How to Highlight Hair Around Your Face

Highlight the hair around your face for a brighter, younger look.

Decide where you want the highlights placed around your face. Highlights tend to emphasize features, which may affect your final decision. Chunky highlights in the front of your hair can make your face seem fuller or certain features larger, while small, subtle strands can in turn brighten up your entire face and refresh your look.

Things You'll Need

• Comb or brush
• Shower or sink
• Hair-highlighting kit
• Mirror

Instructions

1. Purchase a home-highlighting kit, which is available at drug and beauty-supply stores. Read the instructions carefully, and wet your hair if necessary. Different brands have varying instructions -- many will require dry hair, others wet.

2. Place the highlight cap on your head if the kit came with one. Use the included tool to pull hair through the holes in the cap, framing your face. The more hair strands you pull, the chunkier the highlights. Pull many strands for a dramatic look, or thin out what comes through the cap for a shimmering, subtle accentuation. If the kit did not come with a cap, part and comb your hair as you normally would, so you can see where the highlights will end up.

3. Mix the dye according to the packaged instructions. Most will contain a small tray where the highlighter components are mixed together like paint. Use the applicator brush to paint on highlights where you would like them to be, or if you are using a cap, rub the dye over the strands much as you would for a shampoo.

4. Apply highlights to the under layer of your hair if you would like a more natural effect, or place them right on top for a dramatic pop of lightened color. Using the under layer will reduce the look of roots when the hair grows out, and may help deter visible signs of aging from the face.

5. Leave the highlights on for the specified amount of time, then follow removal instructions, which usually involve simply rinsing your hair. You may also receive a special color conditioner with the kit, which you use immediately after coloring and again a week or so later.

6. Dry your hair, style as normal, and examine your highlights in a mirror placed in natural light. If you have not accomplished the face-framing highlights you hoped to, repeat the process or consult a professional stylist at a salon.

References

• Highlighting Hair: Highlighting Hair Around Face
• Choosing the Right Highlights For Your Hair Color and Face Shape