A popular technique that gives exact control over hair color placement is foil coloring and highlighting. Sections of hair can be isolated by stylists using foil, enabling a more intricate and personalized style. This technique works well for creating both delicate highlights and strong, eye-catching color contrasts.
Whether you want a dramatic look or a sun-kissed look, this method helps preserve surrounding hair while highlighting particular strands. It’s also a flexible choice that works well for partial highlights as well as full-color transformations.
This post will go over how to highlight and color with foil step-by-step and offer advice on how to get the best results. This technique can give any hairstyle depth and dimension if used correctly.
Step | Description |
Preparation | Mix the coloring formula and cut foil into strips. |
Sectioning | Divide hair into manageable sections for easier application. |
Application | Place a foil strip under a section, apply color, and fold the foil to cover the hair. |
Processing | Allow the color to develop based on the desired result. |
Rinsing | Remove the foils carefully and rinse out the color. |
Finishing | Apply conditioner and style as needed. |
- Types of highlighting
- Advantages of highlighting through foil
- What you will need
- Dyeing tools
- Execution procedure
- Video on the topic
- Film for hair coloring. Which is better, foil or film?
- Secrets of a colorist from Tanya Shark.Secret No. 76. How to highlight on foil.
- HOW TO CORRECTLY Wrap Hair in Foil | Eva Lorman
Types of highlighting
One method of lightening hair that uses individual strands is called highlighting. There are certain guidelines that govern which strands should be chosen first for lightening, though the sequence can vary greatly. Any type of bleaching agent can be used to remove artificial or natural color pigment from hair. With the exception of extremely bright white blondies, the technique works equally well on brunettes, blondes, and redheads.
The bleached strands’ length, width, and quantity vary greatly. As a result, there are numerous ways to highlight using foil. While some techniques are accessible to beginners, others are more difficult to execute because they call for expertise and experience.
- Classic highlighting – thin strands are selected from all over the head. The width can be different, but within certain limits: thick light strands look sloppy and unnatural, and the purpose of classic highlighting is to create a play of light, emphasize the shape of the hairstyle or curls. A mandatory condition is that lightening is carried out along the entire length of the strand. Usually done using a cap or through foil.
- American – an option for dark hair and quite difficult to perform. In fact, this is a combination of highlighting with toning, since a combination of red and red strands is mandatory. It is extremely difficult to do American highlighting on your own.
- Majimesh – or French. In this case, only soft oxidizers are used, which means that lightening is only possible by 2-3 tones. The technique is more suitable for blondes and fair-haired people, since on light hair such subtle tonal transitions look much more chic. Majimesh can be done independently using the classic technology with foil.
- Venetian – its purpose is to create light highlights on dark curls. The technique is simple, but it is not performed through foil: the lightened strands should touch the neighboring ones so that the transition between them is not as bright as with classic highlighting.
- Californian is a complex method, as it involves lightening strands only at a certain length. In this case, the color at the roots of the selected curls should remain dark, and towards the ends of the hair it becomes increasingly lighter. In this way, the effect of burnt-out ends is achieved, but much more artistic and beautiful than it actually is. Read more about the method in this article.
- Ombre is a combination of lightening and toning. Also involves varying degrees of lightening along the length, but in this case the horizontal border is clearly visible. Often, the vertical strands are also dyed in a different color so that the shade at the lightening border also changes. A very decorative and extremely difficult to perform method, only experienced professionals can do it. Ombre is done on short, medium and long hair.
- Balayage – in this case, the roots are lightened, and the ends of the hair, on the contrary, are made darker. It is performed on short hair and asymmetrical haircuts and looks very impressive.
- Shatush – the lightener is applied to very thin, pre-combed strands. Thus, a very natural effect is achieved even with a large difference in the selected shade. Not performed with foil.
- Reverse highlighting – selected strands are not lightened, but dyed in a dark or contrasting shade. An interesting option for fair-haired people, quite feasible at home.
Light hair types are the easiest to highlight because they have thin hair and are less likely to absorb artificial pigment or lose color. Extremely high contrast is acceptable, as are all techniques and execution methods, such as using foil, combs, caps, and the like. Dark-haired people would be better off avoiding contrasting solutions.
Redheads have it the hardest because thick hair is hard to dye and hard to bleach. Classic, Californian, or reverse highlighting are all acceptable; contrasting transitions are not.
You can observe the process of highlighting through foil in the video below:
By isolating sections of hair and applying dye, the popular techniques of "highlighting" and "coloring on foil" produce precise, vibrant color effects. Controlled lightening or darkening of the color is made possible by the foil’s ability to intensify the color and keep it from leaking onto adjacent strands. This technique is ideal for creating multi-dimensional looks that preserve the hair’s natural flow, such as delicate highlights or striking contrasts. Your hair can be transformed by foil highlighting and coloring it with the right technique, giving it brightness and depth.
Advantages of highlighting through foil
You can use most techniques with this technique, and you can use lighteners that are mild or quite aggressive. The technique is nearly universal and appropriate for women with fair or dark hair.
The following are the method’s primary benefits:
- highlighting through foil allows you to perfectly hide gray hair. This is especially true for thick hair, which does not absorb artificial dyes well;
- this is a very gentle method of coloring, as a rule, the curls after it do not need additional care;
- at the same time, highlighting provides a longer-lasting result, since in most cases the regrown roots look completely natural and do not require immediate coloring;
- highlighting is compatible with any type and color of hair;
- foil allows you to achieve clear transitions between shades. The width of the strands varies greatly;
- highlighting is compatible with both dark and light skin and has virtually no color restrictions.
What you will need
You’ll need the following equipment to do lightning correctly:
- paint or lightening composition – selected depending on the goals of the procedure. The general recommendation concerns only safety: the softer the lighteners used – without ammonia, the less harm the highlighting does;
- comb or hook for separating the strand;
- brush for applying paint;
- plastic or ceramic container for the dye, metal cannot be used;
- gloves and protective cape;
- hairdressing foil. Can I use food foil? Without a doubt. There is no fundamental difference between these options.
Dyeing tools
Foil is primarily responsible for splitting strands and causing lightning. They make use of both colored and standard silver foil. The latter is employed when it is intended to dye in multiple colors because it makes it simple to divide the tools needed to dye strands in a specific shade.
Use regular silver material for mazhimesh or classic highlighting. But you have to make blanks first before you can begin the lightning process.
- First, determine the number of strands to be lightened: each should be wrapped in 2 pieces of foil.
- Deciding how wide the strand should be, calculating the width of the strip: multiply the width of the strand by 4 and add another 2 cm for the side bends.
- Measure the length of the hair or lightened strands: in Californian highlighting or ombre, only part of the curl is lightened.
- Cut the foil into strips of the calculated width and length in the required quantity.
- At the end of each strip, make a "pocket": bend the foil with the matte side outward. The dripping paint accumulates in the "pocket".
Execution procedure
Not only is the technology of the lightning effect—Californian, reverse highlighting—important, but so is the sequence in which it is executed. A totally different application scheme is used to achieve a special effect for different hair lengths and haircuts. It is not possible to obtain two hairstyles that are exactly the same here because there is no single system.
For example, veil coloring looks great on short to medium hair cut into a bob.
- Only the upper strands are subjected to highlighting, since the lower ones are almost completely hidden by them, so this technique requires a minimum of effort and hairdressing tools.
- Starting from the back of the head and to the temple, very thin strands of 2-3 mm thick are separated – the curl should be visible on the palm of the hand.
- From it, a strand is selected in a zigzag pattern, which will be lightened.
- The lightener is applied to the foil, the hair is applied, treated with the same composition and wrapped in a strip.
- The hair is placed on the section with the lightener and secured with a second strip. It doesn"t matter what kind of foil it should be. Hairdressers often use polyethylene for the second layer, since the transparent material allows you to observe the lightening process.
- Having finished on one side of the head, they move to the other, moving in the same way, from the back of the head to the temple. The bangs are lightened separately.
The method for splitting thin strands can be applied to another scheme to accomplish lightening:
- Separate the hair on the back of the head and pin them up.
- From below, moving in a circle, separate thin strands 4-5 mm thick and wrap them in foil.
- Skip a sector 1-2 cm wide, and again separate strands 4-5 mm thick and highlight.
- Continue to act in the same order as long as the length of the hair allows. With this type of highlighting, the crown is usually left dark.
This scheme should be adhered to if you intend to dye your long hair:
- The head is divided into zones – occipital, temporal and parietal.
- Start coloring from the occipital zone, gradually moving to the parietal. Finish with the temporal region.
- The selected strand is placed on the foil so that some distance remains to the hair roots. If lightening is not performed along the entire length, the strip should be shorter than the strand. Which side to put the foil on when highlighting? The strand is placed on the matte side, the lightener is applied to the middle of the strip.
- Then the hair is dyed or lightened, wrapped in foil and lifted up.
A versatile and controlled way to add dimension to your hair is to highlight and color it on foil. This technique allows for precision and creativity, whether your goal is to go for a bold color change or highlights to brighten up your appearance.
Stylists can apply color to specific sections of hair by carefully wrapping them in foil, which guarantees a neat and polished finish. This technique enables more vivid tones and personalized styles while assisting in the prevention of color bleeding.
All things considered, foil highlighting and coloring are still very popular because they produce amazing results and maintain the health and freshness of your hair. It’s a dependable way to get gorgeous, well-defined color, whether done at home or in a salon.