How to Dye Hair Light Brown with Highlights

Hair color is a way to change your overall appearance in a short period. Brown hair color with highlights is a coloring effect that can enhance your appearance and give your hair depth and light not as apparent with single color application. Knowing how to color and highlight your hair can help you to achieve tinted locks that look and feel healthy and natural.

Things You'll Need

• Highlighting foil
• Bleach
• Hair color
• Developer
• Rat-tail comb
• Towels
• Coloring cape
• Shampoo
• Conditioner

Instructions

1. Assess the base color to determine the level of lightening or darkening required to reach light brown tones with highlights. It is possible to lighten hair up to four levels using a 40 volume peroxide with color and more using bleach product. Blond hair can be permanently darkened to a light brown using 20 volume peroxide or developer and hair color. Choose products based on level of lightening or darkening desired.

2. Section the hair into four quadrants for allover foil highlights by parting the hair down the middle from hairline to nape of neck and then ear-to-ear and clip with butterfly clips to hold in place.

3. Mix the product you have chosen for the highlights, using either color or bleach and developer to lighten. Developer is available in 20 to 40 volume and will lighten up to four shades based on the level. Slower processing is usually desirable for creating a brown effect with highlights, so 20 volume peroxide may be the best choice.

4. Foil hair first by using a rat-tail comb to section 1-inch horizontal sections of hair and then slice strands throughout the hair starting at the back and working forward. For heavy highlights, slice a 1/8 inch or thicker strand from each section. For fewer highlights, slice every other section and make strands thinner.

5. Put the tail end of the rat-tail comb under the short end of a 2-inch by 4-inch piece of foil and wrap the top of the foil over the tail to hold in place. Hold the hair slice with one hand while placing the tail end of the comb with the foil up to the scalp under the hair that is to be highlighted.

6. Release the hair strand momentarily and dip your color brush in the bowl of product you have chosen as a highlighter. Use the brush to paint the hair strand and then fold the foil up into a square to cover the painted hair. Fold in the sides as well to avoid leakage. Perform this operation throughout the hair in evenly spaced areas to obtain highlights. Place the highlights as quickly as possible as developer will begin lightening immediately.

7. Mix hair color to apply in between the foils to exposed hair to color to create a light brown base color. For darker hair, choose a color up to four levels lighter and mix with the appropriate developer to lighten the hair to a light brown color. For blond hair, apply a light brown hair color in between foils to darken. Blond-haired people should avoid ash tints to eliminate any green or blue undertones. Be sure to apply to the exposed root at the base of any foils as well. Move foil out of the way, as you saturate exposed hair with color, and then place back in the original starting position, as you go through the hair from nape to forehead. Process for 25 to 30 minutes.

8. Check foils by opening and wiping bleach or blond color off with a damp towel. If foils finish lightening before hair color finishes processing, use spray bottle and damp towel to remove lightener from foiled hair and then re-wrap in foil to protect from hair color.

9. Remove foils and discard; then shampoo hair with color-protective shampoo to remove any color and bleach residue. It may require two shampoos to remove products from the hair. Follow with a conditioner formulated for color-treated hair. Dry and style as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• The thinner the slices the more natural the effect.

• Too many highlights may create an overall blond effect.

• For a more natural effect keep highlighted hair within a few shades of base color.

References

• Hairfinder: Highlights and Dyeing
• Style Hair Magazine: Highlighting Hair Techniques for Coloring Hair With Foils
• Hair Styles Secrets Revealed: Hair Coloring Advice