Highlights

• One of the most important steps to make before you highlight is to choose the right color to complement the tint or hair color used to color your gray before you highlight. In addition, the color you choose should also take into consideration your hairstyle, cut and skin tone. Highlights are divided into to categories: warm shades or cool shades. The right highlights depend on your complexion. Hair colors such as medium ash brown and medium golden brown are best highlighted with cool blond and ash brown. Shades with yellow, gold or bronze shouldn't be applied because they tend to make the person appear pale. Likewise, people with strawberry blond, deep brown or gray hair should choose such shades as golden blond or golden brown for highlights. If this is your first time highlighting your hair, when in doubt about which color complements your complexion, consult a hair color specialist.
  
  Once the correct highlight color has been determined, you can move on to the actual highlighting process. For people with light hair seeking to cover their gray, highlighting would be the most attractive way to cover the gray. Depending on the percentage of gray hair, you could choose a light brown or dark blond hair color with beige blond highlights for a dramatic effect. This would help blend your gray with the highlights as your color faded and your hair grew. You could also add some lowlights along with the highlights for contrast. Lowlights are usually 2-3 shades darker than you natural color.
  
  There are three techniques you can use to highlight hair. The painting method involves using a ½- or ¼-inch acrylic brush to apply the highlights from the roots to the front of the head. You can also use your fingers to apply the highlights to the hair, but gloves should always be worn when using this method. If you have consulted a hair color specialist, more than likely the foiling process will be used. This technique involves sectioning off the hair and placing the foil beneath it while the highlight mixture is applied and then wrapped into the foil. Foiling takes time, but the results are often spectacular. For medium or short hair, the cap method can be used. Most home highlighting kits use this technique. A hook is used in the cap method to pull strands through the strategically designed holes in the cap, adding minimal or dramatic highlights to the hair.