Curly hair with highlights is the best way to enhance your curls and brighten your look, but you need to be careful with your hair’s health.
Highlighting curly hair is one of the best ways to further accentuate the beauty of fine curls. The technique is a favorite for many, as it illuminates and adds depth to the hair. This way, it is possible to make your hair even more interesting and fun, even without a more drastic change. However, curly hair with highlights needs a lot of care, so that the effect, in addition to being beautiful, is also very healthy.
To enhance curly hair with highlights, understanding a little about the best colors when applying them and the main techniques is essential. When going through the process, it is important that the texture of the hair remains enhanced, as often, a single color does not make the curls so evident. In this sense, one of the best ways to rock the tone of your highlights is to get the blonde right, as well as the chosen technique and care routine.
Check below everything you need to know about how to create perfect curly hair with highlights, as well as the necessary care and tips on different techniques for the procedure.
Shades for curly hair with highlights
Choosing the tone of lights must be done very carefully. In the past, the process consisted of lightening just a few tones, but nowadays, there are countless possibilities. For a more discreet look, with a little depth and light to the highlights, it’s a good idea to opt for a tone just a little lighter than your natural color. However, for those who want a radical change, another path is taken. It is possible to choose between much more open nuances, through incredible contrast and with a lot of personality.
The most popular effects tend to vary between blonde, honey-colored and even platinum highlights. Either way, the choice is entirely yours. The essential thing is to talk a lot with your hairdresser, and above all, carry out the procedure with a professional. When opting for blonde, the highlights will only need to be bleached, but for platinum or honey highlights, you will need to tone or tint your hair.
Before bleaching your hair
When bleaching your hair to achieve frizz with highlights, you need to know a few things. First of all, the simple process of bleaching hair is already extremely aggressive, and can harm the structure of the hair fiber if not done carefully.
1. Therefore, carrying out the procedure with a professional is essential.
2. Furthermore, before undergoing treatment, it is important to ensure that your hair is healthy and strong. In addition to the pigment, nutrients and vitamins essential for hair health are removed.
3. In the case of very damaged hair, carrying out a complete hair schedule before bleaching is a good option. In this sense, the cycles of nutrition, hydration and reconstruction come into play, so that the hair is well prepared to receive the procedure.
Curly hair lighting techniques
There are many different lighting techniques for curly hair. On a base of dark strands, for example, a golden or honey blonde offers a harmonious look. In this sense, complementary shades enhance the shape of the curls and highlight volume, helping with dimension. For a more discreet look, however, maintaining the dark look with brown highlights, the chocolate tone is the best choice. In the case of light hair, there’s nothing like platinum to look modern and cool.
1 – Ombre hair
Ombré hair is one of the best techniques for those who are entering the world of highlights, but are afraid of the result. It keeps the roots in their natural color, gradually lightening the hair to the lightest tone. This way, the look is very natural, avoiding many trips to the salon to touch up the color. Even those with short hair benefit from the method, as short curly hair with highlights looks very elegant. You only need to leave a few centimeters from the roots in the natural color, coloring from the hairline to the ends.
2 – Balayage
Have you ever heard about balayage? For those who want more defined locks, the option is ideal. Made from the roots, the tone applies to thicker strands, with a more impactful result. Contouring the face with more pronounced strands is very popular, as it illuminates the area. For those who want to go completely blonde one day, the technique is a good way to start.
However, to maintain the effect, maintenance must happen more frequently. Retouching should happen every 3 months, at least, depending on the length of the hair. The highlights can be done in a dark blonde like honey or caramel, to brighten them. To completely lighten your hair, however, opt for a lighter blonde.
3 – Babylights
Babylights offer a versatile and sophisticated look for curly highlighted hair. Its thin strands, pulled from the roots to the ends, help lighten the curls in a more subtle way, something that helps the tone adapt to all types of hair. The option is perfect for those who want a discreet and natural result.
Regarding the number of bleached strands, the preference is yours. Either way, the look will be very soft, as if the locks were created by the sun. However, even if little of the hair is highlighted, it is still necessary to touch up frequently to prolong the beautiful effect.
Curly hair care with highlights
Even more important than a good bleaching is the type of care you need to take with your hair before and after the process. First of all, your hair needs to be very healthy to undergo the chemical procedure. Without this guarantee, the hair may become dry, especially at the ends. After bleaching, undergoing a good hair reconstruction helps to strengthen the strands and prevent the curls from falling apart. Furthermore, maintaining your hair schedule prevents your hair from losing its usual volume, hydration, nutrition and reconstruction.
1 – Keep your hydration up to date
In the case of frizzy hair, frequent hydration should occur even without the threat of dryness from possible highlights. The process leaves the hair soft, shiny and healthy, returning the natural oil that more compact curls do not receive as well. However, after highlighting, they need treatment with products aimed specifically at those who have undergone bleaching or discoloration.
2 – Each type of lights needs different care
Because there are several different techniques for curly hair with highlights, the care routine must be adapted for each one. Due to the fact that they are generally already naturally darker, for example, when going through a lighter or more intense discoloration, the strands require correct treatment. Naturally, after bleaching, the hair loses nutrients, proteins and melanin, becoming more exposed. Therefore, the lighter it is, the greater care must be taken after the procedure.
Regardless, other old processes can still affect your hair as much as recent bleaching. This is the case with previous coloring and bleaching, previous chemicals and even the health of the hair before the highlights, which is recommended to be good. Finally, what matters is a good eye on the part of the professional carrying out the procedure, so that nothing harms the structure of the hair fiber.
3 – Use specific products for curly hair with highlights
Naturally, curly hair should not be washed every day. This occurs because the thread has a tendency to dry out, both in length and at the ends. With blonde highlights, this situation intensifies. When it comes to cleaning, extra care must be taken, but washing your hair once or twice a week is enough to eliminate impurities and preserve natural oils. Additionally, alternating between using a shampoo to care for your curls and one for highlights is also ideal.
4 – Respect the limits of your hair
Despite the desire to lighten your hair and radicalize your look, it is essential to respect the health limits of your locks. Each type of yarn responds to chemistry differently. In the case of very dark hair and the desire to lighten it several shades lighter, for example, the hairdresser may recommend dividing the process into 2 parts, so that the hair can recover from the aggression. The professional may even suggest that you avoid using the dryer to avoid further sensitizing the hair fiber, resulting in frizz. This type of recommendation must always be followed.
5 – Make a good finish
In the case of curly hair with highlights, the finishing should always enhance the new blonde highlights. Generally for this type of hair, finishing consists of mixing leave-ins with the aim of defining and giving shine to the curls. Such a ritual, however, can also help a lot with hair health, as it becomes sensitized after highlighting. The essential thing is to choose a product that strengthens the structure, reducing breakage and keeping the thread protected from exposure to external agents, such as pollution and humidity.
If you are interested in this article about curly hair with highlights, take the opportunity to check out How to recover bleached hair? 6 infallible tips
Sources: Salon Secrets, Fica Diva, Tô de Cacho, L’Oréal Paris, Eu Total
