Selecting the right shade of blonde toner is one of the most difficult things about updating your hair color. So, you're not alone if you're feeling a bit lost. Wella T27 has been credited with giving people all over the blonde hair they always wanted.
Could it do the same for you? In this article, we'll tell you everything you need to know about Wella T27 before and after usage. Let's get right into it!
What Is Wella T27?
Before getting into potentially confusing information about this product, let's start with the basics. What is Wella T27? It's a hair toner in the shade "medium beige blonde," and it serves two purposes.
First, it acts as a hair color neutralizer, removing pesky yellow, brassy tones from your strands. Second, it's a color deposit - it deposits the medium beige blonde hue while eliminating brassiness. That's how you get the color on the box.
What Should Your Hair Look Like Before Using Wella T27?
The first thing you should know about permanent toners like Wella T27 is that they are usually used as part of a double chemical process, where you'll lighten your hair first and then apply the toner to impart a precise tone.
Free 9-page planner
Plan your next hair color, start to finish.
Our free planner walks you through coloring your hair at home, one step at a time. It shows which kind of color fits the hair you have now, the two tests to do at least 48 hours before, what to do after you color, and how to cancel a brassy or orange tone. There’s also a log for each color you use, so next time you’ll know exactly what worked.
Free. We’ll email you the planner, then two more emails on how to use it, and after that one email every Thursday, plus the occasional extra. Unsubscribe anytime.
For Wella T27, your hair needs to be one shade lighter than the toner. Wella T27 is about a level 7, so you'll need to lift your hair to a level 8 before applying the toner.
Depending on the source, level 8 is considered to be light to medium blonde. Since people often see color differently, it can be helpful to use a hair color chart to get an idea of your expected hair color.
Check out Loreal Professional's chart here. You can hold your hair up to the chart to confirm whether you've achieved enough lightening.
How to Get Your Hair to a Level 8
When trying to go from a dark brown natural hair shade to a level 8, stylists and everyday folks turn to bleach. Bleach is strong enough to give you up to 9 levels of lift in just one session.
But if you're going to get to the right level of lightness without losing or damaging your hair beyond belief, you'll need to follow the instructions below:
- Look at your hair and determine whether it's fit for bleaching. Bleach is a very strong chemical; if you apply it to hair that's already dry, brittle, or otherwise damaged, the bleach will make things a whole lot worse. So, examine your hair and be honest with yourself. If you've decided that your hair is healthy enough for the bleaching process, move on to the next step.
- Prepare your space for the bleaching process. Put on an old T-shirt, put down some newspapers, and ensure that the room is ventilated to reduce bleach fume inhalation.
- Put on your gloves and mix one part bleach powder with two parts 20-volume developer.
- Apply the bleach mixture to your hair, focusing mainly on the mid-lengths and ends. Then, apply the bleach to your roots.
- Set your timer for up to 45 minutes. Check your hair's progress here and there by wiping bleach off of a tiny section of your hair and looking at it closely. If you haven't reached level 8 yet, reapply the bleach and allow it to process further.
- When your hair has finally reached level 8, rinse, shampoo, and begin the toning process.
Though bleach does lighten the hair very well, it does bring out the brassiness. So, chances are your new lightened tresses will look yellowish after going through the bleaching process. That's part of the reason why you'll need a toner.
Wella Color Charm toners
Which Wella toner for the level you reached
Your hair has to be light enough before any of these toners can give you the result shown on the box. The rows move from less pre-lightening to more, so find the level your hair has already reached and choose a toner from that row. Don’t move to a higher row unless you lighten your hair again. Each shade code opens the before-and-after guide for that toner.
| Toner | What it leaves | Lighten to | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| T27This page | Medium beige blonde | Level 8 | Your hair is level 8 and you want a soft, medium beige blonde instead of a pale or ashy result. T27 itself sits at about level 7. |
| T15 | Pale beige blonde | Level 8 | Your hair is pale yellow at level 8 and you want a cool, pale beige blonde. T15 isn’t strong enough to cancel noticeable orange tones. |
| T28 | Natural, neutral blonde | Level 8 | Your hair has yellow and light orange tones, and you want a natural-looking blonde instead of an ashy one. |
| T35 | Beige blonde | Level 8 | You want a natural beige blonde with a little warmth instead of a cool ash blonde. Your exact result will depend on how light your hair is before you tone it. |
| 7A | Medium cool blonde | No fixed pre-lightening level | You want to tone, gloss, refresh, or blend gray with a demi-permanent cream color. For the closest match to medium cool blonde, start around level 8. Unlike the other shades in this chart, 7A isn’t a T-series liquid toner. |
| T11 | Lightest beige blonde | Level 9 | Your hair is level 9 and you want violet pigment to soften yellow and brassy tones. T11 itself sits at about level 8. |
| T14 | Pale ash blonde | Level 9 or 10 | Your hair is yellow with a little orange left in it. T14’s violet-blue base gives you a cooler result, but it won’t completely neutralize hair that is still strongly orange. |
| T50 | Pink blossom, a pinkish blonde | Level 9 or 10 | You want a visible pastel-pink tone instead of a neutral blonde. This toner creates a new color rather than simply correcting brassiness. |
| T10 | Pale blonde, sold as Ivory Lady | Level 10 | Your hair is light yellow with a hint of gold, and you want the palest blonde result. It can work on darker blonde hair, but the result will be darker and cooler than the shade shown on the box. |
| T18 | Lightest ash blonde | Level 10 | Your hair is a pale or bright yellow with little to no orange left. If your hair is below level 10, T18 won’t give you the lightest ash-blonde result shown on the box. |
The level is the part most people skip. Toner can change the warmth or coolness of your color, but it can’t take level 8 hair to level 10. Check a strand in daylight before you buy. The full Wella toner chart sets all of these shades side by side. If your curls feel gummy, brittle, or begin snapping after bleaching, stop there and give them time to recover instead of lightening again just to use a paler toner.
How Your Hair Will Look After Using Wella T27
When you apply Wella T27 to your strands, the brassiness will disappear (or be reduced) and be replaced by a medium beige-blonde hue.
Depending on the undertone of your hair, your result may be more golden or ashy than the next person's. The shade will also depend on how long you leave the toner in your hair.
Wella T27 Before and After Results
Since T27 toner has a violet base, leaving the toner on too long could leave you with a purplish cast. You're more likely to experience this if you leave the toner in for longer than 30 minutes or if your hair is severely damaged.
The damaged parts will pick up the toner more than the rest of your hair, leading to an uneven color result where some areas are purple.
If your hair is darker than a level 8, you could either see no result at all or an overall warmer tone than what you see on the packaging. If your hair isn't light enough for Wella T27, you'll need to lighten your hair using the instructions we gave above.
How to Use Wella T27
One reason why people love Wella toners is that they're super easy to use. Still, if you're new to using toners, you may need a few pointers.
Here's a detailed explanation of how to use Wella T27 at home:
- Shampoo your hair with a clarifying shampoo if you have any sign of product buildup. It should be removed before toning so that there'll be no barrier between your hair and the toner. Note that any shampooing should be done 48 hours before toning.
- Prepare your space for toning. Cover your clothes with a large towel and protect your furniture and sink with newspaper as needed. Also, ensure that the room has good airflow.
- Put on gloves to protect your hands from the chemicals.
- Mix your Wella Color Charm T27 with your developer using a 1:2 ratio. 10 or 20-volume developers both work. 20-volume will give you more permanent results than 10-volume would.
- Using a tinting brush, apply the toner mix to your hair. Start with the areas that are most brassy.
- Let the toner do its magic for up to 30 minutes. Examine your hair in intervals of 5 minutes. Remove the toner mixture from a small section of hair and take a close look. If your hair isn't yet a level 8, reapply the toner and let it sit for longer.
- Rinse your hair thoroughly until all the toner is gone.
- Do a deep conditioning treatment to nourish your hair and help it bounce back from the chemicals.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make while using Wella T27 is leaving it in your hair for too long. If you don't want a purple mess, keep an eye on the clock and check frequently until the desired results are achieved. Then, the finishing step is to rinse your hair thoroughly.
Pros and Cons of Wella T27
Now that you understand how to use Wella T27 let's talk about the pros and cons of this product. That way, you can decide whether it's the right toner for you:
Pros:
- It'll leave you with a beautiful medium beige blonde shade with dimensionality and a natural-looking shine.
- It will help reduce brassiness in your hair.
- It has Liquifuse technology for long-lasting results.
- It's super easy to use at home - if you can follow the instructions on the packaging, and in this article, you can get salon-quality toning results at home.
Cons:
- There's a fine line between toned and over-toned hair. And, just like other toners of this type, if you leave the toner in for too long, you could end up with grey or purple hair.
- The toner isn't suitable for dark hair. If your starting color is darker than a level 8, you won't get much of an effect from the toner.
Related Articles
You'll have to decide for yourself if the pros outweigh the cons!
So, there you have it - everything you need to know about Wella T27 toner, before and after. We hope that you found all the information you needed. Good luck!
