DIY hightligts
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

free skin care · Wed Dec 07, 2005 12:01 pm

Dear ladies, I am wondering if any of you have any experiences with do-it-yourself highlight kits? good, bad, anything...

I would like to update my look with highlights. and I am not cheap to pay for a professional work, but I've had a couple of horrible experiences with the salons here in California. I am kinda freaked by local hairdressers.

thank you so much,

Tipu

free skin care · Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:48 am

I used to do them when I was a teenager -- my one recommendation is to START SMALL! Just do a little at a time since you can always add more but you can't really take them away (easily)!

free skin care · Thu Dec 08, 2005 9:00 am

L'Oreal's Colour Experte kit is great. I have dark hair and any past attempts to do subtle highlights at home were disastrous. But this kit works quite well. The color results are subtle and accurate.

free skin care · Thu Dec 08, 2005 10:58 am

Dear Chimera & Katee,

thank you so much. I might try L'Oreal over the weekend.

Tipu

free skin care · Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:21 pm

Carekate is a good person to ask on this topic Very Happy

Thu Dec 08, 2005 5:05 pm

hi, i do my own highlights at home... i started off with a nordic colours streaking kit where u just paint on the bleach (cldnt wokr out how to use the cap!)... but now i still use the brush but buy my own generic bleach (much cheaper)....

most importantly.. i keep a bottle of black hair dye (my hair is black).. i use the one in liquid form so i can just mix only as much as i need,.. about a teaspoon or so at a time.. and that always helps to paint over or tidy the highlights that are messy, too light or in the wrong place...

free skin care · Fri Dec 09, 2005 10:57 am

rosebud wrote:

Carekate is a good person to ask on this topic Very Happy

Thank you, Rosebud! *CareKate takes a bow*

I’ve tried just about every DIY highlight kit out there. IMHO, the best bet for beginners doing highlights at home for the first time is to use the kits that have the little plastic cap with the pre-perforated holes in it through which to pull select strands of hair, because it’s almost impossible to screw it up.

Here’s how the highlighting cap kits work:

• Put the cap on your hair and pull it on so it fits very snugly against your scalp, then tie the cap under your chin;

• Next, using the little pre-circled holes on the top of the cap as a guide, decide where you want your highlights to be placed (in the front, on the sides, thru the crown), then

• Take the little plastic wand that has a slight hook on the end of it and begin using it to pierce the pre-perforated holes in the cap and begin pulling select strands of hair through the hole. Start out by pulling very thin pieces, if you want ‘bolder’ highlights you can grab and pull slightly thicker strands of hair.

• Repeat this step until you’ve pulled out the number of hair strands you wish to highlight.

Now, mix up the highlighting mixture following the kit’s instructions and that apply it to the hair strands that you’ve pulled through the cap. Make sure that you’ve thoroughly coated all of the strands with the highlighting mixture.

Leave the mixture on for the allotted amount of time. You can periodically check the progress by taking a moist paper towel and wipe some of the mixture off of one of the hair strands to see if it is light enough for your satisfaction. If not, slap a bit more of the highlighting mixture on that strand and wait a little longer and re-check it.

Once your highlights have lightened to the desired results, DO NOT REMOVE THE CAP!! Get in the shower and rinse the highlighting mixture from your hair, and then carefully remove the highlighting cap and shampoo and condition your hair using the product/s provided in the DIY kit for this purpose.

I prefer to use the DIY highlighting kits that you paint directly onto the hair strands (using the ‘baylage’ technique) with the little brush or wand provided in the kits, as in the L’oreal Colour Expert Highlight kit. The problem is that unless you know what you’re doing, it’s quite easy to make a mess of it! You can get the highlighting mixture on the surrounding hair because the strands covered with the highlighting mixture are lying directly against the root area of the rest of the hair. It’s hard for me to explain what I’m talking about, but it’s the reason that most colorists in the salon either chose to do foil highlights, or else they use a bit of cotton batting under the roots of the highlighted hair strands so the mixture doesn’t bleed over unto the rest of the hair. The result being that your highlights turn out much thicker or more blotchy then you intended.

**** It is very important with any type of DIY highlighting kit that you leave the mixture on your hair for the amount of time instructed. If you remove it too soon, your highlights will not progress beyond the brassy orange stage to the golden blond streaks that you desire! This probably the number one reason for the at home highlighting horror stories. If you don’t leave the highlighting mixture on your hair long enough, it will not “lift” the existing color enough and you’ll end up with orange streaks. That is why, unless you are an experienced DIY highlighter, it is MANDATORY for you to perform a strand test to determine exactly how long you need to leave the mixture on your hair to ensure you achieve the desired results ****

BTW, I had never thought of this myself, but a friend of mine who is blond wanted to add some darker “lowlights,” and she actually used the little plastic cap to do it, but instead of bleaching the strands, she actually used a darker color and it turned out really great!

Bottom line: Follow Chimera’s advice and start small. You can always go back and add additional highlights later if you want a more obvious, sunkissed look.

Good luck!

free skin care · Fri Dec 09, 2005 11:18 am

katee wrote:

L'Oreal's Colour Experte kit is great. I have dark hair and any past attempts to do subtle highlights at home were disastrous. But this kit works quite well. The color results are subtle and accurate.

I second L'Oreal's Colour Expert Kit....it is easy and looks natural.

free skin care · Fri Dec 09, 2005 12:42 pm

Thank you so much everyone!

Carekate, how one uses cotton at home?

Quote:

or else they use a bit of cotton batting under the roots of the highlighted hair strands

free skin care · Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:21 pm

Hi Tipu! I have to agree with Carekate about using the cap method. I find the highlights come out much nicer than if you try to paint them into your hair with a brush or wand. After having several disastrous results with highlights by so-called professionals, I do it myself now and they look better than anything I have ever had done by some high-priced salon. I have thick, shoulder length, medium brown hair and use Revlon Frost & Glow for med-drk brwn hair. I keep it on for a full 60 mins which leaves me with beautiful, natural looking pale blonde highlights. Also, sometimes, usually in winter, I prefer the strands to be more of a honey color--not so light---so I use a color conditioner in a brown shade to tone and blend the highlights and it works great! The end result is very natural looking. Hope this helps!

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