Refresh Your Style with a Full Head of Foils
Full foils have never been more popular, and with good reason – the results are truly stunning and completely customisable to match your unique personality.
Learn all about full foils, partial foils, and balayage, and book your next best style today!
What Does a Full Head of Foils Mean?
A full head of foils means that the hair will be lightened, coloured, or otherwise altered by “foiling.”
Foiling uses sheets of aluminum foil to separate and isolate strands of hair. These strands can be thick or razor thin, depending on preference and preferred result. Once the lightener and/or colour are applied, the whole section can be enclosed in the foil to keep in the heat generated by processing, which lightens the hair more effectively.
A full head of foils means that every inch of hair is addressed and treated other than the hairs left out of the foils if there is any – from crown to hairline, and every layer in between. It ensures that no matter how the hair is parted or styled in the future, the effect is even and consistent. This also means that the hair will regrow evenly.
Full foils are typically used for colour corrections, becoming fully blonde, a natural approach to adding colour to the hair, or to achieve a smooth, dynamic root stretch or root shadow.
What’s the Difference Between a Full Head of Foils and a Half Head of Foils?
The main distinguishing factor between a full head of foils and a partial foil is the desired result.
Full foils lighten and/or colour the entire head – including the under layers – while partial foils highlight specific portions of hair. Generally speaking, a partial foil will address half of the head, like the top layer of hair, or just the ends.
Keep in mind that the haircut and style can change the overall impact of the foil. If you do not have layers cut into your hair, a partial foil can give the appearance of layers without needing to commit to a cut. If you do layers, a partial foil will only highlight the topmost, shortest layer, with the uncoloured hair still visible underneath. Regrowth will also look different compared to the foiled portion. This makes some styles – like a half-up style – difficult to achieve.
Do You Need a Full Foil?
Cost is the number one reason most people shy away from a full foil. A full head of foils typically costs considerably more than a partial foil or other colour services. This is due to the extreme precision and skill involved. Time is also a huge factor – reserve at least two hours for a full head of foils, and be patient!
However, the final result is worth the investment.
A full foil gives you hair that’s full of dimension and drama. Better yet, your imagination is the only limitation – any colour combination is possible! It’s just as easy to add a warm, beachy glow as it is to get trendy, ashy blonde.
You will not need a full foil every time you go to the salon – after the initial visit, partial foils and other restorative treatments can refresh your colour easily.
Choosing the Best Approach
Choose a few reference photos of your dream hair and have them on hand during your consultation. Skilled stylists can reverse-engineer your chosen photos to create a formula and process to get you there.
The Blonde Benefit
Highlights just hit harder on light hair.
Foil highlights can give a varied colour distribution for endless depth and dimensionality. From silver ombre ends with deep root shadow to textured blonde accents, foil highlights bring a new life to all shades and styles.
Full foils can create delicate babylights – subtle, feathery, white-blonde highlights that typically don’t even require bleach, allowing for detail without damage. These enhance the depth of already blonde hair, mimicking sun-lightened hair.
Better yet, foils can be used to achieve several different looks. You can get bold, radical colours like deep indigo to light and flirty mint. Creamy caramel, rich chocolate, and honey blonde shades can also be achieved by using warm and cool pastel colours simultaneously.
What Kind of Sectioning Will Be Used for Foil Highlights?
It’s important to know where your foil highlights will be most effective. Start by discussing your desired final product with your stylist. Know exactly what parts of your hair you want to enhance, and talk with your stylist about how you typically wear your hair, both up and down.
Each stylist uses their own foil system, so there’s no definite number of foils considered “right.” Your unique stylist can help determine if a full or partial highlight is necessary, and where to place each shade and colour for maximum impact. This gets you your dream hair while remaining well within your budget.
Foils or Balayage?
Foils and balayage may seem similar, but they’re unique enough to give very specific final products.
Balayage is a slightly looser approach to highlighting, with larger sections and unique feathering application, starting at the ends and working upward through the mids. Foils are more structured with focused, controlled application.
Depending on what you’re looking for, your stylist can help you pick the right approach to highlighting. Balayage adds beautifully blended dimension while foils frame the face and accentuate the existing colour.
Benefits of a Full Head of Foils
Full foils allow for so much versatility, creativity, and possibility. With full foils, your hair can be as dramatic or neutral as you want and need – from ashy blonde to fruit punch red and everything in between.
Foils allow for the use of multiple colours, giving you the option to go from dark to light or create striking multi-dimensional highlights without applying dye to all of your hair.
Foils are less aggressive than applying all-over lightener or colourants. This leaves some hair chemically unchanged and boosts overall hair health and strength.
Book a Slot to Get Your Full Head of Foils
At Cutters, our skilled colourist team can give you the hair of your dreams with an all-over foil, while staying within your budget.
Booking an appointment with us is simple – just give us a call, fill out our “contact us” page, visit our online shop, or just stop by our salon.
Cutters would love to be a part of your hair journey – book with us today for a full head of foils!