How to do zebra highlighting and who it suits best

Zebra highlighting is a daring and fashionable hair coloring method that blends shades of contrast to produce a visually arresting striped effect. It’s a distinctive style that gives classic highlights a playful spin. The way the colors alternate, mimicking a zebra’s stripes, gives the technique its name.

For people who enjoy playing around with their hair and don’t mind a little edge, this look is ideal. It provides a distinctive way to showcase your individuality through your hairstyle and goes well with a range of hair types and lengths.

Zebra highlights are usually appropriate for those who like to draw attention to themselves. Those seeking a bold, new twist on their go-to color are particularly drawn to it. This technique allows you to customize the contrast to your desired level of subtlety or dramaticity.

Step	Description
Prepare hair	Start by washing and drying your hair. Make sure it"s completely dry before applying any color.
Section hair	Divide your hair into thin, even sections. This will help you achieve the zebra-like stripes.
Apply color	Use a brush to paint alternating dark and light colors onto the sections. Be precise with each stripe.
Let it sit	Allow the color to process for the recommended time on the product instructions.
Rinse and style	Rinse the color out with cool water, dry your hair, and style it as desired.
Best suited for	Zebra highlighting looks best on straight or slightly wavy hair and is ideal for those looking to add bold contrast to their look.
Face shape	This style works well for oval, round, or square face shapes, adding definition and framing the face.

What is

Naturally, not everyone is a good fit for the dyeing method that involves alternating light and dark strands because the contrast play results in an image that is not particularly "soft." However, some fearless and self-assured girls prefer to have pronounced stripes in their hair.

To highlight hair in the "watermelon" or "zebra" styles, select strands that are spaced evenly apart, bleach them, and tone them if needed. The end product is an odd-looking picture.

When it comes to creating modern haircuts, there is one more technique that is rightfully at the top: using stencils to apply prints. In this instance, the dyeing will be carried out horizontally as opposed to traditionally highlighted.

You should part your hair as you normally wear in order to properly dye your curls vertically. In order to obtain a watermelon, you must as technologically as possible work out the top layer of hair:

• curls are selected at equal distances;
• dyed with a lightener;
• wrapped in foil;
• tinted if necessary.

Crucial point Stay a few centimeters away from the roots if you want to do as little harm as possible to your bleached strands. With the help of this easy adjustment, you can shield the roots from ammonia’s damaging effects.

Pros and cons

It should be mentioned that the current coloring trend has slightly changed. Women now choose to highlight in the majimesh, flomboyage, balayage, and shatush techniques, which allow for seamless color transitions, in an effort to look as harmonious and natural as possible.

The "watermelon" method uses contrast to its advantage. Those who wish to stand out against the "sun glare" background will find it appealing.

The following are some benefits of this coloring:

• zebra highlighting makes the image bright and dynamic;
• allows you to hide gray hair;
• visually it will give your hair volume, since the color is pulled vertically;
• distracts from problem skin, unpleasant circles under the eyes and wrinkles;
• is a more gentle coloring option, because only individual strands can be bleached.

However, it also has drawbacks. This kind of coloring necessitates changing your hairstyle as your hair ages due to the excessively bright strokes; this is not the case with the Californian, Venetian, or Brazilian highlighting techniques. It is really challenging to select the appropriate strands to keep the same crisp transitions when coloring again after a month or two.

Professional guidance. Zebra highlighting shouldn’t be done on very short hair. It works best on girls who have ladder, elongated, bob, and bob hairstyles. Your curls should be straight for a more noticeable zebra effect. On our website, you can discover which highlighting is ideal for girls with short hair.

Cost of the procedure

The process of coloring watermelon is not too tough, but it can take an hour or two since you have to choose your strands. You will have to pay anywhere from $3 to $6 thousand in salons for this kind of coloring service. rubles. What will impact the costs is:

• length of curls;
• professionalism of the master;
• prestige of the salon;
• chosen dye and clarifier.

Girls who dislike salon procedures for different reasons can highlight their hair at home. Thus, you’ll not only say goodbye to dull meetings while sitting in the hairdresser’s chair, but you’ll also save a lot of money. An ordinary oxidizer costs 150 rubles at first. You will have to pay between 450 and 950 rubles if you want to bleach using a special powder.

Should it be required, you can buy a tonic or dye, which ranges in price from 400 to 900 rubles.

How to choose the color of curls

The color you choose is determined by your color type. It’s important for you to realize that playing with contrast is necessary for watermelon highlighting. If you have light strands, use dark colors. Black and brown curl owners will need to bleach their hair.

Take into account your skin and eye colors when making your selection. Girls with peach skin and any type of pupil pigmentation, for instance, go well with warm hues with a golden undertone. The only colors that "winter" color types should focus on are muted beige or ash, "wet sand," and "wet asphalt."

If you are fair-skinned, concentrate on the amber hues.

Crucial! Avoid selecting highly saturated colors if you have extremely problematic skin, as they will visually draw attention to your face and repel from your hair.

The "salt and pepper" coloring method has gained a lot of popularity recently. Use two colors, wet asphalt and ash, to create an unusual image that looks a bit like a zebra. The best coloring choice to highlight a business look or cover up gray hair is this one.

Contraindications to highlighting include the following:

• preliminary coloring with natural dye henna or basma, which penetrate deep into the hair structure and remain there for up to 6 months;
• previously curled hair (you may get an unwanted color, and besides, you will seriously damage your curls; you should wait a couple of months);
• pregnancy and breastfeeding (so as not to harm your baby, since the bleach is a strong chemical that can penetrate the scalp and lungs);
• if gray hair occupies most of the head (in this case, we recommend full hair coloring).

As previously stated, "zebra" looks best on medium-length straight hair or long curls.

On light hair

Since we need to play on the contrast, we recommend doing reverse highlighting, that is, dyeing in dark colors.

From a wide range of color palettes, the following choices are appropriate:

Using layered highlighting is a pretty interesting way to turn yourself into a "watermelon" style. Your curls’ lower tier has been darkly colored. Subsequently, the stylist applies contrasting highlights to the parting by selecting tiny strands that are spaced equally apart from one another.

Blondes who dare may color their curls the shade of "wet asphalt." Consider going with a pale pink instead—it’scurrentlytrendy.

Girls with red hair have a choice:

• cinnamon;
• golden nut;
• salmon;
• ripe cherry.

For dark hair in a zebra style

If you are a brunette or person with brown hair, you are extremely fortunate because this highlighting option will appear very natural. Suggested hues:

• blonde with a pearl or platinum tint;
• wet sand;
• caramel;
• coffee with milk;
• honey;
• ripe cherry;
• hibiscus;
• eggplant;
• plum.

A bold and fashionable hair coloring method called "zebra highlighting" alternates light and dark streaks to produce a visually arresting, high-contrast look. It’s ideal for people who want to give their look a little edge and originality, particularly if they take pleasure in being noticed. Due to its dramatic effect, this technique is best suited for people with medium-to-long hair and a confident demeanor. Zebra highlights are great for both straight and wavy hair textures because they can add dimension and depth to your hair, giving it a distinctive look.

Features of the procedure

Usually, you need to use an oxidizer to bleach your hair. Observe these guidelines:

• for very thin hair, choose a 3% oxidizer;
• the ideal option for normal curls of brown-haired women is a 6% oxidizer;
• very thick hair of very dark colors requires a strong activator of 9-12%.

To highlight, you may purchase:

• oxidizer and tint tonic;
• 2 in 1 paint (oxidizer + dye);
• bleaching powder;
• special wax paint from the "For highlighted hair" series, which will well envelop the selected strands.

Make sure to purchase foil. You’ll need a lot of material for very long hair because you’ll need to wrap it around each strand.

You ought to be aware! To guarantee that there is a clear transition between colored strands and natural curls, foil is used.

Additionally, get ready:

• Vaseline to lubricate the forehead and ears, protecting the skin from aggressive coloring composition;
• a veil to cover the shoulders;
• clip;
• a bowl or bowl made of glass or ceramics (never use a metal container, as it can react with the chemical);
• a brush with a sharp edge that allows you to separate the strands;
• a pair of gloves.

Put the oxidizer on unclean hair. This will give the curls that will be dyed extra protection.

Make sure to test the paint on your elbow or wrist if you have any allergies.

How to do highlights

Detailed instructions:

1. Comb your head well and divide it into zones along the parting, as you usually wear. You should get 4 parts.
2. Pre-cut strips of foil: they should be 2-3 times wider than the strands to be separated and 10 cm longer for the purpose of tucking them like an envelope.
3. Prepare the dye by mixing it in the proportions specified by the manufacturer. In no case do not overdo it with the oxidizer, otherwise you will burn your hair and get an unpleasant yellow tint.
4. Pin the upper zones with clips and begin to lighten the strands at the bottom.
5. Select a 1 cm curl and pull it down. Place foil on top of the roots so that the strand is on its surface. Step back a couple of centimeters and apply the dye. Wrap the foil, completely enveloping the curl (curl it like an envelope from below). Dye all the remaining strands.
6. Now, along the contour of the horizontal parting, separate a section of hair, in a layer of several centimeters. We will not touch them.
7. Dye the next layer as in point 5.
8. The finishing touch: along the parting on the side or in the middle, begin to select strands in a strictly verified sequence – after 1-2 centimeters. Bleaching them.
9. Keep the dye according to the manufacturer"s instructions (30-50 minutes).
10. Rinse your head thoroughly under running water.
11. If necessary, tone the strands.
12. Use a restorative balm-conditioner.

Recall that you should wait no less than three months before doing another dyeing.

Give your hair as much attention as you can to its restoration because the chemicals used to lighten it caused damage. To carry out this:

• regularly trim split ends;
• take vitamin cocktails, eat foods rich in fiber;
• stop actively using a hair dryer and washing your hair often;
• make moisturizing and nourishing masks, buy products with keratin;
• after washing your hair, use balms;
• do not comb wet curls.

Therefore, highlighting in the "watermelon" style is a daring choice best left for the boldest and most flamboyant of personalities. Your image will be distinctive and beautiful if you select the appropriate color and adhere to the technique. Recall that creating a zebra pattern on your head can enhance contrast and proper strand selection.

• classic;
• thin, frequent;
• rare, partial;
• "veil";
• "melange";
• French or "majimesh";
• root highlighting.

Zebra highlighting is a daring and imaginative decision that gives your hairstyle a distinctive depth. For those who wish to stand out, the stark contrast between light and dark stripes can create an eye-catching look.

People with medium-to-long hair look best in this style because the length makes the pattern pop. It also works well for self-assured people who like to play around with their looks. Zebra highlights work well with a variety of hair tones, but they really stand out on dark hair with light highlights.

Zebra highlighting can be the perfect choice if you’re searching for a hairstyle that turns heads and showcases your adventurous side. To guarantee the greatest outcomes, just make sure to speak with a professional stylist.

Video on the topic

Zebra highlighting. 😄