Hair colouring is one of the most requested salon services, with many clients hoping to update their appearance for a special occasion or a change in season. With a variety of highlighting and lowlighting techniques available, hair colourists are able to create a variety of looks to compliment every face shape and skin tone, ensuring every client can enjoy a beautiful, multi-tonal hair finish. Whether your client is looking for a subtle lift in colour or would prefer something more statement, highlighting and lowlighting can cater to everyone’s needs. Discover a range of foiling techniques and tips today and incorporate this popular trend into your salon service.
Foiling techniques
Horizontal weave
Horizontal weave is the most commonly used highlighting and lowlighting technique. Offering a soft, natural finish, this technique is perfect for clients who are new to hair colouring, as well as those looking for a subtle change. Horizontal weave involves taking quarter inch sections of hair and then taking a few strands of hair off the top of this section and placing it onto a foil. Lightener or colour should then be applied and the foil should be folded and left to let the colour develop. When using lighter tones than your client’s hair colour, this technique will help achieve a gentle, sun-kissed highlight and will add subtle dimension to the hair.
Diagonal slice
You can create beautiful, two-dimensional colour for your client using the diagonal slice highlighting and lowlighting foiling technique. This involves a similar foil placement to horizontal weave however, colourists should use thicker sections of hair to create a bolder look. You can also pair this technique with horizontal weaving to create a unique, multi-dimensional finish for your client.
Vertical slice
Great for clients hoping to achieve a statement, striped two-tone colour effect, vertical slicing is the boldest of the highlighting techniques and involves single and double foils being applied to the mid-section of the hair to create variable results. A vertical slicing pattern is used in the crown area with two radical patterns at the fringe and back crown area to create a noticeable yet blended finish.
Highlighting and lowlighting tips
Now we’ve explained the techniques, find out how you can fulfil your highlighting and lowlighting service with these handy tips.
Create texture
The above techniques can be used alone or can also be combined to create a beautiful, natural look for your client. Mixing up slicing and weaving will add a seamless feel to your client’s finished look and will ensure colour placement doesn’t look too constructed.
Don’t overload the hair with foil
Sometimes less is more and, with foil placement, it is essential that the hair is not overloaded with foils and colour as this will impact the finished look. Too many foils can result in a less defined look as colour can end up blending together and your efforts may be wasted.
Be careful with your foil
For best results, make sure you handle the foil with care. Don’t press too hard on the foil when folding as this may cause colour leakage which will ruin your client’s finished look.
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