How to Tone Brown Hair to Ash

In response to the recent influx of blonde hair trends and fresh new takes on traditional sunny locks, it’s definitely time to check in with the brunette community, whose recent hair trends have also been getting front-page coverage as of late. The world witnessed Hailey Bieber’s dirty blonde to full-on brunette transformation a few months ago, setting the “expensive brunette” hair trend on fire and offering some major winter hair inspiration. Billie Eilish also surprised millions of followers by debuting an incredibly chic blonde bombshell look…right before trading it in for rich, mocha strands with long bangs. 

However, there’s more to this year’s brunette hair trends than expensive-looking highlights and fashionable fringe. Brown-haired beauties have also popularized the ash color trend, which adds cool grayish tones and lots of dimension to dark hair. When the process is performed using professional hair color and products, the resulting look is full of cool undertones with zero brassiness. Here’s more information and tips on how to tone brown hair to ash.

Pre-Toning Tips

The process of creating the perfect ash brown hair look has a lot to do with understanding color theory and the idea that certain colors can cancel out the appearance of others. For example, many brown shades have auburn, orange or red undertones, so when the color is lightened or stripped, those undertones become more prominent. Since blue is complementary to red on the color wheel, it means that using a toner with blue pigment after using a professional hair lightener can help cancel out red, orange or otherwise brassy-looking shades in brunette hair to achieve a cool-toned ashy look. 

Creating an Ash Brown Look

Before applying toner to the hair, it’s important to choose the right product. Use a high-quality brand like Schwarzkopf Professional and PRAVANA for the best results. The extensive line of PRAVANA hair products offers hair color and toning options that work well with a wide range of hair types and colors, allowing stylists to choose the perfect pigment and strength level when toning a client’s hair.

Once the stylist has decided on the best toner for their client, they can get to work on creating a beautiful ash brown look. First, it’s crucial to nail the main brunette color with a shade of hair color agreed upon by both the stylist and client. If the client already has their hair color-treated to the desired brunette color or is a natural brunette, there’s no reason to mess with it! 

In order to tone a client’s brown hair and transform it into a cool-toned ash brown look, blue pigment needs to be applied to the hair. Though purple (and sometimes green) is also considered a useful toning pigment, blue directly cancels out orange and auburn shades, making it a great option for darker hair. 

Stylists can apply blue toner to the client’s hair as they would a deep conditioner or hair masque. Many toners even include hair-loving ingredients to multitask as a repair treatment while the toner is working. Other toners come in the form of blue-tinted professional shampoo that can be used at the salon or as part of the client’s post-salon maintenance routine to keep their hair from revealing any orange or brassy tones. The resulting look is a fresh, cool-toned hairstyle that will turn heads!