Highlights and lowlights might sound like they’re relatively the same thing, and a lot of people in Anchorage, AK use the terms interchangeably. However, hair with lowlights and highlighted hair have extremely different vibes. The techniques are different, and yield different results. Here are some things you should know when considering whether to get highlights or lowlights.
The difference between highlights and lowlights
Highlights are sections of hair that are dyed or bleached to be lighter than your natural hair color, while lowlights are sections of hair that are dyed to be darker than your base hair color.
Highlights are usually created with dyeing foils or are hand-painted using a technique called balayage. They add brightness and dimension, and often require your colorist to use bleach to lighten your hair color by a couple shades for contrast. If your hair is blonde, your highlights will be very light or platinum, and if your hair is brown, your highlights should be lighter brown or a darker shade of blonde.
The word “highlights” may bring to mind the chunky blonde streaks that were popular in the early 2000s, but highlights today tend to look much more natural and seamless. An experienced colorist will make sure your highlights blend in flawlessly with your natural hair.
Where highlights can brighten your style, lowlights are great for adding a dimension of depth and body to your natural hair. With lowlights, sections of dyed hair should be at least a shade or two darker than your base color, contrasting against the rest of your hair. This contrast creates the visual effect of depth, making your hair look luxurious and thick.
Why choose? Get highlights and lowlights at the same time
Most people decide they don’t need to choose between highlights and lowlights, and opt for both. Getting both will add tons of dimension to your hair, offering both depth and brightness to your style, and it’s an extremely popular look. Just be sure to trust the professionals with the tricky business of coloring your hair with both highlights and lowlights. It’s difficult to do, and takes a lot of practice to get right. You should definitely talk through what you’re going for with your stylist before committing to the labor-intensive process.
When to opt for lowlights
Lowlights are a great place to start if you don’t typically color your hair. Lowlights tend to blend in seamlessly with natural color, so they’re way more low-maintenance than other kinds of hair color. You don’t have to touch them up as often as highlights or full color, which also makes them more affordable to keep up with. Where highlights might require a touch up every six to eight weeks or so, lowlights will require you to come back into the salon maybe two to four months after your first treatment.
People also use lowlights to repair bad hair color mishaps. If you got highlights and think they’re too blonde or overly done, you can add lowlights to tone down your style and add depth to your hair. People also choose to get lowlights when they are going gray and want to disguise the fact without needing to color their entire head of hair.
If you live in Anchorage, AK and want to get highlights or lowlights, make an appointment with the experienced colorists at Studio FX Hair Design LLC today.