Press Room

Highlights give hair dimension, a natural sun-kissed look and can even take years off your appearance. But achieving effortless, natural-looking highlights can be tricky, especially if your hair is on the darker side. “Hair color is all about complementing your skin tone.” Says Ney York Celebrity Frédéric Fekkai. “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all.’” And just because you choose to lighten your locks doesn’t mean you have to stick strictly to bleach. Today’s modern techniques incorporate various colors and tones to create a natural and flattering hue that goes well with your skin tone.

How to get the most natural look
The main goal of highlights is to brighten the hair with various shades that
are lighter than your natural or colored base. Highlights can also give the
hair body and are easier to manage than allover color. But when applied
in thick strips that are too wide or too light in color, highlights can look
obvious and fake. “An experienced colorist can help you avoid the ‘stripe’
look by weaving slices of color throughout the hair,” says Beth Minardi,
owner of the Minardi Salon in New York City. The same goes for using
color on segmented pieces of hair. “The most natural-looking highlights
are placed randomly throughout the hair. They should look like they
were placed by nature, and not by a colorist,” Johns adds.

Where to apply highlights
Whether you choose to do your highlights yourself, or prefer
to have them done professionally, it’s important that they
are applied to the right areas to create the perfect look.
“It really depends on your hair type, haircut and the general
look you’re trying to achieve,” says Amanda George, co-owner
of the Neil George Salon in Beverly Hills, CA. “Sometimes,
with highlights, less is more.” Highlights give hair movement
and depth, but applying too many can look artificial. When
highlights are applied correctly, and to the correct areas,
they grow out naturally with a minimal demarcation line.

For Curly Hair
If your hair is curly, ask your stylist to apply a few highlights at the top of the head to complement your hair’s texture. Subtle, shade-on-shade highlights will look most natural, whether you choose to wear your hair curly or to straighten it. Your colorist may also suggest that your hair is straightened prior to coloring for more precise application of highlights.

The Different Techniques
Lowlights
The opposite of highlights, lowlights use darker colors
to break up over-highlighted hair or to make select
strands a bit darker. “Lowlights also keep brown hair
from looking faded and dull,” Minardi says.
BEST FOR Adding depth
DOWNSIDE Lowlights that are too dark can be aging.

Chunking
If you’re looking for bold highlights, chunking is the
way to go. Your stylist will randomly section out large
chunks of hair and apply color or bleach to them.
BEST FOR – A dramatic look
DOWNSIDE – Heavily highlighted hair may turn brassy
more quickly.

Painting
Painting uses a brush or comb to literally paint bleach
onto the hair. This helps achieve a natural look, “but
because the bleach isn’t encapsulated in plastic or
foil, a larger amount is required, which can burn the
hair,” Johns says.
BEST FOR – A natural look
DOWNSIDE – Hair may be susceptible to damage.

Baliage
A freeform type of “hair painting,” baliage originated
in Europe and is one of the most popular techniques.
“Baliage is a kind of freeform painting that results in
a look that is more dimensional and multitonal,” says
Fekkai. In most cases, the painted pieces are lightly
wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent the color from seeping.
BEST FOR – A customized look or for highlighting curly
or wavy hair
DOWNSIDE – A technique-dependent process

Tipping
This highlighting technique lightens just the tips of
the hair, as opposed to the entire strand. “It’s best
on straight or slightly wavy hair,” Minardi says.
BEST FOR – A low-maintenance look
DOWNSIDE – Cutting will remove colored portion of hair.

Foiling
A commonly practiced technique, foiling involves
placing the hair in sheets of professional-grade tinfoil
to prevent bleach from mixing with the rest of your
hair. “All major colorists use foil,” explains Johns.
“It keeps strands separated so color doesn’t leak.”
BEST FOR – Getting highlights close to the roots
DOWNSIDE – Frequent touch-ups may be needed.


New Beauty Magazine-SPRING-SUMMER 2009