Hair Dye vs. Hair Toner: What’s Really the Difference?

• Hair dyes and toners both deposit colour onto the hair, but they are different.
• Dye completely alters the colour of your hair, while toner is often used to even out the hair’s tones after it’s been colour treated.
• A colourist shares what else differentiates a toner from a hair dye.

We will always support a hair colour change for anyone looking to try something new. In fact, as of right now, there are about a dozen hair colour ideas currently sitting on our mood boards. That said, it can be difficult to sort through all the options available and figure out which colour treatment is best for you. Two good examples are hair dyes and hair toners – both deposit colour onto the hair but have completely different results once the process is all over.

If these are two hair-care terms that you hear often but haven’t quite been able to differentiate, we asked a pro colourist to explain.

What’s the Difference Between a Hair Dye and a Toner?

A toner is a liquid formula that can be added to colour-treated or lightened hair to either soften or enhance the colour. Meanwhile, a hair dye is a treatment that’s applied to completely alter the pigment of your hair.

“The main difference is the amount of hydrogen peroxide they have,” Heather Lee, a colourist at New York City’s Salon SCK, told POPSUGAR. “Hair dye can permanently change hair colour, making it either darker or lighter, and can also cover grey [hairs]. Toners or glosses are used to tweak, adjust, or neutralise unwanted tones, such as brassiness.”

Toners are typically used to even out a hair colour or, as Lee mentioned, get rid of yellow or orange tones on blonde hair. If you were looking to completely alter your natural hair colour or cover up any grey hairs, you’d use a hair dye instead of a toner, though toners can also be used to blend greys.

When Would You Use a Toner Instead of a Hair Dye?

When you want something more permanent, hair dye is the way to go. Toners, on the other hand, according to Lee, are a bit more gentle, and you usually apply them after hair has been colour treated. The hue when using the latter will also have a slightly shorter lifespan: “[Toner] typically lasts two to four weeks or 12 shampoos, as long as you’re using shampoo designed for colour-treated hair,” she said.

You can also opt for a semipermanent gloss or toner if you want a slightly safer alternative to a dye. “Toners contain way less hydrogen peroxide and achieve only semipermanent results,” Lee said. “Hydrogen peroxide is what swells the hair’s cuticle open so that the pigment can penetrate the outer layer of the hair and be deposited. The more hydrogen peroxide used, the more the outer layer of the hair becomes swollen and damaged.”

How Are Toners and Dyes Applied?

This really depends on how you prefer to get the job done. If you’re colouring your hair at home (which we wouldn’t recommend unless absolutely necessary), you might notice that some DIY hair-dyeing kits come with a bottle with a long nozzle to help you evenly distribute the product throughout your hair. To mimic the salon experience more closely, though, you’d likely be better off applying it piece by piece with a tint brush on dry hair in the same way that a professional would.

The process of applying a toner also varies based on the look you’re going for. “If we want to simply add shine or neutralise unwanted hues, I would apply the gloss on wet hair at the shampoo bowl,” Lee said. “If we want a more dramatic change, I would apply it on dry hair because the hair is more porous then, meaning it will absorb the new hair colour better.”