Color · Hair
Toner picker for orange, yellow and brassy hair.
Choose the tone your hair shows now and the level you want. You get the neutralising colour from the colour wheel, and a clear warning if the hair has to be lifted first. Runs in your browser; nothing is sent or stored.
Short answer: a toner works by colour opposition. Orange needs blue, yellow needs violet, red needs green, and a green cast needs red. A toner cannot lift, so if your hair is darker than the level you want, lift first and tone after.
Your hair
Result
Typical guidance, not a guarantee. Underlying pigment varies with your starting colour and dye history. Do a strand test.
How the pick is made
1. Colour opposition. On the 12-hue red-yellow-blue colour wheel (as set out by Johannes Itten in The Art of Color), the complement of a hue is the hue six steps around. Mixing a colour with its complement cancels it toward neutral. That is why a blue-based toner calms orange and a violet-based toner calms yellow.
| Hair shows | Neutralise with |
|---|---|
| Yellow | Violet |
| Yellow-orange | Blue-violet |
| Orange | Blue |
| Red-orange | Blue-green |
| Red | Green |
| Green cast | Red |
2. The lift limit. A toner deposits colour. It does not remove or lighten pigment. The tool compares your current tone with the level you want. If the target is lighter, it reports how many levels to lift first, then names the neutraliser for the pigment typically left at that target level.
3. Typical pigment by level (trade convention). Level 4 red, 5 red-orange, 6 orange, 7 yellow-orange, 8 yellow, 9 pale yellow, 10 very pale yellow. Your current tone is placed on that scale (red 4, orange 6, yellow-orange 7, yellow 8, pale yellow 9). These are typical values, not exact: charts differ between sources and every head of hair is different.
Limits. No product or brand is recommended. The tool does not read colour from photos, does not judge hair health, and does not replace a strand test or a stylist for large changes.
Source. Johannes Itten, The Art of Color (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1973; German original 1961), the twelve-part colour circle and complementary pairs.
FAQ
What toner do I use on orange hair?
A blue-based one. Orange sits opposite blue on the colour wheel, so blue cancels it toward a neutral brown. If you want blonde rather than brown, the hair has to be lifted first, because a toner cannot lighten orange.
What toner takes yellow out of hair?
A violet-based one. Yellow sits opposite violet on the wheel. Pale yellow needs only a light violet; stronger yellow sits at a lower level than pale yellow and may need more lift before you reach the shade you want.
Why does my hair look green after toning?
Blue laid over a yellow base can read green, because blue and yellow mix to green. The wheel answer is red, which sits opposite green. Yellow-orange hair is usually better matched by a blue-violet or violet choice than by straight blue.
Can a toner make dark or orange hair blonde?
No. A toner deposits colour; it does not lift. If your hair is below the level you want, the tool tells you how many levels of lift are needed before toning.
Does the level really decide the underlying pigment?
In trade convention, yes, roughly: lighter hair shows red, then orange, then yellow, then pale yellow. It is a typical pattern, not a measurement. Your starting colour, dye history and the exact product all change it.
How do I tone red hair?
Red sits opposite green on the wheel, so a green-based neutraliser cancels red. Red is a deeper pigment, so the result is typically subtle and shifts the hair toward brown.