How to Highlight Hair

Create a New Look

The addition of hair highlights to any color is enough to create a whole new look. Not only do highlights mimic the sun's natural lightening effects and lend your locks a fresh, casual look, they also add intense contrast. This is especially true for brunettes, who can easily choose from an assortment of colors to achieve a number of different looks. Some shades will create a playful, youthful appearance while others instantly up the glamour factor. Depending on your intention, you can play with various shades or ask your stylist to recommend a hue that will best enhance your features.

Tips for Highlighting Blond & Auburn Hair

Stick to gold or amber streaks if you have dark blonde or brown hair, and gold or strawberry streaks if you have auburn hair. 
Don’t put highlights too close together.
To brighten your complexion, add a few subtle highlights to your bangs and sides of the face.
To make hair look thicker and fuller, brush highlights along the curves of your cut or on natural curls and waves.
To give the illusion of lighter hair, brush highlights throughout your hair, concentrating on your hairline part, and bangs.
Bobs and layered cuts are best suited to highlighting.

Tips for Highlighting Dark Hair

Highlighting dark hair can turn dreary locks into stunning strands. With the right colors to blend with your natural shade and complexion, highlights can turn your style from a shady look to a sun-kissed mane.

Bear in mind that not all colors look right on a brunette. Though dark hair types can get away with many different colors, sometimes the contrast is so alarming that it comes off looking more like a mistake than an intentional color job. In cases where the color in question is a bit of a risk and you aren't quite sure if it will work for you, consider undergoing a patch test on select strands first. This will help you determine whether the color really belongs.

With that out of the way, it's time to move on to the fun part - changing your look with great highlights. Wide, light highlights (or stripes, as they are often referred to) are not uncommon on dark hair; they can look extremely striking and might be best suited to younger individuals. More natural, blended-in highlights are favorites among more mature women who wish to truly replicate the sun's effect on the hair.

Making the most of your dark hair is as simple as choosing a shade that is relatively in the same color family. The general rule of thumb is to avoid going more than three shades lighter than your natural hair color.

Adding Lowlights

Hair lowlights shades are an ideal way to bring out your highlights. They create vibrancy and help the highlights blend in with your hair's natural color. They also tone down over-highlighted hair, which may occur with light colors. Stylists recommend getting lowlights every second or third time of your hair's highlighting cycle. Colors ideal for brunettes include red hair highlights and blends of copper and gold. Since dark hair naturally shifts through stages of red when it lightens, it makes sense to use similar shades when having the look created in a salon. The effect will be much more natural and flattering - and it will also make your highlights look better than ever.

Do-It-Yourself

If you're a newcomer to the highlighting world, you're probably best off having the job done by a professional. Not only will you feel more confident in the hands of someone experienced, you'll also receive targeted color recommendations. However, if you feel comfortable highlighting your hair, you may wish to invest in one of many kits available for dark hair, such as by Revlon.

Final Tips

It's not just your natural color that works into the equation when it comes to highlighting dark hair. You must also consider your complexion. Bold, fiery shades (such as violets, reds and even oranges) can look out of place and somewhat shocking on an individual with light or fair skin. They can also be rather aging, so it's best to avoid those types of shades in most situations. When in doubt, stick to colors that are closest to your own natural color and progress slowly in that direction.

Condition your hair regularly, but avoid hot-oil treatments. They tend to strip color.