As the weather gets warmer and everything gets lighter, you might be considering lightening your hair as well. However, if you’ve never gotten your hair highlighted before, you may be overwhelmed with the terminology and options before you. Are babylights different from regular highlights? What technique is going to give you the look you want? Hair highlights aren’t as complicated as they seem, but learning the terminology will help you communicate better with your stylist.
Full Highlight
A full highlight is just what it sounds like: the hairstylist will apply highlights to your full head of hair. This will give your hair the brightest look and is what most people think of when they think of getting highlights. This style is great for people who value versatility when styling their hair because there is no difference between the top and bottom layers of the hair like there is with other highlighting styles.
Partial Highlight
A partial highlight refers to when the stylist only colors the top layers of the hair. This technique is popular for a variety of reasons. It’s less expensive to get and maintain because it uses fewer materials, making it a great option for those on a budget. It’s also chosen by those who want a pop of color peeking out beneath their highlights or want to add some depth to their hair. It’s not a great option for those who often wear their hair half up due to the stark difference in color.
Balayage
A balayage is a newer technique when it comes to highlighting hair. Traditionally, hair is highlighted via a foil technique, which ensures a consistent color from root to end of the strands of hair. A balayage is when the stylist paints the lightener onto the hair by hand. This allows the highlighted hair to look more natural than traditional highlights, especially when it grows out. This makes it a great option for those who can’t make it to the salon as often.
Babylights
Babylights are another way to lighten your hair without getting a full head of highlights. Instead of the traditional full head of woven highlights, babylights are thin, finely woven pieces of lightened hair spread throughout the head, giving your hair a more natural, sun-kissed look. These grow out more naturally than the traditional highlights, though they tend to be more expensive than a traditional highlight.
Lowlights
Lowlights refer to when a client darkens their hair rather than lightens it. It’s often similar in technique to traditional highlights, but the process results in an overall darker color of hair. This is often used when someone with naturally blonde hair wants to darken slightly, but it’s also a great way to add even more dimension to someone’s hair by combining lowlights with highlights across the hair.
Color Correction
Color correction is a very broad term when it comes to coloring hair. It can refer to touching up your highlights after they’ve grown out. Since coloring hair is a science, it might refer to correcting the color of a highlight if it didn’t turn out the way the stylist intended it to. Color correction tends to refer to any sort of drastic change to the color of the hair, so two “color correction” appointments will most likely look drastically different from each other. If your stylist was not clear about what would occur when the appointment was scheduled, you should ask them about it.
