Butter Blonde Guide: Toning, Lightening & Technical Tips

The Hairdresser’s Quick Guide To Butter Blonde

Luxury, Old Money, Butter Blonde—these are all trend-facing words your clients are picking up from social media and bringing to your chair. 

The warm blonde craze is teaching our clients “keywords” to ask for, so we’re here to break down what their requests actually mean. Read on for three lightening, toning and application breakdowns for a butter blonde that will mimic your clients’ inspo pics.

Photo credit: Instagram via @lgibsoncolorist

How to Lift Or Refresh Blonde Clients For A Warmer Tone

The game is: Lift high enough to utilize underlying yellow pigment BUT, not ash-out the raw lift. Ready for the challenge?

#1. First, aim for THESE Levels of lift: 

“Anywhere between a Level 8 and a 10, you’re pretty good,” says Joico Artistic Director of Education Ricardo Santiago (@stylistricardosantiago). “Anywhere in that range you’ll be left with enough yellow for pigment, but light enough that you can control the end tone.”

#2. Think of a grown-out blonde as a “reverse fill”:

“You’ll need the ends of your previous blonde or balayage to be just as bright as the roots for a butter blonde,” says Joico Global Technical Director Jeannetta Walker-Rodgers (@watchmyhairbounce). “Going in with a wet balayage to gently refresh the previous blonde will help the entire head achieve a clean, bright lift.”

#3. THIS is the most common mistake when mixing lightener:

“I only work with small [batches of] lighteners,” says blonding specialist Olivia Thompson (@omgartistry). “If a bowl of lightener has been sitting on your station for 20 minutes, it’s no longer the developer volume you initially formulated.”

Olivia’s pro tip: “You HAVE TO fold the developer into your lightener slowly,” she warns. “The faster you mix your lightener, the more oxygen you’re pumping into your formula. This will make your lightener swell on the hair.”

Joico artists jumped into a butter blonde TELL ALL with us, click below to watch the full tip series:

 

 

 

 

 

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Tap here to browse a blonding swatch chart for your go-to butter blonde shades this season

Toners to avoid browning-out a raw lifted blonde

Once you’ve hit the proper Level of lift, your toner formulation will make or break the glowing, butter blonde request. 

To avoid over-ashing or underutilizing the natural yellow pigment, here are the toning shades to grab for.

• “You cannot use a straight violet or else you’ll brown-out your blonde” says @watchmyhairbounce. “Instead, use a sheer violet like Joico LumiShine Demi-Permanent Gloss VG Series to balance that color without losing the warm pigment.”

• Joico Global Artistic Director Laura Gibson (@lgibsoncolorist) says, “I always think it’s best to use LumiShine Demi-Permanent Liquid 9NWB. This shade keeps everything natural-looking because of the N formulated into the shade, but also stays very warm.” 

• “LumiShine Permanent Cream Hair Color 9NG is a pre-blended color. It has the reds and every filler tone already in it,” says Joico Artistic Director Larisa Love (@larisadoll). “Any shade with an “N” you’re going to get those extra fillers, then the “G” is going to bring up the extra warmth so it’s perfect for a balanced, butter blonde shade.”

Classic Butter Blonde Formula To Save

For your lived-in blonde clients looking for a warm, natural look—this two-step root tap from Taylor Dellatorre (@taylordidmyhair) will be a foolproof transition.

• Lightener: Joico Blonde Life Lightening Powder + 20-volume Joico LumiShine Developer
• Root tap: Joico LumiShine Demi-Permanent Liquid Color 6N + 5-volume Joico LumiShine Developer

For products used in this article and more, click here to shop Joico’s FULL color range!

Products Used

Demi-Permanent Color

LumiShine™ Demi-Permanent Liquid Color

Joico

Color Depositing

Lumishine™ Permanent Crème Color

Joico

Lightener

Blonde Life

Joico