Hair Highlights

One hairstyle that has become unbelievably popular as of late is hair highlights. Hair highlighting is when hair dye is used to color strands of hair of different sizes and in various locations throughout the head. There are different types of highlights. The basic types are foil highlights, hair painting, low-lighting and chunking.

Foil highlighting is the most common, and it is where foil is used to separate and wrap strands of hair so the color is not mixed with other strands. A brush is used to paint the color on the various strands.

Hair painting is when a simple brush or comb is used to paint on color; this type is often available in retail stores.

Chunking is exactly what the name implies; it is when different size chunks of hair are colored.

Finally, low-lighting is the opposite of highlighting. It is when people who have lighter hair color different strands a darker shade instead of lighter.

Advantages Over Full Coloring

Perhaps one of the reasons that hair highlights has become so popular is because it has many advantages over full hair coloring. A big setback of full hair coloring is that everyone can tell as soon as the natural hair color starts to grow back out because it is all one color and clashes very noticeably.

This is not the case with highlights. Since highlights only color certain areas of the hair, it is hard to tell when the natural hair color starts to grow back out because it never completely left. Also, since it is not very noticeable when natural color starts to grow back, you do not have an obligation to keep up the hair treatment.

You can stop coloring whenever you like, which is not always the case with full coloring, because it can look so bad when the natural color clashes with the dye color.

How to Choose a Hair Highlight

When choosing a highlight color, the most important factor to consider is your current hair color. You want to choose a highlight that will naturally accent and contrast your hair. Also, you want to make sure that you are complementing skin tones. For example, blondes and brunettes usually will want to use ashy or beige shades for cool skin tones and caramel shades for warm skin tones.

Next, you need to decide which type of highlighting you want. This will depend on what look you are trying to achieve. In some cases, especially for those who have never highlighted before, it is smartest to consult a professional hair colorist or stylist.

Highlights for the Holidays

Not all highlights have to be permanent. Since there are temporary highlights, it makes it easy for anyone to create different hair styles at any time during the year. This is especially good for the holidays. For example, add some festiveness to the fourth of July by putting red and blue highlights in your hair. For Halloween, consider black and orange highlights.

In essence, any holiday can be spiced up with hair highlights, including red and green for Christmas, pink and yellow for Easter, and red and white for Valentines Day. Just do not be afraid to get creative. Remember, no matter what the occasion, hair highlights can be very beautiful, practical and useful.