When you want to tone your hair, the first thing to do is choose the right toner to help you achieve your desired results. For instance, I had dark hair and wanted to achieve a blonde hair look. To do this, I had to use a toner after bleaching, and there were so many toner shades available that I was supposed to choose from. It made it difficult for me to determine the correct toner shade that would work for my hair. Moreover, check out my detailed review about Wella T14 vs T18 toner differences.
Bleaching can make your hair acquire a tone that looks orange or yellowish. Therefore, it would be best to use a hair toner to remove these acquired yellow and brassy tones. Even if your hair is naturally blonde, it can still catch the brassy tones with time; hence, you must tone it.
These hair toners usually contain a purple or blue dye. For example, when applied to bleached blonde hair, a toner with purple dye can get rid of the yellow tones, while the one with blue shade can get rid of the orange tints.
Salons worldwide normally use Wella toners that usually come in two shades: the Wella T18 and the Wella T14. Do you want to know which Wella toner to use? First off, you have to understand the difference between the two.
What’s Wella T14?
When you want to tone your hair, the first thing to do is choose the right toner to help you achieve your desired results. For instance, I had dark hair and wanted to achieve a blonde hair look. To do this, I had to use a toner after bleaching, and there were so many toner shades available that I was supposed to choose from. It made it difficult for me to determine the correct toner shade that would work for my hair. Moreover, check out my detailed review about Wella T14 vs T18 toner differences.
Bleaching can make your hair acquire a tone that looks orange or yellowish. Therefore, it would be best to use a hair toner to remove these acquired yellow and brassy tones. Even if your hair is naturally blonde, it can still catch the brassy tones with time; hence, you must tone it.
These hair toners usually contain a purple or blue dye. For example, when applied to bleached blonde hair, a toner with purple dye can get rid of the yellow tones, while the one with blue shade can get rid of the orange tints.
Salons worldwide normally use Wella toners that usually come in two shades: the Wella T18 and the Wella T14. Do you want to know which Wella toner to use? First off, you have to understand the difference between the two.
What’s Wella T18?
Another variant of Wella toner is Wella T18. It is a permanent liquid toner similar to Wella T14 since they both give bleached hair an ash blonde color. However, while Wella T14 gives your hair a pale blonde color, Wella T18 gives you a light blonde color.
This toner is ideal for removing yellow tints that appear in bleached hair since the base of the toner is violet in color. We should mix it with a volume developer that is 20 or 10 so that it can work and should be left on your hair for a maximum of 30 minutes.
This toner is thus recommended to anyone who wishes to turn their brassy hair with yellow discoloration into a perfect blonde color that is light ashy.
Differences Between Wella T14 and Wella T18
This part sheds light on the main differences between Wella T14 and Wella T18 toners.
| T14 | T18 |
| No violet undertones | Easily visible violet undertones |
| Silvery grey tones | No silver or grey tones |
| Pale ash-blonde | Light ash-blonde |
| Blue base | Violet base |
Resulting Colors
As discussed above, Wella T14 gives bleached hair a color result that is pale ash blonde, while the Wella T18 results in a blonde hair color that is light ash blonde. In addition, when you choose Wella T14, the hair color will be weaker due to the gray undertone compared to the one that will result when you use Wella T18 since it results in violet undertones.
If you want to achieve a silvery tone, then Wella T14 is the toner. This is because Wella T14 has a blue base that will leave your hair strands will a silvery or gray look, unlike the Wella T14, which leaves a violet color to your hair since its base is violet.
When Wella T14 and Wella T18 Should Be Used
If you want to attain an ashy blonde result and get rid of brassy tones that are gold or orange, you should use a Wella T14. On the other hand, if you want to attain an ash blonde color that is platinum or super light and removes yellow and brassy tones, you should use a Wella T18.
Can Both Wella T14 and Wella T14 Be Used at The Same Time?
If you happen to have both yellow and orange tones that are unwanted after a bleaching session, you can mix both Wella T18 and Wella T14 toners. As explained earlier, Wella T14 neutralizes gold or orange tones while Wella T18 neutralizes those tones that are yellow. However, it is recommended that the application procedure should be handled by professionals and not at home.
Should you decide to do it on your own, you should take extra care when adding the volume developer so that you do not interfere with the ratio of developer and toners required. Additionally, you should factor in how much of the yellow or orange, or gold tones are on your hair before deciding on the ratio.
If most of your hair has yellow tones, you should use more Wella T18 than Wella T14 and vice versa. If your hair has equal tones of yellow and orange or gold, you should use equal amounts of Wella T14 and Wella T18.
You can apply each toner differently in its respective toned area: Wella T14 on the orange or gold sites and Wella T18 on the yellow sites. You can also use the mixture of both toners appropriate developer all over your hair.
It is important to note that although the yellow and orange tones will disappear, your hair will attain different ash-blonde shades when you mix both. Moreover, there is a likelihood that the pigments will remain or change to a different hue when you combine both Wella T14 and Wella T18 toners. For example, combining the two toners can give your hair a purple shade instead of eliminating the bleached hair’s orange, yellow, or gold pigments. Generally, it is challenging to acquire results even when mixing both toners.
How to Use Wella Toner?
Wella toners can be easy to use. Before using them, you need to mix them with volume developers. You can use a volume developer that is ten or one that is 20. If you want a more gentle choice, you should opt for a 10 volume developer. This developer is also a great choice if you wish your toner to be darker. It is also fantastic for damaged hair or if your hair has a natural color since it does not alter your hair.
On the other hand, if you are looking for more potent effects, you should go for a 20 volume developer. It is also a great choice if you want your toner to be lighter and if you have many unwanted orange or yellow tones on your bleached hair. It is also ideal if you have uneven hair or if you are just from bleaching your hair.
When using this volume developer, you should take extra care since it can make your natural roots look brassy and lighten them. To counter this, you can use both developers simultaneously, using a 20 volume developer from mid-length to the ends and 10 volume developers from the roots to mid-length.
Before using the Wella toners, you should always ensure that your hair is damp so that when the toner is applied, it is absorbed evenly throughout your hair. The application procedure is as follows:
- Take an applicator brush that is plastic, a volume developer of your choice, and a plastic mixing bowl.
- Mix a Wella T14 if you have orange or gold tones or a Wella T18 if you have yellow ones with a 10 volume developer or a 20 volume developer, depending on the effects you want. The mixing ratio should be 2:1, as in 2 portions of a developer for one part of toner.
- Detangle your hair and comb it thoroughly.
- Part your hair vertically into two equal parts.
- Section your hair into vast portions that are 1-2 inches.
- Apply the toner and developer mixture to your damp hair, one portion at a time. To make the application process easier, always ensure that you pin up the completed portions.
- After applying, leave the toner for about 30 minutes.
- After every 5 to 10 minutes, check some hair strands to ensure that your desired hair color has been attained.
- Rinse out the toner.
- Wash your hair using a sulfate-free shampoo, or if you used a Wella T18, use a purple shampoo to wash your hair.
- Condition and style your hair as hankered.
Things to Note for Best Toning Results
Are you looking forward to optimal toning results? Then you should always alter the application process depending on your hair needs. Note that you should never alter the instructions on using the toner. Instead, you should always follow them:
- Before moving on to other parts, you should first apply the toner to the most orange or yellow parts of your hair. The toner should be allowed to process for about 10 minutes, and then you can check if the color that has been attained is the one you want.
- If the color is not the desired one, you should re-apply the toner mixture to process as you keep checking now and then until you achieve your desired color.
- Your hair should not be too dark for Wella T14 and Wella T18 to work; otherwise, you won’t notice any difference after application. It would be best to have your hair lightened to level 9 or even lighter.
- If you want to attain more permanent results, you should use a 20 volume developer. Otherwise, if you use a 10 volume developer, the results will be temporary, and every time you wash your hair, the toner will fade quickly.
- Before choosing a toner shade, you should first identify the color tone you want to cancel out on the color wheel: yellow, gold or orange. Then, the natural color across the one you want to neutralize is what you should choose as your base color. For instance, if you’re going to neutralize yellow tones, choose violet and if you want to cancel out orange or gold tones, pick blue.
- Toning is not always as direct as you may expect; hence you should always reach out to professionals to help you with any coloring issue. In addition, you should always use a timer so that your toner is not left to process for too long.
- Patch results can be hard to fix. For this reason, you should always ensure that all of your hair strands are fully saturated with the toner mixture to hinder patchy outcomes. Moreover, it would be best to always use a porosity equalizer before applying the toner so that your hair porosity remains even. Harsh bleaching sessions can result in hair porosity that is uneven, resulting in extra patchy toning results.
FAQs on Wella T14 vs T18
Can Wella T14 work on hair with yellow tones?
No, it can’t. Wella T14 can only eliminate brassy orange tones on bleached hair since it has a blue base, and in the color wheel, orange can only be neutralized by a blue-colored base. A purple base is the one that can eliminate yellow tones; hence you should use the Wella T18 as it has a purple base.
Which is Lighter Wella T14 or Wella T18?
Wella T14 gives your hair a blonde color that is pale ash, while Wella T18 results in a hair color that is blonde and light ashy. Wella T14, however, gives your hair a gray undertone, which makes it lighter than Wella T18, resulting in darker violet undertones.
Can a Wella T18 Be Used with a 10 Volume Developer?
Yes, you can use it. However, your hair should be up to 7 to 8 levels lightened. If it is not, you will need a high lift developer. In addition, using a 10 volume developer is safer as it does not damage your hair. Note that the higher the volume of the developer, the stronger its effects, hence more likely it is for the developer to damage your hair.
The disadvantage with a 10 volume developer is that its effect is semi-permanent, meaning that its results don’t last long. Additionally, there are lower chances of damaging your hair if it has just been bleached; thus, there is no harm in using a 20 volume developer whose effects are more lasting.
From this discussion, you must always use a toner after bleaching to cancel out any unwanted brassy tones and acquire a healthier shade that looks more natural.
