DIY Hair Toner: Correcting Red Tones & Achieving Beige Highlights

Question
Hi! I've been getting highlights on my hair for years now however do to the cost I am using a stylist who just does the highlights on me but does not add tonner after she says I don't need it. But I kno I do I have some red that peeks through and they are too gold I like my highlights a beige color. Can I add a toner myself and what color toner should I be shopping for I use goldwell.

Answer
Hi Marilyn,

If your hair is too warm, you need toner or it just didnt get light enough.  I wouldn't recommend doing toner at home, other than maybe purple shampoo, for a couple of reasons. One, and most important, if the toner goes badly, your hairdresser is going to charge you a lot more to fix it than it would for you to just pay her the few extra dollars to apply on the day of your highlights.

The  other reason,  if she is overlapping your highglights at all, the toner isn't going to come out even. Putting home color on, even just a toner, pretty much defeats the purpose of paying a pro to do it. And many stylists, won't guarantee their work once someone else does anything at all to the color.
Another thing; the color your hair IS affects the color it BECOMES. So, if you put one color of toner on hair this is red in spots and gold in spots, one toner isn't going to fix that.

Instead, I would discuss it with her. Make sure she understands that the two of you disagree about the whether or not you need it.  If she is unwilling to apply a toner, I'd find another stylist.

My guess, without being able to see you in person is that she isn't getting them light enough. If you like beige, it should be lifted well past the red and orange stage.  If that's the case, even if you do get the red out, it isn't going to be beige. It's going to be brown. Before doing anything yourself, I'd talk about it with your stylist first and if she still doesn't want to tone, maybe she can reformulate the product she's using to lighten your hair. If you like beige and she's giving you red and gold, and doesn't see a difference, perhaps you just need a new stylist.