How to fix unsuccessful hair highlighting

Though it can be a fun way to switch up your appearance, highlighting your hair occasionally doesn’t turn out as planned. Feeling like your hairstyle didn’t go as planned can be very frustrating, whether it’s because of uneven tones or the color not turning out as planned. But fear not—there are techniques to correct those highlighting errors and restore your hair to its optimal appearance.

It’s critical to first determine what went wrong. Did the color turn out patchy, too light, or too dark? Knowing the problem will help you select the appropriate solution. Sometimes, whether it’s a fast fix or a more involved procedure, all that’s needed to get things back on track is a little tweak.

We’ll walk you through some useful steps in this guide to fix highlighting errors. We can help you with anything from blending in uneven patches to taming unwanted hues. You can create a hairstyle you’ll love out of a highlighting disaster with the correct techniques and a little perseverance.

In what cases does unsuccessful highlighting occur

Even seasoned colorists make mistakes and encounter unavoidable circumstances, but inexperienced colorists typically produce subpar results because they lack practice or have a cursory understanding of the process. Your hair’s health and appearance can also be negatively impacted by independent experiments.

Probably the following causes of the failure to highlight:

• the coloring agent is not mixed in the right proportions or from the wrong components;
• the technology for manufacturing the highlighting product is violated;
• the product is kept on the hair for too long;
• a very aggressive oxidizer;
• the width of the strands being dyed is too large or, on the contrary, the step is chosen too narrow and frequent;
• the coloring agent is applied to the curls unevenly, in thick layers;
• careless wrapping of the curls with foil strips;
• lightening of repeatedly dyed hair.

Crucial! Showcasing unhealthy, overdone, and lifeless strands is a purposefully bad idea; it is unlikely that doing so will result in positive changes.

Additionally, if bleaching is done too aggressively, covering the entire section of the hair, and the dyed strands have uneven widths, the highlighting may appear messy and lifeless. The appearance is severely ruined by large, dark indentations from the roots and light stripes and spots. When styled, curls can become brittle, overdried, and unruly.

Obviously, quick action is required if a hair-related annoyance occurs. Reviving the curls and escaping the situation is quite possible.

How to fix

Depending on why the coloring didn’t work, there are different ways to correct the situation.

1. If the hair is not colored enough or it is done poorly, unevenly, the indentations from the roots are too large, then there is an option to correct this by re-coloring, applying the product only to those places that need highlighting.
2. If the problem is only in uneven application, you can try to correct it, maintaining balance. You do not need to lighten only the occipital strands, it is better to revive the face and make some colored strands around it. This will add youth and make the image brighter.
3. The effect of yellowness is one of the most common problems after unsuccessful highlighting. This usually happens if you don"t keep the composition on your hair long enough (especially on dark hair). To return a natural shade, a more vibrant color can be achieved by adjusting it with blue-violet tonics.
4. Another method to correct the effect of an unsuccessful procedure is hair lamination in a salon. This technique can return a healthy shine to your locks, eliminate brittleness, give strength and smooth out sharp contrasting colors, and remove split ends.

Continuous highlighting will cause the color of the lighter sections of your hair to change, and harsh dyes can cause irreversible damage to your hair due to their harsh chemical properties.

How to get rid of it with the help of professionals

For highlighting, ammonia-and ammonia-free preparations, various percentage oxides, powders, and mixtones are used; however, using these washes at home is difficult.

It is best advised for those who lack confidence in their abilities to visit a salon. An expert colorist is the ideal partner for hair restoration. Even in the most challenging situations, an experienced specialist can truly fix the situation, even though it might cost more than experimenting at home.

Additionally, methods are chosen based on errors made during highlighting:

Root correction

When the indentations from the roots turn out to be different sizes, it is done in those cases. The stylist covers the required areas with paint using the same shade that was used. Other errors that can be corrected in this way include spots, uneven intervals, and highlighted strands of varying widths.

Take note! Because there is a chance of further harming the hair, the method is not recommended for use at home.

Reverse highlighting

If the coloring was done too frequently, it is done with thin strands. When combed together, the hair takes on an ugly color and a disheveled look. When using the reverse highlighting technique, the master continuously repaints the client’s hair using a tone that is closest to its natural color. Since the hair has already suffered enough from bleaching, gentle formulations are used.

Correction of yellowness, other shades

Pastel tinting usually eliminates slight yellowness, but more saturated coloring might be needed if the color is extremely unattractive or has other flaws. A professional should do it as well, as a novice will not be able to predict how the paint will lay on areas with varying bleaching intensities.

Typically, the process goes like this: use an appropriate paint to first darken the lightest strands of hair, and then color the entire head of hair in one go.

In more complex situations, it is also preferable to leave hair treatment to licensed stylists, who will choose the best masks, rich balms, and oil formulations. There will be a need for multiple procedures, but the benefits to the hair’s health and beauty make them worthwhile.

Don’t panic if the highlighting in your hair didn’t go as you had hoped! A highlight error can be corrected with the appropriate strategy. Determine whether the damage is too light, too dark, or uneven, and then evaluate your options. You may want to use a color corrector, get toning treatments, or consult a stylist with experience. You can get the look you want back with your highlights if you use the right methods and have a little patience.

How to remove, wash the highlighting at home

Ammonia compounds, which deeply penetrate the hair structure, are used during highlighting to achieve a long-lasting effect. It will be difficult to remove the coloring for up to six months. Ammonia also negatively affects curls, resulting in dryness, brittleness, and hair loss. Shampoo washes off the color in 20 to 30 washes. You can apply specific cleanses and masks.

The "do no harm" rule must be adhered to when discarding highlights at home. Using permanent dyes is the most gentle approach. Without penetrating the hairs’ inner layers or removing the scales, they carefully envelop the hair shafts.

You most definitely shouldn’t go back to doing your own hair highlights. Hair loss and a sorry state of curls can result from this.

Other strategies to solve such issues at home include:

Gentle dyes

It’s simple to find ammonia-free soft compounds in cosmetic stores. Both professional and domestic users with varying coloring experience levels can benefit from these products.

The tone, ideally light or medium dyes, should be chosen so that it falls within the same range as the majority of the bleached strands. This type of coloring lightens the curls by one or two shades and helps to smooth out unsatisfactory experiments. The hair will gleam and shimmer exquisitely once more.

Pastel coloring

Because pastel coloring is a more complicated process, only people who are confident in their skills should attempt it. When combining colors, it’s important to keep the proportions in check because adding too much of one ingredient can produce an odd, unnatural hue. Activating cream and a corrective composition are combined with the primary paint. You can add a colorless corrector to lessen the brightness.

Tinting

Using tonic shampoos is an easier way to counteract yellowness and remove an unhealthful hue. The process is done in two steps: first, this shampoo is used to thoroughly wash the hair, and then the affected strands are smeared and left on for five to seven minutes.

Please be aware that although this coloring only lasts for a few weeks, it can be periodically renewed by using it in place of your regular shampoo.

Washing

You can make your own or purchase store-bought masks or wash-off compositions if regular shampoo isn’t sufficient.

For light brown and light brown hair, try this easy recipe: After shampooing your hair, rinse it with a solution made of a few tablespoons of soda diluted in two liters of water.

An oil mask consisting of one teaspoon castor oil, soda, table salt, yolk, kefir, or yogurt (150–200 grams) can be used to even out tone, nourish, and restore curls. After 20 minutes of application, remove the mask with shampoo and conditioner.

Features of care after

The mandatory application of a mild shampoo that is appropriate, balms or conditioners, and frequent restoration using masks, oils, and protein complexes are all part of caring for highlighted hair. It’s best to avoid using hot styling tools or overdoing hair drying with a hair dryer.

It is preferable to let the hair dry before using combs made of natural materials, such as wooden or bone. The strands that have already been overdried by coloring are carefully separated, straightening out the tangled ends, so as not to damage them. Although there are specific products that make combing easier, you shouldn’t use them excessively as they can weigh down the curls or cause you to get dirty easily.

It is preferable to use care products containing silicones to shield the ends of the hair, which are the most vulnerable during highlighting.

If coloring or highlighting produced an unhappy or surprising outcome, or if you simply did not enjoy it, do not give up. Make decisions, don’t entrust your hair to an unknown expert, and visit a salon if you’re not sure if everything can be fixed at home.

Find out more about the most common methods for highlighting hair:

• classic highlighting;
• "veil" highlighting technique;
• California hair highlighting;
• sophisticated Venetian highlighting;
• glare highlighting;
• extravagant, color highlighting;
• "Mazhimesh" or French highlighting.

Although correcting a poor hair highlighting job can seem overwhelming, it is possible to make things better with a little perseverance and the appropriate technique. Determine whether the problem is uneven color, an excessive contrast, or just not what you had in mind. The first step in determining the best solution is to comprehend the issue.

Seeking assistance from a professional stylist is one efficient way. In addition to offering solutions like corrective coloring to balance out the highlights, they can offer a new point of view. If going to a salon is out of the question, think about experimenting at home with a toner or color-correcting product. These can help your highlights look more natural by adjusting their tone.

Recall that during this process, hair care is essential to preserving the health of your hair. Make use of mild, color-safe products and refrain from overheating your hair. You can get back the look of your hair and your confidence in your style by following these steps.

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