Subtle highlights
Hearing about highlights the only thing that comes to most of our minds are those terribly done and applied highlights, the ones that are just come very noticeable lines or straps of hair in a completely different hair color that the natural.
Those that are done with dye, bleach or foils mixed with little no knowledge (or interest) from the hair stylist that applied them to you.
But that does not mean that every highlight will have that same end result, and really, not every highlighted hair looks that way, we believe that the principal reasons of people ending up with bad highlights is they either decided to do them themselves and didn’t know (or care) how they applied the, or simply because they did not take enough time to do the correct research to find the rights hair stylist that actually knows how to work with them.
The first thing that is important is to take these bad thoughts out of our minds and start believing that subtle and natural looking highlights can actually be done with quite easy and seamless blending if you just take enough time to do your right research.
For example, making sure that the hair stylist that you go to knows how to apply the sun kissed highlights you want and need to have the style you have been dreaming for.
Subtle highlights have a wide range of options to achieve the look you are looking for
The common thing when going for a natural easygoing look it to find a hair dye that is just one or two shades lighter than your natural hair color, or you can also do it with bleach, leaving it for shorter time that everyone would so there is not such a big difference between the base and highlights color, be aware that you must be constantly checking to make sure you don’t go too light.
You want to lighten your hair just a little not go blonde all the way, or almost white if you are already blonde. Keep in mind that reaching the natural look can be very difficult and not as easy as plenty of people may think, and if you decide to go with this then trusting your hair stylist is the best idea.
Hair stylists will be your greatest friends at the moment of having a change of look in your hair and be consent that you will be able to tell them what you want and how you want it, be open with what you want and communicate your thoughts.
But also be open to their advices as what they want is for you to look your finest once you walk out of the salon.
Shades and tones, your biggest allies or your greatest enemies
When highlighting your hair, the most important step that you should not ever miss is to choose the right shade and under tone for your subtle highlights, especially if what you want it to go for a natural and subtle sun kissed look.
Choosing a darker shade than your natural hair color would technically not be a highlights, you would end up with lowlights which is another technique that you could think about.
And going for a shade that ends up being too light your highlights will not be subtle and would definitely look dyed and not subtle as you have wanted from the beginning.
With chocolate brown hair, going for caramel or chestnut highlights, or maybe even some auburn or copper like touches on your hair would look superb and if you tend to lean more for the blonde side, then it is better to stick with warm and dark blondes.
Being careful with this color is important as, it can easily end up being too light and end up with ashy hair.
Subtle highlights are quite difficult to reach but once you have them you will have such a beautiful hair, that will only be obvious when you are standing under the direct sun light will make your hair look amazingly without any big or very notorious changes.
To get such subtle highlights you can try to highlight your hair with natural techniques
Besides hair dye, there are other ways to naturally lighten your hair without damaging it as much as with the hair dye.
Just because bleaching out hair give us the results in a shorter amount of time that does not mean that they are worth it at the moment of having a change of look. Actually, there are more time than not that they are not worth it for all the damages that they cause.
Highlighting your hair in a natural way can also help you have subtle highlights in an easier way.
Most of the methods to naturally highlights your hair need to stay under the sun for periods of 2 to 3 hours, this is to let the thing applied to your hair react and have the results we want them to have.
One of the methods is lemon juice and water, all you have to do it to mix these two ingredients (Two parts of lemon juice and one-part water) in a spray bottle and spray it into the strands of hair you want to lighten and then sit out under the direct sun light for 2 to 3 hours at a time for at least three times a day.
Natural highlighting is a healthy and easy way to get subtle highlights
Chamomile tea is also a natural lightening technique, what you need to do is brew a strong pot of the tea, maybe with 3 or 4 tea bags and then allowing them to cool down.
When the tea is ready, all you have to do is pour the tea over your hair and let it react under direct sunlight, the longer you are outside the more noticeable the results.
Once you are done just rinse your hair and you will have subtle highlights.
If you do not want to try with the tea, honey is also a natural highlighter. Just add a tablespoon of raw honey with a cup of water and mix until you have no more clumps, then apply the mixture to the parts of your hair that you want to highlights and let it sit overnight while wearing a shower cap.
The next morning you should have amazing subtle highlights.
Overall, subtle highlights, either if you do them naturally or with hair dye, are not as damaging as more noticeable highlights as you are not going to leave the decolorizer for less time damaging less the hair.
Learn how to apply these subtle highlights with this simple video
Dyeing your hair is not something you should be afraid of, the risk can be worthy for the amazing results you will get
Hair gets an immense improvement from highlights, the benefits can range from more depth and texture to more movement of the hair, creating an overall illusion of fullness.
Most people do not dye their hair in fear of damaging it, and while yes, it is true that you cannot avoid the damage it does not mean that you should step back from having your hair the way you have always wanted.
All you have to do is proceed with caution at the moment of lightening your hair, and what we recommend for that is for you to trust your amazing hair on the hands of your hair stylist, they are the ones that know the best what can work for you and what does not.
Assuming that what you want is a subtle change of look, subtle highlights are just the look for you, they will add a touch of color that will give lights and depth to your hair.
All you have to do to get this change of look is take the risk and go to your trusty hair stylists and ask for them to help you decide what color you should get, or for what you specifically want. At the end of the day, you are the one that decides what ends up going on your hair.
These colors would look amazingly on your natural hair color
- For natural blonde hair: To have a great look with this hair, you should keep in mind what are the best tones and shades for you and your base color.
You should also take into consideration the under tones, if you have warm skin you should go for warm tones as well, and if they are cool toned you should stay within the cool tones range.
Choosing the right tone for blonde hair is definitely one of the easiest hairs to do so, as it will look natural almost every time. You only have to apply a shade color that is only one or even two shades lighter than your base color to have the best results.
If you have a very light blonde hair maybe the best choice for you is to add lowlights, which is almost the same as highlights but with the twist of adding darker shades to the naturally darker parts of the hair so your natural hair would end up being the highlighted parts.
- For natural brown hair: this hair has such a wide range of shade and tones by itself that it could be difficult at the moment of choosing the right subtle highlights tone by yourself, so do not be shy and ask you hair stylist!
If you have light brown hair, we recommend for you to try some dark blonde highlights, they will give you a wow effect as well as lightening your face and hair tone. For dark brown hair your best option is to apply some tone on tone highlights, all you have to do is to ask your colorist for highlights that are lighter than your base color and to layer different tones of that shade to add vibrancy and depth to your darn brown hair.
- For natural red hair: The best option for you if you have red hair is to, just like the blonde haired highlights, add highlights that are at least one tones lighter than your natural red color to have the best and subtlest highlights that you can think about.
Or if your red hair is naturally lights, go to the other side of highlights and try to apply some lowlights instead, they just have to be a couple shades darker than your natural hair color and so you will have a beautiful highlighted effect without the highlights.
- For natural black hair: by adding highlights to your black hair you will be adding light and movement to it. You just need to be sure that your stylist knows how to work with a hair that is this dark do they can give you the best result you can ask for.
Some highlight shades that would look amazingly with your black hair are brown highlights, as technically brown is the lighter brown shade when it comes to hair, they will look great without really trying too much.
Hair mask can become your best friends when you have highlights
Sometimes, after dyeing your hair what it needs the most is to be hydrated, and we advise for you to look for intensive conditioning products for dyes hair, hydrating hair masks and such.
In addition to these masks, we recommend for you to use a heat protector so your subtle highlights last as long as possible, you should protect them at all times if you expose them to high temperatures when using a hair drying and iron.
Another thing you should try to maintain your highlights for longer is to change up how much you wash your hair, as it is one of the biggest mistakes people make after dyeing their hair, washing it too much.
And also try going for sulfate free hair products, these chemicals are harsh on your hair and can make the hair dye fade quickly from your hair.
And remember to keep hydrating your hair, it is very important as hair dye can end up drying your hair, for this you should never miss hair conditioning it, and maybe try applying some essential oils to the tips and roots of your hair when you find it necessary.
If you liked this article, please share it with your family and friends to help them have a better idea of what they should do with their hair look, you will be doing a big favor to them!
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¡Por cierto! Antes de que te vayas, queremos recomendarte esto que seguro que te interesa:
- Partial vs full highlights
- Bad highlights
- Honey highlights
- Blonde Highlights
- Balayage Highlights
- Halfhead highlights
- Short hair with highlights
- L’Oréal highlights
- Highlights vs Lowlights
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