How to Create Lowlights on Hair

Hair highlighting is a process in which a bleaching, coloring or peroxide agent is used to lighten the shade of your hair creating two or three different tones of color. Lowlights are the direct opposite of highlights. Instead of lightening the hair, lowlights add depth and darken the hair.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Pick the color that you want to use in lowlighting. It's often recommended that you simply pick a color that is a shade or two darker than the rest of the hair's natural color. If the shade is too dark, the hair color looks unnatural.

2. Plan to apply the lowlights to dry, unwashed hair. Place a cape and towel around the client's neck to prevent color staining her clothes. If you are also doing highlights, you should do those first.

3. Work the color through the sections of hair that you are lowlighting with the foil. Start at the root and then apply it through to the ends of the hair.

4. Tighten the hair and then move onto the next foil. Continue the process until all sections are colored.

5. Time the hair color. Rinse it immediately out and then dry the hair. Your client should notice a subtle change that gives the hair a natural darkened look.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that the color completely covers the sections that you are lowlighting. Otherwise, the client's hair looks spotted.
• To create a natural look, many clients choose to get both highlighting and lowlighting done at the same time. In this case, you apply the lowlights between the sections of highlighted hair.