My client's roots turned orange and that's when I finally stopped skipping the toner step

I was doing a platinum card toner-free bleach at a salon in Austin last Tuesday and when I pulled the foils off her Level 8 hair looked like a pumpkin, so now I mix Wella Color Touch with a little 9A even when I think it's fine, how do you guys handle mineral buildup in hard water zones?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily_singh21mo ago

Wait, are we really blaming the toner step though? I totally get the frustration with orange roots, but if the hair lifted to a Level 8, that's more about your bleach timing and developer choice than skipping the toner. I've done plenty of foil jobs where hard water made things tricky, and I just use a good clarifying shampoo before bleaching to cut through that buildup.

reesemoore1mo ago

Did you ever try using a purple shampoo as a pre-treatment before bleaching? I had this one client with hard water stains so bad her hair looked rusty, and a good clarifying wash with a little purple mixed in actually helped even out the lift. It's not a fix for bad sectioning, but it takes some of the guesswork out of dealing with mineral buildup.