4 Ways To Highlight Your Hair At Home
February 16, 2018
We all know the struggle. You know, the struggle? The struggle of changing up your same old boring hair look but having no cash to drop on this fairly major expense. I, personally, wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. So, the question remains – how can one get a stunning hair transformation without burning a hole in the pocket? And the answer hit me like a speeding bus. At home highlights, of course! Home highlighting kits are fairly cheap in drugstores and you don’t need to color all your hair and damage them in the process. It’s a win-win! So, now you’re excited, right? You’ve gone out and bought yourself a highlighting kit, ready to transform your hair. But wait a minute… now the realization hits you like a speeding bus. How do you highlight your hair at home? Well, you don’t need to worry because I’m here with a comprehensive guide on how to highlight your hair at home in 4 different ways.
1. Foil Highlights
Foil highlights are the most traditional way of doing highlights at home, and this method has been used by hairdressers and DIY-ers for years now. Basically, the highlighted areas are covered with strips of aluminum foils when they are being dyed. This traps the heat and helps the color process faster. It also makes sure that the dye doesn’t bleed onto surrounding hair, thus giving you very precise highlights.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit
- Hairbrush
- Rubber gloves
- Sectioning clips
- Hair tinting brush
- Aluminium foil
- Rat tail comb
- Color safe shampoo and conditioner
What To Do
- Mix your hair dye according to the instructions given on the kit.
- Brush out all the knots and tangles in your hair.
- Put on your rubber gloves and part your hair down the middle.
- Cut out strips of foil that are 4 inches wide and at least 2 inches longer than the length of your hair.
- Divide all your hair into 3 inch x 3 inch square sections and section them with sectioning clips.
- Remove the clip from a section of hair that is right at the front.
- Now, hold the tail end of your rat tail comb parallel to your center parting and slice it through the upper layer of that section so that you pick up all the surface strands of that section.
- Place a strip of foil under the sliced off section of hair, making sure its end is placed right at the roots.
- Apply hair dye on this section of hair right from the roots to ends.
- Fold this foil in half by bringing its bottom edge up to its top edge at the roots. Fold it in half this way one more time.
- Fold the outside edges of the foil inwards and secure it in place with a sectioning clip.
- Repeat this process on all the sections of hair.
- Let the dye sit in your hair for the duration of time indicated on the box.
- Remove all the foils and wash off the dye with color safe shampoo and conditioner.
2. Hair Painting (Balayage)
Hand painted highlights (also popularly known as ‘balayage’) is all the trend right now and the reason for it is apparent. This gorgeous color technique blends the highlights so flawlessly into your hair that they look like they grew out of your head that way naturally. Now, balayage requires quite a high level of skill that can only be done by professional hair colorists. But I’ve found a pretty nifty hack that you can do yourself quite easily.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit
- Rubber gloves
- Flat paddle brush
- Hair tinting brush
- Sectioning clip
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
What To Do
- Mix the dye according to the instructions given on the highlighting kit.
- Put on your rubber gloves.
- Section away and clip up the top half of your hair.
- Coat the bristles of your paddle brush with dye with the help of a hair tinting brush.
- Run this brush through a section of your hair from the midsection to the ends of your hair.
- Flip the brush and run it through the back of the same section of hair.
- Saturate the ends with more dye as they require more product than the top section of your hair.
- Keep applying dye to your brush and running it through your hair until you’ve covered all the sections. Make sure you stagger the points where you start applying the dye from by running the brush from a little further up on some sections and further down some others so that your balayage blends seamlessly with your natural hair color.
- Unclip the top section of your hair and repeat the same dyeing process on it.
- Leave the dye on for the duration of time indicated on the box.
- Wash off all the dye with a color safe shampoo and conditioner.
3. Frosted Highlights
Now before you start thinking if we’re back in the early 2000s and trying those dreaded frosted blonde highlights that men used to sport, let me stop you right there. The frosted highlights I’m talking about are done with the help of a special cap filled with holes that makes for easy application. The result you end up with is super fine textured highlights that blend into your natural hair color seamlessly.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit (that contains a highlighting cap and hooks)
- Rubber gloves
- Hair tinting brush
- Color safe shampoo and conditioner
What To Do
- Mix the dye according to the instructions given on the highlighting kit.
- Put on your highlighting cap and rubber gloves.
- Start pulling thin sections of hair through the holes on your cap with the help of the hook.
- When you’re satisfied with the placement of your highlights, start applying dye to them. Make sure you saturate the sections from the roots to ends.
- Leave the dye on for the duration of time indicated on the kit.
- Carefully remove your cap and quickly wash off the dye with color safe products.
[ Read: Top 25 Light Ash Blonde Highlights For Your Hair ]
4. Hair Chunking
Hair chunking is for all you ladies who like to go for a more vivacious and dramatic look with their hair. They’re done the same way as regular highlights, the only difference being that they are done on thicker sections of hair. Thus, a stark contrast is created between the natural color and the highlights, which makes for a funkier look.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit
- Hair brush
- Rubber gloves
- Sectioning clips
- Hair tinting brush
- Aluminium foil
- Rat tail comb
- Color safe shampoo and conditioner
What To Do
- Mix your hair dye according to the instructions given on the box.
- Now, just follow the exact same procedure as the one given under foil highlights, with the exception of dividing your hair into bigger sections and slicing more hair off the upper layer of each section.
- Wash off the dye after the processing time is up with a color safe shampoo. Apply conditioner.
These were the four different ways you can add some oomph to your hair game. Which one would you go for? Comment below and let me know!
Recommended Articles:
- 50 Hair Colors To Try in 2018
- 30 Chic Highlight Ideas For Your Brown Hair
- Top 30 Golden Brown Hair Color Ideas
- 30 Best Highlight Ideas For Dark Brown Hair
- 30 Breathtaking Ideas For Styling Your Caramel Highlights
February 16, 2018
We all know the struggle. You know, the struggle? The struggle of changing up your same old boring hair look but having no cash to drop on this fairly major expense. I, personally, wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. So, the question remains – how can one get a stunning hair transformation without burning a hole in the pocket? And the answer hit me like a speeding bus. At home highlights, of course! Home highlighting kits are fairly cheap in drugstores and you don’t need to color all your hair and damage them in the process. It’s a win-win! So, now you’re excited, right? You’ve gone out and bought yourself a highlighting kit, ready to transform your hair. But wait a minute… now the realization hits you like a speeding bus. How do you highlight your hair at home? Well, you don’t need to worry because I’m here with a comprehensive guide on how to highlight your hair at home in 4 different ways.
1. Foil Highlights
Foil highlights are the most traditional way of doing highlights at home, and this method has been used by hairdressers and DIY-ers for years now. Basically, the highlighted areas are covered with strips of aluminum foils when they are being dyed. This traps the heat and helps the color process faster. It also makes sure that the dye doesn’t bleed onto surrounding hair, thus giving you very precise highlights.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit
- Hairbrush
- Rubber gloves
- Sectioning clips
- Hair tinting brush
- Aluminium foil
- Rat tail comb
- Color safe shampoo and conditioner
What To Do
- Mix your hair dye according to the instructions given on the kit.
- Brush out all the knots and tangles in your hair.
- Put on your rubber gloves and part your hair down the middle.
- Cut out strips of foil that are 4 inches wide and at least 2 inches longer than the length of your hair.
- Divide all your hair into 3 inch x 3 inch square sections and section them with sectioning clips.
- Remove the clip from a section of hair that is right at the front.
- Now, hold the tail end of your rat tail comb parallel to your center parting and slice it through the upper layer of that section so that you pick up all the surface strands of that section.
- Place a strip of foil under the sliced off section of hair, making sure its end is placed right at the roots.
- Apply hair dye on this section of hair right from the roots to ends.
- Fold this foil in half by bringing its bottom edge up to its top edge at the roots. Fold it in half this way one more time.
- Fold the outside edges of the foil inwards and secure it in place with a sectioning clip.
- Repeat this process on all the sections of hair.
- Let the dye sit in your hair for the duration of time indicated on the box.
- Remove all the foils and wash off the dye with color safe shampoo and conditioner.
2. Hair Painting (Balayage)
Hand painted highlights (also popularly known as ‘balayage’) is all the trend right now and the reason for it is apparent. This gorgeous color technique blends the highlights so flawlessly into your hair that they look like they grew out of your head that way naturally. Now, balayage requires quite a high level of skill that can only be done by professional hair colorists. But I’ve found a pretty nifty hack that you can do yourself quite easily.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit
- Rubber gloves
- Flat paddle brush
- Hair tinting brush
- Sectioning clip
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
What To Do
- Mix the dye according to the instructions given on the highlighting kit.
- Put on your rubber gloves.
- Section away and clip up the top half of your hair.
- Coat the bristles of your paddle brush with dye with the help of a hair tinting brush.
- Run this brush through a section of your hair from the midsection to the ends of your hair.
- Flip the brush and run it through the back of the same section of hair.
- Saturate the ends with more dye as they require more product than the top section of your hair.
- Keep applying dye to your brush and running it through your hair until you’ve covered all the sections. Make sure you stagger the points where you start applying the dye from by running the brush from a little further up on some sections and further down some others so that your balayage blends seamlessly with your natural hair color.
- Unclip the top section of your hair and repeat the same dyeing process on it.
- Leave the dye on for the duration of time indicated on the box.
- Wash off all the dye with a color safe shampoo and conditioner.
3. Frosted Highlights
Now before you start thinking if we’re back in the early 2000s and trying those dreaded frosted blonde highlights that men used to sport, let me stop you right there. The frosted highlights I’m talking about are done with the help of a special cap filled with holes that makes for easy application. The result you end up with is super fine textured highlights that blend into your natural hair color seamlessly.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit (that contains a highlighting cap and hooks)
- Rubber gloves
- Hair tinting brush
- Color safe shampoo and conditioner
What To Do
- Mix the dye according to the instructions given on the highlighting kit.
- Put on your highlighting cap and rubber gloves.
- Start pulling thin sections of hair through the holes on your cap with the help of the hook.
- When you’re satisfied with the placement of your highlights, start applying dye to them. Make sure you saturate the sections from the roots to ends.
- Leave the dye on for the duration of time indicated on the kit.
- Carefully remove your cap and quickly wash off the dye with color safe products.
[ Read: Top 25 Light Ash Blonde Highlights For Your Hair ]
4. Hair Chunking
Hair chunking is for all you ladies who like to go for a more vivacious and dramatic look with their hair. They’re done the same way as regular highlights, the only difference being that they are done on thicker sections of hair. Thus, a stark contrast is created between the natural color and the highlights, which makes for a funkier look.
What You Need
- Highlighting kit
- Hair brush
- Rubber gloves
- Sectioning clips
- Hair tinting brush
- Aluminium foil
- Rat tail comb
- Color safe shampoo and conditioner
What To Do
- Mix your hair dye according to the instructions given on the box.
- Now, just follow the exact same procedure as the one given under foil highlights, with the exception of dividing your hair into bigger sections and slicing more hair off the upper layer of each section.
- Wash off the dye after the processing time is up with a color safe shampoo. Apply conditioner.
These were the four different ways you can add some oomph to your hair game. Which one would you go for? Comment below and let me know!
Recommended Articles:
- 50 Hair Colors To Try in 2018
- 30 Chic Highlight Ideas For Your Brown Hair
- Top 30 Golden Brown Hair Color Ideas
- 30 Best Highlight Ideas For Dark Brown Hair
- 30 Breathtaking Ideas For Styling Your Caramel Highlights
