Apply Highlight and Lowlight Foils to Hair

Whether you want to give your hair a bit of sun-kissed glow or completely revamp your head with some funky chunks of dyed hair, you will need to know how to high or lowlight your hair. Follow these easy steps to save some money and create your new 'do in the comfort of your own home.

Steps

Getting Ready to Dye Your Hair

  1. Know the difference between highlights and lowlights. While applying them is essentially the same process, highlights are strips of hair that you dye a lighter color than your natural hair. Lowlights are strips of hair that you dye darker than your natural hair. Getting highlights or lowlights creates a more subtle change than dyeing your entire head. They also, as you might imagine, do less damage to your hair than coloring your whole head.[1]
    • On curly hair, low and highlights give your curls a bit of depth, while they may straight hair look like it has more volume.
    • Keep in mind that stylists don’t recommend high or low lighting hair that is very short (think pixie cut) simply because it doesn’t really give short hair depth or volume.
  2. Pick your dye. Choose hair colors one to two shades darker and/or lighter than natural color for natural results, 2-4 shades different for more dramatic results. If this is your first time dyeing your hair, you may want to try using temporary or semi-permanent dye rather than permanent dye.
    • Temporary dyes tend to diminish after 6 to 12 shampoos. Semi-permanent dyes will wash out after 20 to 26 shampoos. Permanent dyes last longer and will generally remain in your hair for six to eight weeks, but can sometimes remain longer.[2]
    • Blondes who want to lowlight their hair should try gold or copper dyes. Brunettes can enhance their hair with caramel or chocolate colors.
  3. Wash your hair 24 to 48 hours before dyeing it. During the span of 24 to 48 hours, your hair will develop natural oils that help dye bind to your hair more effectively. They also help the dye last longer.
    • Try to avoid conditioning your hair the day before you dye it. Conditioner gets rid of the natural oils your head produces.
  4. Guard against dye stains. While you want to change the color of your hair, you probably don’t want to change the color of your favorite shirt or carpet. Cover the ground where you will be dyeing your hair and any nearby surfaces. Have paper towels on hand in case any spills occur. Wear an old shirt that you don’t care about.
  5. Wrap a towel you are comfortable getting dye on around your shoulders. The towel will catch any dye drips and you can use it to dry your hair after the rinsing phase of the dyeing process. Secure the towel in place in front of your neck with a clip or safety pin.
  6. Put on your dyeing gloves. Dyeing kits generally come with gloves, but if yours doesn’t come with gloves, you can just wear normal latex or rubber gloves. Wearing gloves ensures that you don’t dye your fingers and nails along with your hair.
  7. Protect your ears, neck and hairline. Coat all three of these areas with either lip balm, vaseline, or the conditioner included in the kit (if there is one.) This coating will allow you to wash the dye off your skin once you have finished the dyeing process.
  8. Mix the dye. The dye you bought should come in a box that has directions on it. Follow these directions exactly. If your kit came with activator, add it to the dye now and mix it in. Dye kits almost always come with a bowl and brush to mix the dye in. If yours did not come with either, you can use a plastic bowl (which might get stained) and a dyeing brush bought at your local drugstore.
    • You could also use a large paint brush bought at a craft store. The brush should be one and half to two inches wide.
  9. Mix your dye with developer. Only some dyes require developer. Check the box your dye came in to determine whether you need to use developer or not. Developer should be included in your dye box. If it isn’t, you can buy it at a drugstore or salon supply store.
    • When using dye much darker than your hair, use 10% developer. If you are dyeing your hair a couple of shades lighter, use 20% developer. If you are highlighting your hair with dye five shades or more lighter, use 30% developer. Do not use any percentage of developer above that, as 40 and 50% developer is used for bleaching and should only be used by professionals.
  10. Get your foils ready. Rip off a large piece of foil and tear it into strips that are three inches wide. You should overestimate how many you will need, as you do not want to get halfway through high or low lighting your hair, only to realize you need to get up and tear more foil.

Applying the Dye

  1. Decide where you would like your high or lowlights to be. Each high or lowlight should be one inch wide. For a more natural look, work with thin strips of hair. If you really want to spice things up, be bold and dye larger chunks of hair. In either case, plan out where you want your lights to be before you start dyeing. Its better to err on the side of too few because you can always add more if you are not satisfied.
  2. Clip unwanted hair. Any hair that you do not want to dye should be clipped up and out of the way so that it does not accidentally become part of the dyeing process.
  3. Work from the back of your head to the front. Use a comb to section out the first part of your hair you would like to dye. Hold it up and away from your scalp. It should be roughly one inch wide.
  4. Slide a piece of foil under the section of hair. Make sure that the foil is pressed up against your scalp so that you dye all of the section. If you like, you can place a flat comb underneath the foil or something flat and sturdy so that you have an easier time painting the dye onto your hair.[3]
  5. Paint dye onto the hair you have sectioned off. Use your paint brush to evenly coat all of the strands of hair in the section that you have made. Paint from the root of your hair down to the tip so that the hair is evenly saturated.
  6. Fold the foil onto the hair. Begin by folding the outer edges of the foil into the center. Make sure that you do not fold the foil so much that the painted hair gets folded onto itself. You want your hair to remain flat inside the foils. Fold the bottom of the foil up so that your hair is completely enclosed in the foil.[3]
    • Don't fold the foils too tightly-- this can cause ugly patches where the fold prevents the mixture from sitting evenly on the hair.
  7. Repeat this process for the rest of your high or lowlights. Make sure to evenly space the sections of hair you choose to dye. By the end of the dyeing process, your head should look sort of like a glamorous armadillo.
    • Stagger the sections of dyed hair so that they look like a brick wall. If you are applying both highlights and lowlights, alternate colors every other one inch row.

Rinsing and Finishing Up

  1. Wipe off any dye that has dripped on your neck or forehead. You can use a wet paper towel or cloth to do this.
  2. Keep an eye on the clock. You must leave the dye and foils on your hair until your processing time is up. The processing time of your specific dye can be found on your dye’s box. Once the processing time is up, its time to rinse your hair.
  3. Rinse your hair. You can either take a shower or rinse your hair out in the sink. Remove the foils from the bottom to the top layer of foils. Use cool water to rinse out the excess dye. Continue to rinse your hair until the water coming off your head runs clear.
    • It is totally natural to have a whole lot of color run in the shower so don’t freak out. If you used temporary hair dye the color will run in the shower each time you wash it until it is completely gone.
  4. Wash your hair with the post-dye conditioner found in your dyeing kit. Your kit should come with this conditioner, but if it did not, you can purchase conditioner made for dyed hair at a drugstore. Do not wash your hair with shampoo or normal conditioner. You should avoid washing your hair with these things for 24 to 48 hours so that the dye has time to really into your hair shaft.[2]
  5. Do not blow dry your hair. Let your hair dry naturally; your hair will be shinier if it is allowed to dry naturally.
    • Avoid being in direct sunlight for an extended period of time for at least a day. UV rays can sometimes interfere with the dyeing process.
  6. Wash your hair after you have waited 24 to 48 hours. If possible, buy shampoo and conditioner that is specifically made to wash dyed hair. Many normal shampoo lines like Pantene, Suave, dandruff shampoos, and Prell will strip color out of your hair unless you use a bottle that is meant for dyed hair.
  7. Avoid dryness by leaving your conditioner in for a full five minutes when you wash your hair. Dyeing really drys out your hair, so combat dryness as best you can. Use conditioner every time you wash your hair for at least a week after the dyeing process. Conditioner ensures shiny, soft hair.
  8. Finished.

Tips

  • Thick and/or curly hair should be dyed "chunkier," fine and/or straight hair in "strands."
  • If you are new to the home-dyeing world, foiling only the crown of the head may be the easiest way to get the hang of it.
  • You can purchase home high or low lighting kits that come with everything you will need at your local drugstore.
  • Saturate the ends first, not the roots as your roots take less time to process colour.

Things You'll Need

  • Tint applicator brush with a 'rat tail' end
  • Glass, plastic, or ceramic bowl for mixing(NO METAL)
  • A roll of aluminum foil
  • 5 or 6 plastic hair clips
  • Good conditioner
  • Desired hair color shades
  • A beauty supply store should have everything you need; color will be cheaper here than at a drugstore; however foil is not cheaper than what you can buy at the grocery store.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.wewomen.com/hair/lowlights-vs-highlights-f137566.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://www.sheknows.com/beauty-and-style/articles/804517/tips-for-coloring-your-hair-at-home
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.typef.com/article/correct-way-put-foils-hair-highlights/
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