Choosing The Right Highlights For
Your Hair Color and Face Shape

Highlights for Your Hair Color

Blondes
For a richer texture choose strawberry-blonde streaks. Also, consider the Brazilian blonde look, where streaks are added only to the tips of the hair. This creates a bright, blonde, sun-kissed look. Many international salons are beginning to focus on this type of style. Be sure to keep skin tone in mind when adding highlights and choose accordingly. Your hair stylist should be able to help you with this. Finally, don’t over color or you will end up with some seriously damaged hair.

Brunettes
Most shades look fabulous on brunettes, but caramel and copper shades bring out the most definition. They cause little damage in the coloring process and are much safer to use because they don’t require bleach. While champagne highlights may look glamorous, they cause more damage to hair than other types because they contain peroxide. As a rule, the lighter you go, the greater the risk of damage.

Redheads
For red hair choose golden-blonde, fuchsia, or champagne shades. If your hair is a cool red color, put in beige-blonde streaks. If your hair is a warm red, copper tones will compliment it better. Be sure to protect highlighted or streaked hair from the sun, which can make it brittle.

Ethnic Hair
The most flattering colors on ethnic hair are warm colors because they compliment skin tone. Try shades of copper, beige, gold, red, and violet. To deposit color without destroying pigment in the hair, salons use low-lifters, while high-lifters are added to maintain shine. To retain moisture and strengthen hair, use protein-enriching aftercare products after any highlighting procedure. Because ethnic hair is brittle and can break easily, bleaching ethnic hair when adding highlights is not recommended.

Highlights For Your Face Shape

The right highlights for your hair can enhance or lessen your facial features. We recommend getting a haircut that is easy to style and compliments your face shape. Below are some tips for selecting the proper highlight shades based on your face structure.

The Right Highlights For Round Faces
To make your cheeks more angular, keep the bulk of highlights away from your hairline and add lowlights around the crown area instead. Concentrate highlights on the lower portion of your hair, from about ears down, to help slim and elongate your face.

The Right Highlights For Heart Faces
Dark hair near your chin exaggerates a pointy face. For this reason, use light highlights around this area. To help balance out your narrow cheeks, layer the bulk of highlights around your crown (see Jennifer Aniston's hair at right).

The Right Highlights For Long and Narrow Faces
If your hair falls past your shoulders, lighten the lowest few centimeters a little. This will make your face appear shorter.

The Right Highlights For Square Faces
To soften a strong, square jaw line place thin streaks evenly throughout your hair with a few extra-light highlights placed in the front section.

Choosing the right highlights for your hair color and face shape is an important decision that should not be left to chance. Knowing what highlight shades will best compliment your hair color and knowing where to place the highlights to help balance out your face will not only guarantee that you have a fantastic hair styling experience, but also a hair style that you will love and others will envy.

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