Half Head Highlights: Your Everything Guide
Exploring all styling options is important if you’re considering changing your natural hair colour. While an all-over hair colour or full head of highlights can give you a dramatic change, you might prefer a more subtle, natural look. Half head highlights are an excellent option to change your hair’s appearance and boost your confidence.
Whether you’re considering half head foils or half head balayage techniques, you can benefit from understanding how stylists apply half head highlights and their benefits before deciding on a colour treatment for your hair.
What Are Half Head Highlights?
Half head or partial highlights are a hair colouring technique that highlights half of the hair on a person’s head. From root to tip, the top layers are lightened through the crown and the sides of the head. Typically, the lower layers remain darker, adding depth to the look.
Half head highlights are ideal for a subtle, natural look. During the process, bleach is applied, lightening the strands similar to the way sunshine brightens hair. This usually results in your hair appearing about two shades lighter than your natural hue, giving it a sun-kissed look. Most stylists recommend the treatment for clients looking for an understated change or who are colouring for the first time.
When you speak with an experienced stylist, they can help you determine what shade and placement of highlights best suit your desired look by assessing your face shape, hair type, natural colouring, and lifestyle. For example, someone who prefers to wear a high ponytail every day may need a different arrangement of highlights to ensure the colour placement is even.
How Are Half Head Highlights Different From Full Head Highlights?
The most significant difference between half head and full head highlights is the amount of hair bleached. During a full head highlight treatment, your stylist places highlights throughout each layer of your hair. Full highlights bleach more than the top and front sections and can provide more dimension and a bolder change in colour. Full highlights require more time, money, and upkeep than partials.
Half head highlights are applied only to the top, most visible portions of your hair. This process offers a less dramatic colour switch while still adding excitement and visual interest to your hair. For example, adding full highlights can move you to a more caramel or ash blonde hue if you have dark brown hair. If you opt for a partial blond highlighted section instead, it can naturally brighten your dark hair colour.
Benefits of Half Head Highlights
Half head highlights offer several benefits over other, more drastic colour treatments. This process requires significantly less time in the salon chair and typically costs less than a full head highlight treatment. Most salons take between 1 to 1.5 hours to complete partial highlights, whereas full highlights can take around 3 hours.
Half head highlights offer a subtler, more natural-looking change to your hairstyle. Because partial highlights use less bleach, they don’t cause as much damage to strands and require less maintenance.
Half Head Highlight Styles
Half head highlights are a versatile, low-risk way to switch up your style. Some popular looks to try include:
Highlights on Brown Hair
You can achieve a summery, warm look on brown hair with half head highlights. Ask your stylist to lighten your locks to a honey or caramel hue for a soft, gentle look to warm up your skin tone.
Half Head Blonde Foils
Partial highlights can add dimension or coolness to blonde hair. Half head blonde foils are particularly effective for creating depth in sandy or honey-coloured hair. You can also have your stylist use a blue or purple toner to cool your blonde tones for a platinum look. Many clients are amazed by their half head foils before and after transformation, as the technique creates a natural-looking dimension.
Highlights on Red Hair
Unlike blond hair, which focuses on taming gold and brassy tones, red-haired people can embrace these shades to give their style a luminous look. Ask for amber, copper, and rose gold highlights for a multi-tonal, high-impact look.
Face-Framing Highlights
Face framing highlights are typically used with half head balayage styles and are focused towards the front of the head. These highlights brighten your complexion, accentuate your facial features like your cheekbones and brows, and add dimension to your natural hair colour.
T-Section Highlights
Lightening only the sections of hair along the part and crown are called a T-section highlight. This technique is similar to a half head of foils but focuses specifically on the crown area. This is a wonderful option for people looking to add more volume to their current style.
Half Head Foils vs. Half Head Balayage: Which to Choose?
When deciding between half head foils and half head balayage, consider your desired outcome. Half head foils create more uniform, defined highlights with precise placement, making them ideal for those seeking a structured look. Half head balayage offers a more natural, painted-on effect that mimics sun-lightened hair. Both techniques can create stunning half head foils before and after results when performed by skilled professionals.
How to Care for Highlighted Hair
Any amount of bleaching requires you to give your hair special treatment to ensure locks stay strong, healthy, and beautiful. Whether you do your highlights at home or have them done in a salon, do the following to keep your hair in good condition:
Get a trim within a week of the colouring appointment to seal the ends. Follow up with a trim every 6-8 weeks to keep the ends strong.
Apply a few drops of a high-quality hair repair oil after showering, gently brushing it through for even distribution. You can also visit the salon for a professional quality fibreplex hair treatment or access to products like Illuminating Essential Oil.
Use a colour protection shampoo and conditioner.
Opt for a professional keratin treatment to repair proteins in your hair and give it a sleek, shiny look.
Choose a Highlighting Treatment with Cutters His & Hers Hairdressing
To achieve stunning results from your highlighting treatment, visit the skilled stylists at Cutters His & Hers Hairdressing. Since 1995, we have been dedicated to providing the highest level of hair care. Everyone on our experienced team is passionate about the services they provide and the work they perform.
In addition to our expert highlighting service, we offer hair care treatments, extensions, bespoke colours, and cutting and styling services.
Our talented hairdressers are proud to offer outstanding customer service, creating a friendly and relaxing atmosphere for everyone who walks through our doors. Contact us today to discuss your hair needs and schedule an appointment.