Have a client who’s ready to get the newest technique in highlighting? Or the one who’s bringing back to life an old lightening job? Sharpen your tools, because we’re here bringing you 3 noteworthy stylist techniques that will take your highlighting game up a notch, shared by none other than some of the best artists in the industry.
Fasten The Lightening Process Without Heat
While it’s a common practice to apply heat to the hair to fasten the lightening process, the hair expert Ashley Marie (@paintedbyashleymarie) advises against it: “Heat is always a last minute resort, and not all lighteners are ok to be heated!” Instead, she recommends reapplying a freshly mixed lightener with a stronger developer. For the first round, Ashley applied GK Hair Juvexin Lightening Powder+ with GK Hair 10 Vol Developer and let it process for 45 minutes. For reapplication, she switched the developer from 10 Vol to 20 Vol, and the hair processed within 15 minutes without adding in heat damage.
Add Brightness To The Ends
There’s a fair chance your ends might not look as bright as the newly refreshed roots, but the hair artist Kristen O’Donnell (@kristen_o_beauty) has a little trick up her sleeve to add brightness back to the ends without overprocessing:
While highlighting the hair, make sure to “pull the lightener through the ends before rinsing for added brightness.” This will give the hair ends a quick refresh without having to reapply the lightener and risking the perfect gradient effect. Check out Kristen performing this technique on one of her clients below.
Avoid Overlapping The Highlighted Pieces
A highlight retouch often becomes a handful of a job due to already highlighted locks, and Kristen O’Donnell (@kristen_o_beauty) is back to save the day with yet another highlighting technique. Here’s what you can do to create that perfect highlight gradient without disturbing the balance between dark and previously highlighted pieces.
Weave out the dark piece and add a half foil underneath to cover up the previously blonde area. Apply Juvexin Lightening Powder+ and let it process as usual. Kristen also uses another secret tip to brighten the ends: “At the bowl after [the client is] done processing, …pull the foils out and then add a little lightener to [the] ends to just brighten them back up.” The result? A beautiful, even, and a healthy looking blonde.