Highlights, a popular hair coloring technique, can enhance your look and add dimension to your hair. However, sometimes the results may not be as desired, leaving you with bad highlights. This guide provides a comprehensive approach to fixing bad highlights at home, empowering you to achieve your desired hair color without the need for a salon visit.
Common Highlight Issues and Solutions
Overdone Highlights:
- Problem: Highlights that are too light or brassy.
- Solution: Use a toner to neutralize unwanted tones and achieve a more natural look. Consider semi-permanent color to add back color and warmth.
Too Light Highlights:
- Problem: Highlights that are noticeably lighter than desired.
- Solution: Apply a toner to enhance highlights and reduce brassiness. Experiment with semi-permanent color shades to add dimension and blend highlights with the rest of your hair.
Brassy Highlights:
- Problem: Highlights with an unwanted orange or yellow hue.
- Solution: Use a purple shampoo and conditioner to counteract brassiness. Consider a color-depositing hair mask in a cool-toned shade to balance out the brassy tones.
Ashy Highlights:
- Problem: Highlights that appear too cool-toned or gray compared to the rest of your hair.
- Solution: Apply a color-depositing hair mask in a warm tone to add golden or chestnut hues to the highlighted areas. Focus the product only on the highlighted sections to avoid altering the rest of your hair.
Too Dark Highlights:
- Problem: Highlights that are darker than desired.
- Solution: Use a clarifying shampoo to fade the toner and lighten the highlights. Consider a primer to remove excess buildup that may have caused the color to appear too dark. As a last resort, consult a color professional for bleaching options.
Additional Tips for Fixing Bad Highlights
- Wait Two Weeks: Avoid using bleach or dye on your hair for two weeks after highlighting to prevent further damage.
- Consult a Colorist: If home remedies do not yield satisfactory results, consider consulting a licensed colorist for professional guidance and personalized solutions.
- Use High-Quality Products: Invest in color-correcting products from reputable brands to ensure effective results and minimize hair damage.
- Follow Instructions Carefully: Read and follow the instructions on all hair care products to avoid any mishaps.
- Test on a Small Section: Before applying any color-correcting products to your entire hair, test them on a small section to assess the results.
Fixing bad highlights at home requires patience, the right approach, and a touch of experimentation. By understanding the common highlight issues and following the solutions outlined in this guide, you can effectively correct your highlights and achieve the desired hair color. Remember to prioritize hair health and consult a professional when necessary to ensure the best possible results.
Shadow Root or Color Melt
According to Gillen, “a shadow root technique adds depth just to your hair’s base and root-area.” “Color melts give your hair’s midlengths and roots even more depth and darkness.” While a color melt can be compared to a reverse ombre, a shadow root ensures that the color spreads out gracefully while also concentrating the depth around the base to lessen the appearance of highlights directly in the root area. “If you want to maintain your blonde hair, both of these techniques will give you more freedom and time between highlights and create a more lived-in look. They also add depth and richness at the root area.” ”.
PROS: If you’d rather have a darker base color and want to keep a few bright pieces around your face, this technique is perfect for you. “Adding depth to the top section of your hair is the goal here,” says Gillen. It’s also a relatively quick technique—Gillen notes that your colorist will typically perform this procedure while you’re in the shampoo bowl, taking about 30 minutes total—even though placement is crucial and should be precise.
CONS: By adding a deeper base color, the color melt and shadow root techniques, like lowlights, can help tone down the overall effect without completely eliminating the highlights. “You’ll still be able to see your blonde highlights—it won’t completely reduce their brightness,” adds Gillen. Furthermore, the deeper color will be concentrated around the crown of your head, so if you want to maintain the hue throughout, you may need to use a combination of these techniques and lowlights.
Add Lowlights
Lowlights could be the solution if you want to lessen the brightness of your highlights without losing any of their dimension. According to Gillen, “lowlighting is a technique where you can either foil or Balayage darker pieces into your blonde hair.” “This enhances your blonde highlights with depth and richness without obliterating all of your blonde.” If you decide to go this route, Gillen advises consulting a professional because placement is crucial. PROS: Lowlights are a good middle ground if you’re not sure whether to completely tone down your highlights but still want them to be subdued. This is a good way to test the waters if you’re unsure if you want to go darker or not, according to Gillen. The lowlights can always be turned around the next time you visit the salon. ” It’s also a relatively quick process. According to Gillen, placing lowlights usually takes 30 minutes, and processing them takes an additional 30 minutes. CONS: Depending on how many lowlights you add, they won’t completely eliminate your highlights but they will definitely lessen the brightness of the overall effect, according to Gillen.
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FAQ
Can toner fix bad highlights?
How do you fix too light highlights?
Do highlights look better after a few days?
How to hide hair highlights?
Or, you can grab a fun shade of the L’Oréal Paris Colorista Hair Makeup Temporary 1-Day Hair Color Spray to hide your highlights until you can get them fixed while also experimenting with color. Editor’s Note: Remember that while blonde highlights are the most common, they’re not the only option.
How do I remove highlights from my hair?
For more difficult-to-cover highlights, use a demi-permanent or permanent hair dye for all-over color. All-over color needs fewer touch-ups, especially permanent hair color but can be a bigger commitment if you like to change hair color often. To permanently remove highlights from your hair, you’ll need a haircut.
Can you remove highlights without cutting your hair?
One of the most straightforward solutions to completely removing your highlights without cutting your hair is by dyeing all your hair a permanent color. This lets you experiment with a new color you’ve never done before or wanted to try. In addition, permanent dyes last longer than toners and glosses.
Do lowlights remove highlights?
Lowlights are up to three shades darker than the color in your hair, whether natural or dyed, states Naturtint. They can add depth to your hair, so when lowlights are added to highlights, it creates a rich and dark look to the blonde. It doesn’t eliminate the highlights but works to tone them down.