American highlighting: types, features and technique

2024 Author: Leonars Benson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 11:41

Women pay a lot of attention to making their hairstyle beautiful. Not everyone wants to do a solid color, so they choose American highlights. It looks good on both dark and light hair, making the natural shade richer and more intense.

What is this technique

To create American highlights, 2 to 5 shades are used. The strands are dyed with wide stripes in a certain order. Mostly it was done using shades of the red palette and shades close to dark curls.

But stylists have expanded the palette of shades for highlighting so that it can be matched to any hair color. What are the advantages of this technique?

It looks good on ladies of any age.
This highlighting can be done on hair of any structure and length - both straight and curly.
Adds visual volume to the hairstyle.
American highlighting is considered gentle because it does not affect the hair roots.
No frequent color correction needed.

Thanks to these advantages, American highlightingliked by many fashionistas who want their hairstyle to look beautiful, while their hair remains well-groomed.

Varieties of this technique

All types of American highlighting are performed using the same technique - the differences are only in the shades that the master chooses.

Classic option - this coloring was invented for owners of dark hair. The master selects 3-4 shades that are closest to the natural color of the curls so that the hairstyle visually becomes more voluminous. The paint is applied only to the upper part of the hair, leaving the lower part of their natural shade. One of the varieties of classic highlighting in this technique is the coloring of strands in lighter colors, mainly from a chestnut palette. This makes the strands more alive and gives them a glossy sheen.
California - This option is suitable for girls with blond hair. Use shades of golden, wheat, honey, caramel and sand. This creates the effect of burnt strands on the hair. California highlighting is considered one of the most difficult to perform. The master uses a special paste based on beeswax. The strands on which the paint was applied are not wrapped in foil, but left open. And the shade itself is stretched along the entire length of the hair. It turns out a very soft transition from the dark shade of the roots to the very light ends of the strands.
Red highlighting is only suitable for owners of dark hair. Because bronze, red, red, brown are used to create it.shades. This option is suitable for those who want to add brightness to dark curls without using brightening compounds.
Highlights made using bright colors are considered universal because they suit hair of any color. Choose the brightest colors - green, blue, purple. They can be either the same palette or contrasting. Highlighting is performed with a special gel, which is washed off after about 2-3 weeks, and you are again the owner of your natural color.

You need to choose a type of coloring based on your natural shade of hair, because it makes the strands more alive, the color is multifaceted and the hairstyle visually appears volume.

Subtleties of coloring light and blond strands

The palette is selected depending on the shade of curls. If you are the owner of very light flaxen hair, then ash, platinum and other shades that are close to the natural color of the strands will suit you. And if your shade is light blond, then choose darker blond, ash blond and all shades of red. And for girls with light ashy strands, a golden, pronounced honey and milk blond will do.

American highlights on light brown hair are best done in bright saturated colors. Shades of light brown, chestnut and honey will suit you. Your hairstyle will sparkle with new colors, and the color will become richer and deeper.

Features of dyeing dark and red hair

Redheadsthe girls are bright and without any highlighting, but the right colors will favorably shade your curls. Owners of light red color will suit ash blond and light brown. And if you have dark red, then pay attention to the palette with walnut and chestnut color.

For American highlights on dark hair, it is worth choosing shades that are close to the natural hair color. Light blond, milky blond, honey will also look good. And if you have black hair, it will make your hairstyle brighter chestnut color with a reddish tint.

American highlighting: technique

Make it yourself at home is very difficult. If you want hair highlighting to be beautiful and of high quality, it is better to turn to professionals.

The master selects the shades that suit your hair color.
Coloring starts from the back of the head, separating the lower strands with the sharp tip of the comb. Each colored curl is wrapped in foil. In beauty salons, masters use foil of different colors to make it easier to navigate in shades. The same actions are done with the temporal lobes, coloring the lowest curls. Finish applying the base color at the crown.
Then the master applies other shades in the same order as the main color, alternating them. Hair highlighting is performed in the direction from the back of the head to the crown.
After all the shades have been applied, the composition is kept on the hair for a certain time. Intervaldepends not only on the composition of the dyes, but also on the natural color of the hair. Approximate time - 30 minutes.
The master removes the foil, starting with the darkest shade and ending with the lightest color.
Shampoo is done with a shampoo designed for colored hair. Then a balm and a product are applied to the hair so that the color is more resistant.

In order for coloring to be successful, you need to follow the correct sequence of applying shades and choose high-quality dyes so as not to harm your hair.