What are highlights?
Touch of the sun, Hollywood shine, solar glare — all these eloquent epithets characterize the trendy “highlights” hair coloring option, which is carried out using the innovative method of applying hair dye. Do you still ask yourself a question: “Should I highlight my hair?” We encourage you to try it because this coloring option is not just trendy but very convenient!
Highlights is a hair coloring technique that allows you to create the effect of sun-bleached curls. The dye is applied to only 30% of all hair. Usually, the hair stylist dyes the strands by the face first and then moves to separate micro strands, so that the overall effect remains natural. The hair roots remain completely untouched during this dyeing.
Such selection and lightening of strands near the face allow you to visually create a voluminous hairstyle. This coloring technique favorably emphasizes the oval of the face, highlights the eyes and evens out skin tone. Besides, Brazilian hair highlights allow you not to visit hair salon every 1-2 months to maintain the beauty of fresh coloring. This technique is the most gentle for hair health, therefore highlights are especially popular among ladies who have never dyed their hair before.
What is single-process color?
Single-process color is literally ANY hair dyeing process that can be achieved in just one step. There are lots of examples, from a permanent hair dyeing to a hair gloss. This hair dyeing option is perfect if you want your hair to become several tones lighter or darker than your natural color. So, basically, single-process color can give you a base hair tone. Root touch-up can be considered a single-process color as well.
By the way, single-process color is often called “all-over color”, since it changes the color of your ENTIRE hair (not just separate locks), giving you a whole new hair tone that can be either lighter or darker than your natural one. Such hair dyeing option is perfect to cover gray hair and is supposed to be one of the most sparing for your locks.
Can you get both highlights and single-process color?
Of course, you can! First, you’ll have to perform single-process color in order to give your entire hair a brand new shade. Then it’s time for highlights to emphasize the hair volume, giving your locks much more dimensional and lively look.
However, there are some peculiarities that you should be aware of. First of all, if you decided to combine two methods, remember that highlights may be not as light as you want them to be. Secondly, mind your hair quality, as after two hair dyeings your locks may feel a little bit dry. That’s because bleach is used for highlights. Last but not least is the cost: as single-process color is a cheaper hair dyeing option than highlights, be ready to leave a tidy sum in the beauty salon for both treatments.
Double-process color as an alternative hair-coloring method
Double-process color is another hair dyeing option worth mentioning. This is a double-staged treatment that changes your hair color during the first stage and adds more liveliness during the second stage. However, everything is not that simple: such hair-dyeing option is considered to be the harshest one. The result is completely platinum hair which presupposes using A LOT of bleaching powder. You should be ready for possible consequences or just have short hair in order not to care that much about protecting the entire hair length. If bright platinum blonde (just like one Gwen Stefani has) is your dream, double-process can help you to achieve it.
Usually, double-process color is a way out if you want dark hair to become significantly lighter. At first, you’ll get bleaching and then either new color or highlights. Despite the fact that this hair dyeing option is beloved by many Hollywood stars, it’s pretty pricey and dangerous, so you have to weigh the pros and cons carefully.
Takeaway
In order to decide what’s best for you, have a look at your natural hair color and think of the hair color you’d like to get. If you have gray hair, then choose single-process color. If your hair is blonde/slightly gray, highlights will be the best option. We don’t recommend doing single-process color if you don’t have gray hair (of course, only if you don’t want to completely change your hair color).
As for dark-haired ladies, you can try double-process color if you really want to switch to extreme blonde and are well-aware of possible consequences.
