Secrets of successful highlighting of short hair at home. Description of techniques and photos

Highlighting short hair at home may be a fun and fulfilling task. Without going to a salon, you can change the way you look and give your hairstyle more depth with the right techniques. You can have control over the process and outcome of your hair highlighting, whether you want bold streaks or a subtle sun-kissed look.

We’ll look at several highlighting techniques in this post that are ideal for short hair. There are options that suit different hair lengths and textures, ranging from the traditional foil technique to the more contemporary balayage and cap highlighting techniques. You can achieve professional-looking highlights at home with a little practice, as each technique has its own advantages.

We’ll provide thorough instructions, helpful hints to steer clear of typical blunders, and picture examples of elegantly highlighted short hair. You can easily become an expert at highlighting and update your style with the correct resources and a little perseverance.

Arguments "for" and "against"

Advantages:

• Preservation of a natural image or the ability to create an ultra-fashionable.
• Less harm compared to regular coloring.
• It is performed less often than regular coloring.
• On short hair, you can do it yourself.
• You can "hide" a little gray hair.
• Visually creates more volume in the hairstyle.
• Emphasises the contour and structure of the haircut.

Cons:

• If performed incorrectly, the procedure can seriously damage the hair.
• It is necessary to periodically use toning agents.
• It takes more time than regular hair coloring.

Photo

We then advise you to view the picture of short curls following the highlighting process, which includes a cap.

What haircuts is it suitable for?

With the use of contemporary highlighting techniques, women’s appearances can be transformed even with extremely short hair, as little as 2-3 cm. It looks best on bob haircuts, including pixie and bob styles, as well as short, elongated, and asymmetrical bobs.

For instance, various styles of bobs look good with both traditional and modern highlights for short hair. The method will give the hairstyle more volume, and experimenting with color shades will highlight uniqueness. Owners of long hairstyles should find the ombre effect pleasing. Furthermore, colored shades look amazing on pixie-style haircuts.

How to choose a color?

Bright hues are not recommended for people with naturally light hair. They usually make the image simpler. There’s not much separating creativity from vulgarity. Lightening strands a few shades lighter than their natural color is the best choice. Ash Scandinavian blondes should emphasize cool hues; their opposites should be honey, caramel, and nutty tones.

Redheads add strands of blue-black and red, and burning brunettes use lavish options. Additionally, keep your color type in mind when making your selection. The final image may be unsettling if the shade you like does not match your color type. To alleviate this, add age and highlight the subtleties of the skin condition.

• Spring girl although she gives the impression of a very gentle image, her color type is considered cold. Translucent skin with a light golden tint, pinkish blush, eyes from light blue to turquoise. Such beauties do not have clear contrasts in appearance, too saturated, dark shades: black hair, dark tan. Therefore, stylists do not recommend adding sharp nuances to the strands – black or snow-white strands. Honey, caramel or golden curls will look good. California highlights are especially suitable for spring girls.
• Summer girl almost always tans well in the sun, although cold ash shades are typical for her. Eye color – gray with blue, green, olive tint, sometimes brown. This beauty will look spectacular with both ash and milky strands – all deep white colors will only decorate her haircut. It is better not to experiment with red and copper, as well as black curls.
• Autumn girl – a bright beauty with freckles and pale skin. Contrasting curls of dark or completely white color do not suit her brown or bright green eyes. It is better to choose a shade that will emphasize the brightness of the eyes and ignite in them the fire inherent only to autumn. Highlights in bright red and calmer chestnut tones will look great, chocolate strands. You can emphasize the haircut with strands in burgundy or mahogany color.
• Winter girl – Winner of snow -white skin and dark curls, dark deep gray or black eyes. These fashionistas are better not to go far from the natural dark hair color, adding strands in chocolate-lobed tones. You can experiment with bright creative highlighting – turquoise, purple.

With the right methods, highlight short hair at home can be easy and rewarding. You can add natural-looking dimension and brightness to your style by utilizing foils, caps, or even a freehand balayage technique. With the help of this article’s simple techniques, which include step-by-step instructions and reference photos, you can attain salon-caliber results in the convenience of your own home.

Types

The following highlighting styles are suggested for short hairstyles:

• classic;
• Italian;
• California;
• bright;
• creative;
• Natural Venetian.

In this instance, the final image that needs to be obtained can determine how thick and frequently the strands are arranged.

It is important to keep in mind that frequent highlighting appears more natural when selecting the strand width for coloring.

1. The classic highlighting is considered almost universal when the strand is transformed along the entire length. This species is suitable even for very short hair.
2. Two types of “southern” staining – California and Italian, giving hair to sunny shades with soft overflows gained popularity among owners of model haircuts. Often, such highlighting is done on various types of bob.
3. Owners of an elongated version of the bob are even luckier – in their case, Venetian coloring with an emphasis on the tips looks gorgeous, light natural shades visually increase the volume of hair.
4. Creative or colored is suitable for creative people with unusual haircuts. Most often, such highlighting is done on all kinds of bob options – from a regular one to a bob with bangs or on a leg. The main highlight is contrasting shades, brightness. By the arrangement of bright strands, Peek-a-Boo, Two-tone techniques are distinguished. Veil technique is also considered a variety – it emphasizes a cascade or a bob with elongation well. In order for the color of the strands with creative coloring to be as bright as possible, they will have to be lightened in most cases. With improper care, the curls can become dry and brittle.
5. American highlighting looks good on a short cascade haircut. This technique adds youth to the image. Initially, the strands were dyed in different colors in a chaotic manner. Only red shades were used – burgundy, red, brown. Now this rule is rarely followed, and from three to five different colors are used – blue, yellow, green, red, purple.

Techniques for doing it at home

Use a cap, foil, comb, elastic bands, or hand dye (this is how curls are usually highlighted) to highlight short, dark hair at home. Since lightening dark hair is more difficult, the dye is diluted using an oxidizer that is between 9 and 12 percent. Next, we’ll walk you through the process of partially dying hair at home using a comb, foil, and a cap.

Through a cap

Hairstyles that are shorter than 15 centimeters can use this method.

1. A special polyethylene cap is put on the head.
2. Small strands are pulled through the holes with a comb.
3. For light lightening and placement of shades, make a step of several holes, for an average effect, pull through one, for a bright effect – in a row. Use a flat brush to apply paint.
4. After 15 minutes, the main color will change by about one tone, after 45 minutes – by 4-5 tones.
5. You can check the intensity of the coloring by washing off the end of one of the strands. The coloring composition is washed off with a special shampoo without removing the cap, so it does not get on other hair.

Watch the video below for more information on how to highlight text with a cap:

Using foil

1. Make a parting and divide the hair into large strands (7-8 rows, 2 on each side and 3-4 in the center). Each is secured with a clip, so it will not interfere during the work.
2. Start coloring from the bottom of the back of the head, moving up, or vice versa – from the crown down. Evenly work on both sides.
3. Strands for coloring are selected according to the “darning” pattern – the tip of the comb is passed through the section like a needle through fabric. The strands are placed on foil and coated with a lightener or dye. At home, food foil is most often used for highlighting. It needs to be cut into pieces slightly longer in size than the hair, about 10 centimeters wide.
4. When dyeing the entire length, it is necessary to retreat from the roots by about 1 centimeter. This way, the dye will not spread over the skin and will not affect excess hair.
5. The foil is wrapped and bent, fixed with invisible pins.
6. The composition is kept for 15 minutes – a change in shade by 1-2 tones, 45-50 minutes – for brighter shades.

Check how the composition performed on the final coated strand before washing it off, and extend the holding period if needed.

Using a comb

Although this technique is thought to be straightforward, even on short hair, the outcome can be rather unclear. Thus, it is preferable to avoid lightening the hair by more than one or two shades.

Dry hair that has been well-combed but not washed is used for the procedure. A comb with uncommon teeth is treated with the lightening composition. Next, carry out the usual combing procedure. It’s crucial to move the comb through the hair in a single motion without taking the comb out of the hair.

The method’s greatest drawback is that the curls frequently have patchy, uneven coloring. Just like in the earlier instances, the exposure time is computed.

See the video below for more information on applying highlighting with a comb:

Tinting

It is preferable to give the hair a day off from home toning and highlighting rather than doing them on the same day.

What products are better to use?

• Tinted shampoo will give a quick effect after the first use. Possessing soft properties, it does not harm the strands. Minus – it is quickly washed off, the procedure must be repeated at least once a week. For a brighter result, the shampoo is kept on the hair for at least 7 minutes.
• The spray does not need to be washed off after applying to the highlighted strands. It is economical and easy to use, since with its help you can highlight individual curls in different colors. Holds the color from 2 to 4 washes.
• Gels, mousses or foams are more resistant to washing.

How to do toning of highlighted hair curls?

1. The tinting agent is applied to dry or slightly wet hair (shampoo). With your hands (in gloves!) or with a comb the composition is stretched along the entire length.
2. Average holding time is half an hour.
3. The tinting agent is washed off with water without shampoo. It is allowed to use a caring balm to strengthen the result.

Fringe coloring

The shape of the haircut affects how the fringe is highlighted. When getting a haircut using the bob technique, a long, thick bang is highlighted classically. Thin light strands frame an extended bob or variations on a cascade on the back of the head and temples; the area nearest the face is left unpainted. Broad, brilliant strands draw attention to asymmetrical or figured bangs.

You should think about your face shape and hair structure when choosing whether or not to draw attention to your bangs. Light strands can draw attention away from the prominent double chin and lower jaw while also balancing large facial features. It is preferable to ignore the bangs if you want to reduce the proportions.

Contraindications

• Absolute contraindication – allergy. If after the test on the elbow bend the skin turns red, burns and itches, it is better to refuse highlighting.
• If the hair is dyed with henna or basma, you can get incredible shades.
• Perm, from which the hair is already "sick".
• In the presence of hormonal imbalances and chronic diseases – the imbalance in the body affects the structure of the hair, the reaction to oxidizers is impossible to predict. During the menstrual cycle, you should also not experiment.
• If the hair is dry and brittle, highlighting will worsen the situation.

Highlighting short hair at home can be an enjoyable and cost-effective way to update your appearance without going to a salon. With the correct equipment, a little perseverance, and some practice, you can produce results that look polished and accentuate your best qualities.

You can select the technique that best fits your hair type and length by experimenting with various methods like foil highlighting, balayage, and cap highlighting. Every method gives a different result, letting you personalize your appearance and give your hair more depth.

Always take your time, pay close attention to the instructions, and don’t be afraid to try new things. The benefit of having short hair is that you can experiment with different looks more often. You can also effortlessly maintain a vibrant and fresh look with highlighting. Accept the change and revel in the process!