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Was I wrong about when to apply toner or has my new client's hair texture thrown me off?

After 12 years in the chair, I did a double-process blonde on a client last Tuesday and realized I've been applying toner to soaking wet hair my whole career, but a stylist friend told me it should go on almost dry, so now I'm second guessing everything I learned at beauty school and wondering how you all handle the moisture level when toning.
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3 Comments
lucasschmidt
Start by thinking about what actually happens with the product on different moisture levels. I mean, I was taught to apply toner to damp hair too, but it really depends on the brand and the result you're going for. If your hair is soaking wet, the toner gets diluted and you'll probably end up with a weaker, more uneven color that fades faster. I've had clients where I did it on almost dry hair and got a much more vibrant, true-to-tone result, especially with purple shampoos or glosses. Maybe it's just me but I'd say aim for mostly dry with just a tiny bit of dampness left, not soaking wet like you'd do with a developer.
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seanjackson
Yeah but is it really that deep? @lucasschmidt I feel like people overthink toner way too much. I've slapped it on bone dry hair before and it turned out fine, other times I've done it dripping wet and it was fine too. Maybe I just don't notice the difference cause I'm not staring at my hair under a magnifying glass all day.
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adamthompson
Wait, how dry are we talking - like towel-dried or blow-dried dry?
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