Simple step-by-step instructions on how to do highlights on dark hair at home

You might be surprised at how easy it is to highlight dark hair at home, and it can make all the difference in your appearance. You can get salon-caliber results without leaving your house if you take the proper approach and exercise a little patience. We’ll walk you through a quick, easy method in this guide to add highlights to your dark hair so they stand out with a bright, new sheen.

Highlighting your hair at home is an affordable way to change up your look, whether you want to add some dimension with lighter tones or brighten up your natural color. Everything from assembling the required materials to evenly applying the color will be covered. These easy steps will allow you to have a gorgeous new look with the least amount of hassle.

Ready to add some chic highlights to your dark hair to make it look amazing? Together, we will quickly guide you through the process and help you achieve a stunning new hairstyle.

Who will it suit?

On dark hair, highlights are a pretty daring and radical move. It will be appropriate for young women who wish to modify their typical appearance without going too far. This kind of coloring can enhance facial features, visually thicken curls, and add brightness and freshness to the hairstyle.

Highlights work well with cascading, Italian, bob, and bob with extensions, among other structured hairstyles. Such haircuts go well with coloring because it looks more casual and organic. Regarding the length of hair, there are very few limitations. Both long hair and pageboy or pixie haircuts look great with highlights.

The outcome of coloring is directly related to the choice of paint shade. It should complement the skin tone in addition to the natural hair color. "Summer" women should focus on honey, nut, chestnut, and golden tones, while "winter" women will look good in a cold range of ash, platinum, and pearl.

Take note! Remember that a lightening wash with a specific solvent is required prior to applying highlights to darkly colored hair. You can then proceed with coloring and toning.

Can you do it yourself at home?

The process of highlighting at home is not as difficult as it might seem at first. Because cosmetic stores carry all the necessary equipment, it can be done at home. It is recommended that novices use a cap when highlighting because there won’t be any issues with strand thickness or frequency when using one.

This kind of coloring doesn’t require any particular abilities; all you need to do is watch a few tutorial videos, which are readily available online. You can, however, enlist the help of a friend, mother, or sister in your metamorphosis if you lack confidence in your own skills.

What you will need?

You will require the following equipment for this procedure:

• a comb with a thin handle (to make it convenient to separate the strands from each other);
• foil (any will do, but it is better to use a special one, which is sold in any cosmetic store, it is already cut into the necessary pieces);
• plastic or ceramic container (for mixing the lightening composition);
• oxidizer (usually 6% or 9% is taken);
• lightening powder or paste (often comes with an oxidizer);
• caring shampoo (preferably without sulfates and parabens);
• nourishing mask (it will restore the curls after bleaching);
• paint of the chosen shade (in case you want to do colored highlighting);
• brush (for applying the composition to the curls);
• clips or hairpins (non-metallic);
• negligee or old T-shirt.

How to properly prepare curls?

It is definitely necessary to prepare dark hair for coloring. To reduce the negative effects of the bleach on the curls’ condition, it is necessary to do multiple sessions of nourishing the hair before highlighting. Hair masks will come in handy here. They can be made by hand or bought (labeled "Nourishing" or "Restorative"). Use only fresh ingredients for the latter, such as burdock, castor, olive, or egg yolk, kefir, honey, and chamomile broth.

It takes only four to six procedures spread out over two weeks to begin lightening. Darkly colored hair should be pre-washed with a specific bleach; otherwise, the bleach may barely remove the strands or leave the hair looking dirty red. It is preferable to have it washed off in a salon; however, this is a risky and intricate process.

How to do coloring without yellowness?

Regarding the query of how and what is the best way to highlight in order to achieve a beautiful result free of yellowness, you must comprehend the causes of the appearance of this unwanted shade. The following are some of the causes of yellowness on dark hair:

• use of dirty water (there are many heavy metals and impurities in tap water that do not have the best effect on the condition of the hair);
• violation of the coloring technology (it is enough to under-expose or over-expose the bleach, and the appearance of a yellowish tint is guaranteed);
• dyed hair in a dark color (if you do not wash the dye off your hair before highlighting, you can get yellow strands).

You can move on to the next query, "How to remove it after the procedure?" once you have determined the causes of the yellowness. Using professional products is the most appropriate course of action in this situation. There is a purple pigment in the Silver Shampoo brand of "silver shampoos." This material has the ability to counteract yellowness. However, there is a warning: if this product is applied for an extended period of time, it may cause a blue tint.

Tint shampoos are another kind of "saving" solution for yellowness. They come in a variety of colors so that every woman can select the ideal one for her needs. The only drawback of this type of shampoo is that its effects wear off quickly, necessitating frequent use.

Execution techniques

You should choose a dark hair dye that either doesn’t contain ammonia or has a very small amount of it. This stuff weakens the hair’s structure and causes it to become dry and thin. Regarding the color spectrum, regular lighteners like Blond are preferable for classic highlighting, but for Californian highlighting, you should base your choice on your natural color.

Brown-haired women will look good in all shades of nut, coffee, and caramel; brunettes should focus on chestnut and chocolate; owners of dark-blond hair will look good in ash or light-blond. For black hair, the recommended lightening percentage is 9%, and for dark hair, it is 6%. The chance of burning your hair is reduced in this situation.

When it comes to quality, it is preferable to focus on reputable brands like Estel or Callos. Paint can be applied in a few different ways to highlight areas:

1. chaotic strokes using a brush;
2. a special comb, through a cap with your hands or a brush;
3. directly onto strips of foil.

Through a cap

For women with short to medium-length hair, the most common technique is at-home highlighting with a cap. This tool makes it simple to perform traditional highlighting. This technique’s unique quality is its ease of use; even novices can dye their hair using the highlighting technique with such a device.

You’ll require the following gadgets:

• a cap for highlighting (with ties, not too thin so as not to tear);
• a composition for bleaching curls (oxidizer + powder);
• disposable gloves;
• a brush.

1. Put the cap on your head, fix it with ties.
2. Carefully pull small strands through the holes in the cap using the handle of the comb.
3. To make highlighting easy, you should use every third hole, for the middle one – the second.
4. Next, you will need to prepare a bleaching composition, according to the instructions of the selected manufacturer.
5. Apply the mixture with a brush to the stretched curls.
6. For easy lightening, keep the mass on the hair for 15 minutes, for a strong – 45.
7. In the incident of the required time, it is necessary to rinse the strands with warm water without removing the hat.
8. Now you need to apply a nutrient mask to the curls, withstand it for 5-10 minutes, wash it off.
9. When the hair dries a little, you can remove the hat and start styling.

Foil

You can perform color highlighting with foil. Compared to wearing a hat, outcolve occurs more quickly and intensely when employing this technology. As a result, curls can be painted with a tonic in the desired color after the procedure.

You must cut it into strips that are 7-9 cm wide and 20 cm long, rather than strands, in order to highlight it with foil.

The detailed instructions are as follows:

1. You need to mix the coloring composition.
2. After that, it is worth applying it directly to the foil strips.
3. Next, you need to put the foil under the selected curl, bend the edges to form a closed pocket. At the same time, it should be sealed enough so that the bleach does not leak onto the rest of the curls.
4. Repeat the procedure for all the necessary strands.
5. Highlighting begins with the back of the head.
6. The product must be washed off with water after half an hour.
7. Next, you should dry the curls a little with a towel, and apply a tinting composition to them. Rinse off after a couple of minutes, and start styling.

Crucial! The ability to blend colors to create eye-catching color transitions is what makes colored highlighting unique.

Comb

A comb can be used to achieve Californian highlighting. The way it creates a subtle sun glare effect in the hair is what makes it unique. An additional benefit is that using paint that is three to four shades lighter than your natural color suffices, eliminating the need for bleaching.

• A special comb with fine teeth (sold in a set with paint for ombre or balayage).
• Directly the paint of the selected color.
• Gloves.

1. Hair should be divided into horizontal partings. The width of the strands used should not exceed 1 cm.
2. You need to dilute the paint with the oxidizer in a non-metal container.
3. Next, you should apply the coloring composition to the comb and distribute it on the selected curls.
4. Dyeing is carried out in a checkerboard pattern.
5. It is allowed to use paper napkins to lay out the strands.
6. Keep the paint for no more than 40 minutes, then rinse.

Useful tips and life hacks on how not to spoil the strands

Here are some pointers for applying the highlighting technique to hair coloring at home:

1. You should prepare the foil in advance. Cutting it is a rather lengthy task.
2. You do not need to mix the entire coloring composition at once if you have long hair. It quickly reacts with air, causing it to darken.
3. It would not be superfluous to conduct a reaction test. To do this, apply some paint on the elbow bend and wait 10 minutes. If there is no redness, the product is suitable.
4. You need to wash your hair a few days before the procedure to protect the roots.
5. You cannot keep the dye on your hair longer than the manufacturer recommends, otherwise you can burn your curls.
6. Immediately after highlighting, you need to apply a restorative mask to your hair.

Contraindications

It is preferable to decline highlighting for a few recommendations:

• if you have recently dyed your hair with henna or basma;
• after a perm;
• if you are prone to allergic reactions;
• during pregnancy and breastfeeding;
• after taking antibiotics for a long time;
• if your hair falls out a lot, it is thin and brittle.

Citation! It takes a great deal of time and effort to complete the procedure at home. It is best to visit a beauty salon if you are unsure about the outcome.

Photos before and after

The image below shows the difference between dark hair before and after the at-home highlighting procedure:

Highlights are a fantastic at-home option if you want to give your dark hair some brightness without going to a salon. This tutorial will provide you with simple, step-by-step instructions on how to achieve highlights that look polished. You can achieve the look you want while saving time and money with these easy tips and techniques, whether your goal is more dramatic streaks or a subtle sun-kissed effect.

Aftercare for curls

Following highlighting, hair care takes many forms:

1. Restoration. Regular use of caring masks and nourishing oils is required. You should temporarily abandon the hair dryer, curling iron and flat iron.
2. Maintaining color. You need to purchase special hair toning products (Tonica balm or tint shampoo), as well as an anti-yellowness product. Staying in direct sunlight without a hat is prohibited.
3. Nutrition. Colored and bleached curls experience a lack of moisture, which can cause split ends. To avoid this, you need to use sulfate-free shampoo and apply hair fluid directly to the ends.

Carefully done, DIY dark hair highlights can be enjoyable and productive. You don’t need to leave your house to get gorgeous, salon-quality highlights if you follow the instructions in this guide.

To prevent allergic reactions, always start with a patch test and make sure your hair is ready for application. Applying highlighter evenly and selecting the appropriate shade will help you achieve the best results. Never be afraid to ask an expert stylist for advice or to refer to online tutorials if you’re unsure of your technique.

You can get a brand-new look and become an expert highlighter with time and practice. Simply take your time, pay close attention to the instructions, and enjoy changing your hair.

Video on the topic

Shock! This is the Fastest Hair Highlighting Step by Step | Hair Lightening at Home Eva Lorman