A large number of women opt to color their hair at some stage or the other in their life. Yet instead of a drastic and startling change some prefer discreet streaks or highlighting. Highlights have a way of brightening your looks and make you look younger and vibrant. Here are some hair highlight ideas that can create a dynamic look and cover up some grey hair as well.
Highlighting is coloring some strands of hair at least two shades lighter than the base color. Anything lighter than three shades stands out. Highlighting can be of thick chunks or thin strands. Somehow thick chunks give an artificial look while thin strands give a more subtle and natural look. Slicing is a wonderful concept in which thin strands beneath the top hair are highlighted. These look awesome when you part your hair and leave it open.
A strong contrast to slicing is chunking where broad strands of hair are highlighted. You can use this technique for a bold look with bright colors. A rather trendy look for young women is paneling. Layers of hair are colored in different shades and this gives a very dramatic look. Some women also go in for highlighting only the fringes or the tips. In the frosted tip technique only the tips, that is, about an inch or two of hair at the bottom is colored using rather vibrant colors. Women with long hair can also color the upper half and the lower half with contrasting or different shades of the same color. You can also have an ombre look in which there is a gradient of color from dark on top to light at the bottom.
Choosing the right placement is very important; highlights are usually placed at the top of the head and the fringes that frame the face. Highlights are also placed according to the shape of the face. If your face is round or square then the hair framing your face should be darker than the top. For triangular faces the bottom of the hair near the chin should be highlighted with a bright color.
Before you begin with highlighting decide what kind of look do you want—sophisticated, funky or simply dramatic. This will influence your color choice. If you want a sophisticated look then go in for a highlight which is just two shades lighter or darker. For instance, for brown hair you can use golden or red and for black hair it can be golden brown. If you are aiming for a dramatic look then the highlighting color can be blonde, strawberry, flame red. Another combination can be of black base and blonde highlights or the other way round. You can even go in for purple, pink, blue, green highlights if the idea is to create a shocking funky look.
In all highlighting is an ideal way to create a unique look without something as radical as a block change of color. A totally new color has a greater impact than a hair cut and can give you a new look. On the other hand highlighting adds a sophisticated and classy touch. Using appropriate hair highlight ideas you can get a subtly chic look or an absolutely funky look.