I Tried Every Cool Brown Hair Toner on Adore Beauty & These Are the Ones I'd Repurchase
Madison is Adore Beauty's Videographer. When she's not directing and editing skincare, haircare and makeup videos for the Adore Beauty YouTube channel, you'll find her rocking a bold eyeshadow look, usually with matching statement earrings.
Recently, I decided to trade in my unconventional pink hair of five years for a traditional brunette.
I thought having brown hair would be low maintenance and easier to manage... I was kinda wrong.
You see, even though I'm no longer dealing with obvious regrowth and bleaching, any dyed hair colour will fade. And when you dye your hair brown, there's a good chance it will starting turning a brassy shade of red or orange. Sometimes, even green or blue.
The solution? Using a brown hair toning product to keep my hair from veering into orange territory. But how are you meant to know which is the best toner for brown hair?
Well, you're not. So, I took one for the team and road-tested ALL the brown toning hair products we stock at Adore Beauty. Literally, I tried them all.
Whether you want to enhance your natural brunette colour, or are a fake brunette trying to cover up your true hair identity, watch my YouTube video below to find the best toner for brown hair.
Or keep scrolling for the quick version. You’re welcome.
What Is a Hair Colour Toner?
Toning shampoos, conditioners and treatments are colour intensifying products designed to help with hair colour maintenance between salon appointments.
Toning products work by depositing hair colour pigment onto each individual hair strand. Anyone can use hair toners regardless of whether your hair is dyed or not, but they're especially great at topping up faded colour, getting rid of those unwanted warm orange or brass tones, and adding intense shine.
Hair toners come in loads of different shades. If you're blonde, you'll be on the lookout for the best purple shampoo or blonde hair toner.
But if you're reading this, you're probably wondering, "what haircare should I use to eliminate brassy tones?" or "which brunette toning treatment is the best?"
Best Brown Hair Toners.
So, what did I look for in the best brown hair toning product?
- The brunette tone - I personally wanted a cool brown toner result, but you can also find warm brunette hair toners if that's your jam.
- Ease of use - Is it a colour toning shampoo or conditioner? Is it a leave-in mask I have to wait for it to work? I'm lazy, so it needs to be easy and simple.
- How it makes my hair feel - My hair is damaged from years of bleaching, so I wanted a product that could protect my hair and help keep it healthy.
- The colour results - Did the hair toner neutralise brassiness and green/blue tones, and give me the shiny, cool brown colour I was after? And how long did it last for?
Over three months, I tried just about every single brown hair product we stock at Adore Beauty. I used eight different brands, but here are my three favourites I've since repurchased and continue to use now the experiment has finished.
1. Redken Colour Extend Brownlights Range.
What:
Why I'd repurchase:
Redken Brownlights shampoo and conditioner gets a big old tick in the “easy to use” box!
This combo is what you'd call a blue toner, which means it neutralises orange and yellow tones so your hair cools down and stays looking fresh. That said, the results were quite subtle and you'd use this most times you wash your hair.
I found a few of the toning shampoos and conditioners I tried to be a bit drying and heavy for my thin, oily hair, but this shampoo did a really good job of dispensing colour, without weighing my hair down.
Choose this option if you want something super easy that won't drastically change your hair colour overnight. You can shop the Redken Brownlights Shampoo and Redken Brownlights Conditioner here.
2. evo Fabuloso Cool Brown Colour Boosting Conditioner.
Why I'd repurchase:
Comparatively, this product is more hard work, but it totally pays off. Evo Fabuloso deposits brown pigment into the hair and after just one use, I saw a huge difference!
It gave me the strongest colour payoff out of all the brown hair toners I tried. The result came out quite dark, and it evened out my colour completely. Unlike the ease of the brown hair toning shampoo above, this toning leave-in conditioner involves a few extra steps.
You'll need to wash your hair, step out of the shower and towel-dry your hair before applying the product. The instructions say to leave it on for three minutes, but I leave it on for at least 10 minutes to get the tone I'm after. Then, you've gotta jump back in the shower to rinse it out.
It's a tad annoying, but if you can suck it up for the sake of those sweet, sweet cool tones, this product is seriously worth it. Especially if you want to cover up uneven or faded colour. Plus, you only need to use it once a week or less for a good result.
You can shop the evo Fabuloso Cool Brown Colour Boosting Conditioner here, I give it five out of five stars. Will use again.
3. Davroe Cool Graphite Colour Treatment.
Why I'd repurchase:
Lastly, we have this brown hair colour treatment from Davroe, a very exciting Australian-made brand new to Adore.
The Davroe Cool Graphite Colour Treatment is basically the Goldilocks of brown hair toning products. You can leave it on in the shower for a few minutes, or hop out of the shower and leave it on for longer depending on how intense you want your colour to look. We stan options!
This brown hair colour treatment did a great job of keeping my brunette colour looking cool, fresh and light. As with all the blue toning conditioners, it won't drastically change your hair colour overnight, but it noticeably cooled down my hair and got rid of those pesky orange tones. Use weekly for best results.
Everything about this product is a vibe, from the packaging to how the vegan and cruelty-free formula made my hair look and feel fab. What more could a fake brunette ask for? You can shop the Davroe Cool Graphite Colour Treatment here.
I hope one of these suits your brunette needs. But before I let you go, a word of warning: Hair toning products can stain your skin, hands and bathroom tiles.
Most products suggest wearing gloves when applying, which I did not... don't do what I did. The stains eventually came out, but the memories will last forever.
So long! Farewell! Happy colour treating!
Shop Maddy's Top Brown Hair Toners Here:
evo fabuloso Colour Depositing Hair Conditioner - Cool Brown 220ml$45.25
Redken Color Extend Brownlights Conditioner 1L$101.00 - Currently not available
Davroe Cool Graphite Colour Treatment 200ml $32.95
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