7 Things To Remember When Getting Hair Highlights

If you have an excellent base hair tone and want to color your hair, then you might want to try highlights. It involves adding streaks lighter than your natural color, so you accentuate your hair’s unique tone nuances and create depth with a three-dimensional effect. Getting highlights also provides you with a more natural look, yet enriching your current hair color. 

 

 

Highlights are your best option if you can’t keep up with regular salon appointments because this option comes with lesser maintenance than getting an all-over color. Skilled hair colorists usually use cleverly placed hair color variations to capture the natural irregularities of the sun’s reflections, helping hide unsightly roots.  

Now that you know the benefits, read below to learn about the important things to remember when getting hair highlights. 

 

1. Prepare Your Hair 

Wash your hair one to two days before your hair salon appointment. Your hair shouldn’t be too oily, sweaty, or dirty. A clarifying shampoo can help remove product buildup and even porous hair. 

Blow dry your hair and make it smooth. That way, your stylist can easily see your hair inconsistencies before the process, covering more hair surfaces. 

 

2. Choose The Highlight Style 

Hair highlights have various techniques, and the process is complicated. So it’s important to determine what highlighting style is best for you, balayage or foils.  

When getting foil highlights, the hairstylist will take hair sections, apply the chemicals, and fold the hair in pieces until the coloring has set in. Highlighting using foils allows the hairstylist to gain more control over the amount of highlighting, creating even coverage. 

On the other hand, balayage is a freehand technique wherein the hairstylist paints the hair with color instead of using foils. Balayage highlights won’t completely saturate your hair in color dye or bleach. So, you’ll have softer, silkier, and healthier hair with less dryness and damage because of less processing. 

 

3. Consider The Ombre Option 

In French, the word ‘ombre’ means graduated or shaded color. Ombre highlights entail hair painting that begins as dark roots that fade into a lighter color toward the hair ends. Because the highlights don’t start at the root, your hair won’t suffer from the harsh root line when the shade grows out. 

Ombre highlights give a grown-out look, making them look perfect over time. There isn’t much maintenance with an ombre at all. You can apply a hair gloss if your hair gets too light in the long run. Also, you can get a little root touch-up if your hair is a bit lighter.  

 

4. Choose Between Partial And Full Highlights 

Getting partial highlights is the best for you if you prefer highlights to simply frame your face. The hairstylist will only apply highlights on some parts of the hair. By contrast, as the name suggests, full highlights are done on all head sections. 

Several factors should be considered, such as dimension, affordability, and current hair, when choosing between the two. In the end though, it all boils down to preference.

 

5. Avoid Adding Too Many Color Variations 

Many people considering getting highlights are excited about color combinations for fashionable hairstyles. While dimension is good, adding too many color variations looks unnatural. The rule of thumb is no more than three shades. Weave the hair with a base color, a highlight color, and low light. 

 

6. Adjust Highlights According To Seasons 

During summer, highlights must be paler and brighter. Because you’ll spend more time outdoors, your hair will reflect more yellow light, making such highlights stand out. Enjoy summer without causing an eye sore to other people because of too glaring highlights.  

During cold months when the earth casts a blue light, highlights must be golden and deeper. Your golden highlights absorb the blue light, making your hair look more beautiful in gloomy weather. 

 

7. Do Not Skip The Consultation 

Your hairstylist is a professional who knows the latest trends in highlights and related techniques. Before you decide to get hair highlights, take due diligence to ask your hairstylist questions about the best dye or chemical for your hair. They can help you decide what highlight color to choose and determine the best final look.

If you have other concerns, such as a possible allergic reaction to dye or bleach due to a previous experience, don’t hesitate to discuss them with your hairstylist. They should perform a hair dye patch test before the process. 

 

 

 

Final Words

Getting hair highlights is a great way to transform your hair’s look without changing its natural color too much. Remember the important tips above before getting hair highlights to ensure the best outcomes. The most important of which is don’t hesitate to ask your hairstylist questions about which highlights will best complement your skin tone, the season, and your overall look.