Hair coloring is a popular beauty treatment that can instantly update your look and even bring out the natural undertones in your skin. Hair color can drastically change a person’s look yet if the actual style or cut of the hair remains the same. There are several ways to highlight your hair, or you can achieve a slightly different effect with frosted hair highlights.
Types of Hair Highlights
To highlight the hair means to lighten strands or sections of hair. Typically, highlights are two shades lighter than the natural color of the hair. The amount of hair that is highlighted depends on the desired style or effect. Highlights are usually applied on the hair that frames the face but can also be used on the entire head to make the hair look sun-kissed.
Hair frosting, on the other hand, involves bleaches strands of hair while the adjacent hairs are left untreated. Hair frosting often gives a salt and pepper look to the hair and combines darker hair strands with bleached strands.
Highlight Application Methods
Generally, there are two highlighting or frosting methods. One involves a plastic cap that is positioned over the scalp. The cap has several tiny holes, and the hair is pulled through the holes. The hair that is outside of the holes is highlighted, while the strands left in the cap are not colored.
The second highlighting methods involve tin foil. Small sections or strands of hair are parted from the rest of the hair and positioned on the foil, and the hair color is applied to the hair in the foil. Once the hair dye is on the strands, the hair is folded into the foil so that it is separated from the rest of the hair.
Hair Frosting and Highlighting
Both hair frosting and highlight do not involve coloring all the hair in the same hue. These methods are often used to enhance the natural color of the hair or give depth to fading or dull hair color. Frosting is a muted hair coloring method, while highlights are bolder and more noticeable. Both ways are designed to blend with natural hair color. Maintaining highlights or frosted hair is less tedious than caring for hair that has been fully dyed.
Streaking and Lowlights
Lowlights and streaking are additional hair coloring techniques that are similar to frosting and highlighting. Lowlights are mostly the opposite of highlights since lowlights add a darker color and are applied using the same method as highlights. Streaking is a more striking hair color choice. Highlighting uses bleach to lighten the hair; however, streaking adds pronounced strips of light color to the hair. Lowlights make the hair color deeper and more intense, but streaking is designed to be immediately noticeable. Streaks and lowlights can be used with highlighting and frosting to create several unique styles.
After a color treatment, it is better to condition the hair to nourish the strands and lock in color. There are specialized shampoos and conditions for specific hair colors to keep the color from fading over time. A deep conditioning treatment once or twice a month is recommended for color treated hair, especially if the hair is naturally dry.
The Public Image Ltd salon team is here to answer all your questions about highlights for hair. Our staff is professional and friendly, so you will know exactly which hair color choice would be best for your hair type and sense of style. In addition to coloring services, you can select the best haircut for your face shape and get suggestions for curling and caring for your hair at home in between appointments. You can even look at our gallery to get inspiration for your next hairstyle. For more information and to make your appointment, contact The Public Image Limited Salon located in Wayne, NJ in Passaic County.