Cover Photo by Jens Lindner on Unsplash
How many of you have had people requesting Silver Hair?
This trend looks like it is still going to be around for a while, so I’d like to share with you some tried and true silver toners and colours that actually gave me the results I was hoping for. I’ve tried a lot, but these worked like magic without giving overpowering purple or blue undertones.
How do you give your client Silver Hair?
First of all, as you probably already know, there is no way you can give your client silver hair without prelightening their hair to palest yellow blonde (we’re talking platinum level 9-10 here). Even a blonde level 8 is not light enough, because a silver toner is not strong enough to work through and cancel or cover the yellow undertones in hair that is at a level 8. To get silver hair, you need to lighten the hair as much as you would to achieve a pastel toner in any other shade (think lilac or pastel pink).
What does this mean? This means that you need to be realistic with what you are promising your client. Underpromise and overdeliver! Explain to your client that it will take more than one session to give them silver hair if their hair is not light enough to lift them to palest yellow blonde after the first session.
And yes, doing this will take a lot of patience, time and products, so quote and charge them accordingly. Going platinum or silver is not fast or cheap. Explain the cost, commitment and maintenance involved if they are seriously considering this colour.
These toners and colours that I have used obviously contain a violet or blue base to cancel out the yellow undertones in the hair and to give a silver effect.
Silver Using Wella
The toner used here in to get this silver shade that is bordering on grey is Wella Color Charm T14 “Pale Ash Blonde”.
Wella Color Charm T14 “Pale Ash Blonde”
Wella Color Charm T14 “Pale Ash Blonde”The T14 can be applied to towel dried hair once the bleach is washed out. Please note that it is a liquid colour, so don’t be surprised when you open the box. I mixed it with 20 volume.
This toner is fantastic for clients who have a lot of hair. Even though one bottle looks tiny, you can be VERY generous with your developer mixing ratio (even as much as 1:3) and the toner still works beautifully and covers.
If you want a darker silver, such as that one pictured above, this toner should be left for 20 minutes before rinsing.
Wella also has a lighter silver in shade T18 “Lightest Ash Blonde”. After having used both, I found that because the T14 is a shade darker, it offers better coverage. This is very helpful because it can prevent a patchy or uneven look in your client’s lifted hair. Also, you can be versatile with the T14 toner and leave it for only 8-10 minutes instead of 20 if you don’t want it to go too silver.
One down side of the Wella toner is that it has a strong smell. After I used it several times, I also found that it can dry the hair out over time, as it is being mixed with 20 volume. But it is cost effective and gives a beautiful shade. It is also very accessible. Many beauty supplies carry it, which means it is also available to the public (which can be both a good and not so good thing). But you won’t have a hard time finding it.
Silver Using Fanola
Fanola is a professional Italian colour line.
To get this silver shade, Fanola T.11 Ash No Yellow toner was used.
Fanola T.11 Ash No Yellow Toner
Fanola 10 Volume Developer
The entire No Yellow line from Fanola is absolutely fantastic, especially the No Yellow Purple Shampoo.
This entire colour line also smells amazing, something which Italian colour lines are known for. Their hydrogen peroxide is also perfumed. The No Yellow line is formulated to neutralize undesired yellow tones during chemical processing. It is also PPD free, low in ammonia and enriched with blackberry extract, grapes and blueberry.
This toner is mixed with a 1:2 ratio.
The only thing that you need to be careful with (which I learned the hard way from experimenting in my own hair) is that this “toner” has lifting power! This product is technically a permanent colour. What this means, is that even when mixed with a developer that’s as low as 10 volume, it still lifts. So, you need to be very careful when using this toner on a client that does not have their hair pre-lightened all the way to the roots. If their base colour at the roots or down their balayage is their natural darker hair colour or coloured a darker base colour, it will lift it slightly even with 10 volume, which will leave behind an orangey effect. Please be careful where you place this toner if your client has darker roots, a balayage or an ombre.
This toner can also leave a slight violet hue in the hair, but it gives a beautiful pastel effect that does not look cheap or fake. It’s actually very beautiful.
This toner was pleasant to use sensorially and left the hair feeling great.
Silver Using Schwarzkopf
If you are comfortable with using a permanent hair colour to create a magnificent silver shade, I highly recommend the following formula which was previously referred to me. It is stunning and does not leave a strong blue or purple hue behind.
From the Schwarzkopf Igora line, mix:
Half of 9.5-22 (Pale Blue) + Half of 9.5-1 (Pearl) with 20 volume.
The blend of these two colours is so beautiful. I wish I still had the picture of the final result, but it was perfect.
Schwarzkopf 9.5-22 Pale Blue
Schwarzkopf 9.5-1 Pearl
I hope these 3 suggestions will help you get the silver shade your client has been looking for!
Stay tuned for some more gorgeous and real colour formulations from us.