How to Highlight Hair

Guide Note

Highlights can give you a wild or elegant look, without all the hassle of bleaching or dying. Unlike bleaching and dying, highlights only color a part of your hair, so they're much less damaging. But they're also much more complicated to do well. This guide will show you how to highlight hair to get the look you want.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Step 1: Before You Highlight
• Step 2: Prepare to Highlight
• Step 3: Highlighting
• Step 4: After You Highlight
• Conclusion

Highlighting Tips

1. Find a color that works for you.
2. Use a good conditioner for several weeks before you highlight.
3. Decide whether to highlight with a brush, cap or other method.
4. Don't shampoo for a day or so before you highlight.
5. Do a test strand before highlighting.
6. Brush your hair thoroughly before highlighting.
7. Wearing gloves, apply your highlight mixture.
8. Let it sit for the specified time.
9. Rinse it out. Use conditioner.

• by Greg S

Introduction

(Creative Commons photo by bethany)

• Bleaching or dying your hair is a great way to make a dramatic change to your appearance, but these processes can be very damaging to your hair.¹ Fortunately, you can also get some amazing effects with highlighting, a process that's much less damaging than bleaching or dying because it only colors parts of your hair.²

• Highlights can be as subdued or outrageous as you wish.³ You can use them to give your hair a little extra sparkle, or you can go for a more attention-grabbing look. Getting highlights in a professional salon can be very expensive, but this guide will teach you how to highlight hair, save yourself a bundle and look great.⁴

Step 1: Before You Highlight

(Creative Commons photo by Evan)

• Before you can get started highlighting, there are things you'll need to know and decisions you'll need to make.

1. Before you do anything to your hair, think it over very carefully.
   • Think about whether the color you're considering is really going to look good on you.⁵
   • Some looks just won't suit your coloring.⁶ For instance, if you have naturally ruddy skin, reddish highlights won't be very flattering.
   • Experiment with a picture of yourself in PhotoShop to see how different hair colors would look on you.⁷
2. Seriously consider whether you would be better off having your highlights done by a professional at a salon.⁸
   • Even if you've previously bleached or colored your own hair before, don't assume that doing your own highlighting will be simple.⁹
   • If you can afford to have your highlights done by a professional, you probably should.¹⁰
   • If possible, talk it over with a salon professional for recommendations about what products and methods would work best for you.¹¹
3. Some women worry about bleaching or highlighting their hair when they're pregnant. Fortunately, research suggests that doing it should be very safe.¹²
   • If you're still concerned, talk to your doctor before highlighting.

Step 2: Prepare to Highlight

(Creative Commons photo by Daniella)

1. No matter what highlighting method you use, you will need to assemble the following materials before highlighting: hair dye, fitted latex gloves, a plastic or glass bowl, a towel, conditioner and a wide-toothed comb.¹³
2. When you go to buy your highlighting supplies, stick with major brands like L'Oreal.¹⁴
   • These brands have been used safely by millions of consumers, so they're going to be more reliable than smaller brands.¹⁵
   • Even if you're interested in unnatural colors like green or pink, stick with a big, reputable company like Manic Panic.¹⁶
3. Use conditioner and a good, clarifying shampoo for a few days before you do your highlights.¹⁷
   • This will clean your hair and also flush out any traces of hair care products, so your hair will be more receptive to the highlights.
4. Don't wash your hair for a day or so before you highlight.
   • A little bit of natural oil in your hair will help to protect you from any chemical damage from the highlighting.
5. As a beginner, you should probably stick to more subtle highlights, one or two shades lighter than your natural hair, to minimize the risk of damaging your hair (or just looking bad).¹⁸
6. Brush your hair carefully before highlighting.¹⁹
   • Any tangles in your hair will make it difficult to apply the highlights, and the results will be less effective.
7. Before you highlight, test the process on a strand of your hair.²⁰
   • Make sure your hair becomes the color you want, and you don't have an allergic reaction to the highlight mixture.

Step 3: Highlighting

(Creative Commons photo by Joel Telling)

• There are various methods of highlighting your hair. We'll touch on several of the most popular.

Highlighting with a Brush

• Using a brush is one of the simplest methods for highlighting your hair.²¹

1. Note that this method works best if you have longer hair. If you have shorter hair, you would be better off with the cap method described below.²²
2. You will need a small acrylic paintbrush, half an inch or a fourth of an inch wide.¹³
   • A small brush will enable you to be precise with your color application.
3. Before you get started, carefully go over the instructions that came with your highlighting supplies.
4. If possible, always have a friend help you with any hair treatment.²³
   • A friend can reach the parts of your head that are hard for you to see.
5. The highlight process can be messy, so you should probably work in the bathroom.
   • Wear a towel around your neck, and dress in old clothes that you don't mind staining.²⁴
   • Wear rubber or plastic gloves.
6. Part your hair in the same place you usually do.²⁵
   • This way, the highlights will work with your typical hairstyle.
7. Mix the highlighter ingredients to the consistency described by your kit.
   • Mix the color in a plastic or glass bowl, never a metal one.²⁶
8. Starting from the back of your head, begin applying the product to the parts of your hair you want to highlight.²⁷
   • By starting from the back, you won't have to worry about accidentally smearing parts of your hair you already highlighted.²⁸
9. You can apply the mixture in thin streaks for a more subtle effect, or apply it more thickly for chunky highlights.²⁹ You can also mix it up, with both thin and chunky highlights.
10. Keep checking on your highlights throughout the process.
    • Use a paper towel to clean some of the mixture off a strand of your hair. If it's already as light as you want, you might be done even if the directions specify to leave it on for longer.³⁰
11. Wait for the amount of time specified by the product.
    • Never leave the product on your hair for longer than the directions specify.
12. When you have finished highlighting, rinse thoroughly and use conditioner to help keep your hair from drying out and to help the color set.³¹

(Creative Commons photo by Joel Telling)

Highlighting Using Pull-through Caps

• Pull-through caps, or applicator caps, are handy things that you can use to very accurately target just the parts of your hair you want to highlight.³²

1. Applicator caps are widely available at drug stores and beauty supply stores.
2. These caps are covered with little holes, and they come with metal hooks. Put the cap on and use the hook to pull strands of your hair through some of the holes.³³
   • The cap will protect the parts of your hair you don't want to highlight.³⁴
   • Unless you want a very extreme effect, you shouldn't pull your hair through all of the holes.³⁵
3. Put on plastic or rubber gloves before you apply the highlighting product.
4. Apply it to the strands of hair you've pulled through the cap.
5. Let the product soak in for the time specified by the kit's directions.
6. Rinse out the product and use conditioner.

Highlighting Using Foils

• Foiling hair is a popular method used in many salons. ³⁶ Strips of foil are used to seperate the hair into different sections, so complex color effects can be achieved.

1. It can be expensive to have foiling done in a salon, so many people are tempted to try it at home.
2. While there are various online guides for how to foil your own hair, foiling hair is complicated and risky. We don't suggest you try to do it yourself. You should really have it done by a professional.³⁷

Highlighting Using Natural Methods

• If you are concerned about the chemicals in highlighter kits, there are natural ways to highlight your hair.³⁸ These methods include using beer, chamomile tea and lemon juice.³⁹

1. This lemon juice method is simple: you just put a little lemon juice on your hair and then spend some time in the sun. ⁴⁰ Nature takes care of the rest.
   • You must already be blond, or close to it, for this process to be effective.⁴¹
   • If you try this on brown hair, your hair will probably turn orange.⁴²

Step 4: After You Highlight

• Congratulations, you're done highlighting!

1. Detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb, then dry off with a towel and a blowdryer.⁴³
2. If you are experiencing problems, call the number listed in the directions for your product and ask a company representative for help.
3. After you get highlights, you should probably refrain from getting a perm or other hair treatments for several weeks.⁴⁴

Conclusion

• While some complicated highlighting procedures, like using foils, are best left to professionals, you can get great results by doing your own highlights at home. Whether you're looking for a subtle change or a totally new look, highlights can get you there without damaging your hair the way that coloring all of your hair can. Approach highlighting carefully and follow these tips, and you should be looking great!

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References for How to Highlight Hair

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Hair coloring
2. ↑ CareFair.com: Highlight Your Hairstyle
3. ↑ LovetoKnow: Hair Highlighting Ideas
4. ↑ Wikipedia: Hair highlighting
5. ↑ How To Do Things.com: How To Choose a Hair Color That Suits You
6. ↑ eHow: How to Choose Hair Highlights for a Dark Complexion
7. ↑ Tutorialoutpost: Adding Hair Color Highlights to Your Photo
8. ↑ LoveToKnow: Highlighting Your Hair
9. ↑ Hairfinder: Effects of Highlighting
10. ↑ CareFair.com: Perfect Highlights
11. ↑ Helium: How to choose the right shade for your highlights
12. ↑ Babycentre: Is it safe to colour or perm my hair during pregnancy?
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} eHow: How to Apply Highlights to Your Hair
14. ↑ L'Oreal: L'Oreal official site
15. ↑ SoYouWanna.com: Soyouwanna Dye Your Own Hair?
16. ↑ Manic Panic: Manic Panic official site
17. ↑ eHow: How to Choose Highlights That Complement Your Coloring
18. ↑ iVillage: Do Your Highlights Look Real?
19. ↑ wikiHow: How to Do Your Own Highlights
20. ↑ CareFair.com: Highlights or Dying
21. ↑ How To Do Things.com: How To Highlight Your Hair
22. ↑ How To Do Things.com: How To Highlight Hair
23. ↑ eSSORTMENT: Tips on dying your hair yourself
24. ↑ eHow: How to Protect Clothes Before Dying Hair
25. ↑ eHow: How to Get Great Hair Highlights At Home
26. ↑ WikiHow: How to Go from Black Hair to Blonde Hair
27. ↑ Women's Healthcare Topics: Bring Out Your Hair's Natural Highlights
28. ↑ LoveToKnow: Hair Highlights
29. ↑ wiseGEEK: What are Chunky Highlights?
30. ↑ Cosmopolitan: She hue dares to do it at home(May 23, 2008)
31. ↑ Hairfinder: Hair Conditioners & Conditioning Treatments
32. ↑ eHow: How to Highlight Hair Using a Cap
33. ↑ How To Do Things.com: How To Bleach Your Hair
34. ↑ Helium: How to choose the right shade for your highlights
35. ↑ eHow: How to Highlight a Man's Hair
36. ↑ eHow: How to Separate and Foil Hair When Coloring
37. ↑ MSN Lifestyle: Break Out of Your Hair Rut
38. ↑ Kidzworld: How to Get Sun-Streaked Hair 
39. ↑ SheKnows: Natural hair highlights
40. ↑ Hairfinder: Lemon Juice, Highlights & Lowlights
41. ↑ CareFair.com: Bring Out Your Natural Highlights Naturally
42. ↑ WikiHow: How to Highlight Blonde Hair
43. ↑ Hairfinder: Foil Highlighting
44. ↑ AllExperts: Topic: Hairstyling (June 5, 2007)