blonde). Ask your hairdresser to recommend a toning conditioner with high pigment levels. Some have low pigment and hardly make a difference no matter how long you leave them on for.

The most important thing is to get really even coverage when you are toning. It's usually the conditioners that carry the most pigment. Make sure every strand of your hair is saturated evenly by massaging and combing it through really thoroughly, or you will get a patchy effect. Clean up your hairline, then leave the conditioner on for at least 5 minutes. I tend to overtone i.e. leave on for at least 10 minutes) as they do wash out quickly.

If you have lighter ends and darker roots are you applying colour over hair that had already been dyed or just applying to roots? Because then you would be putting blonde on blonde and making it more light on the ends. As for your question, yes just ask, absolutley nothing wrong with that. If that doesnt work you could go into a hairdressing wholesalers and get the girls behind the counter to help you with the colour chart and finding out what you need, you'll be shocked at the price difference. I did this, it cos about 6 quid for the tube of colour and a bottle of peroxide roughly same price.

Do you have a Sally's / salon services near you? They have all ( most) of the stuff hairdressers use and I'm sure you could either find the same / very similar.
The tint may be about £10 though so unless you know you can do a good job, your hairdresser may be a better bet for just a bit more money - that's very cheap for a salon

Thank you very much for the advice. No, last time I just got 'baby highlights' done.

I've rang them up today and got name and number of the toner, and the volume and name of the developer. I've a Sally's in town, so I'm going to bob in tomorrow and just check that I do know how to do this!

If worse comes to worse, a toner will wash out though right?

Yanbu. I do mine at home all the time. Beauty of it is - if it goes wrong washes out in couple of days. I say go for it.

Schwarzkopf do a good range. :)

Just remember with toner to take into account both numbers, if you are going for a base 8 for example that denotes the shade. If it is 8.1 the .1 is ash if it is 8.3 that .3 is gold. Also only mix a toner with 10 vol or 3 per cent so you are sure it will wash out. If you mix it with 20 vol or 6 per cent it's permanent.