7 Tips on DIY Highlighting ...

Perfect DIY highlights require a steady hand and a very obedient hair so start with the latter and prep your hair so that it gives you as little troubles as possible. In order to do that, you’ll need to start with hair that is not perfectly clean. Don’t wait until it’s too dirty either – a day old wash will do just fine as it’s not too oily and yet, not clean enough to fly away. Now detangle your hair slowly and carefully and move on to my next highlighting tip!

Speaking about a shampoo – you might want to use a clarifying product on your hair instead of your regular shampoo before you attempt at-home highlights. It’s not absolutely necessary but it can give you much better results so why not give it a shot. According to many, product buildup can alter the chosen color and mess with your results which, you’ll agree probably isn’t something you’d want.

If you’re new at this and this is the first time you’re attempting to dye or highlight your own hair, you might want to take a real highlighting kit that contains everything you’ll need including the color, special applicator and instructions on how to use them. Experienced ladies can opt for the desired shade only and apply it like they always do, using a brush, comb, foil or cap.

Choosing the right color is crucial for DIY highlights! After all, we want them to look absolutely gorgeous and natural, don’t we? Well, here’s how it goes – if you have very dark hair (like black or very dark brown) you’d want to stick to lighter brown shades. Don’t go for blonde highlights…unless you want to look like Cruella DeVille, of course! Medium to light brunettes can update their style with a few natural, dark golden blonde streaks while natural blondes might want to lighten and brighten their color by adding a few silvery blonde strands.

Highlights can do a lot for your looks – they can make you look younger, make your hair appear more voluminous, brighten up your face and make your eyes pop! However, before you opt for at-home highlights, you have to decide on where you want them and how many of them you want. You can highlight your entire hair for a drastic color change that appears natural and won’t damage your hair as much as bleaching, you can concentrate them around your face to point it out, or highlight only the top layer of hair in case volume is what you need. The choice is all yours!

Want some more highlighting tips? Well here’s a few on how to achieve perfect streaks! Simply section and pin up the layers you want to highlight then let them down one by one and do your highlights. Start from the back, work on the bottom layers first, slowly work your way to the front and don’t forget to place a piece of regular aluminum foil between the layers to avoid color transfer and smudges!

Oh, and let’s not forget one very important thing – your DIY highlights will last longer if you allow the dye one or two days to set completely. It’s kind of like a perm, actually – you’ll have to wash the acid or, in this case dye, after a few minutes (10 to 30 to be precise) but it’s strongly advised to wait a bit until the next wash.

What do you think about DIY highlights? Have you done them before, were you happy with them and do you have a highlighting tip or two to share as well?