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Highlights can add dimension and style to any haircut. The type of blond highlights you choose should accentuate your skin color. Warm skin tones can pull of bronze, caramel or subtle shades of red highlights. If you have a cool skin tone, try ash or beige tones to brighten up the skin's appearance. For those who are lighter skinned and have darker blond hair, platinum highlights may keep skin from appearing washed out by a solid darker hair color. Caramel highlights generally work well for brunettes, and olive skin tones work well with neutral blond tones.
For those with dark hair who want lighter blond highlights, double-processing might be required. This means that the hair to be highlighted must first be stripped of its natural color with hair, then dyed with the highlight color. - Decide where the highlights will be applied to the hair. The most flattering and natural look for highlights is when they frame the face, enhancing skin color and facial features. Applying highlights under the hair also creates a more natural appearance, since they appear throughout the hair and will help prevent noticeable roots as the hair begins to grow out, allowing you to go longer between salon visits. Ask your stylist to apply highlights to the top of the head, being sure to include them under the top layers of the hair.
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Those looking for more dramatic highlights should go for chunky, thick sections of blonde highlights. Stylists will often apply these types of highlights with the baliage method, which means they do an application without the traditional foils but rather freehand it. Some individuals choose this method over foils to create a more natural appearance, since it can be difficult for highlights to reach the roots with foils.
Although there are many DIY kits to do your own highlighting at home, the most natural highlights are done by a hair color professional. The quality of hair color found at salons is much higher than those in home kits, helping to keep hair healthy and reduce damage.
