- If you don’t like your new highlights, wait at least a week for the color to settle.
- If you still don’t like them after a week, you can cover them up with permanent dye.
- If you find them too light, a professional colorist can fix them with lowlights.
- Alternatively, if they’re too dark, they can be fixed at the salon by bleaching again.
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If you had your highlights done and you don’t like them after a week, it’s time to understand why.
What is it about the highlights that you don’t like?
- Aren’t they what you were hoping for, and you’d rather have your hair even?
- Are they too light?
- Are they too dark?
- Are they too yellow or too bright orange?
Which of these options do you identify with?
Knowing why you don’t like your highlights will help you find the right solution.
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I should be clear.
You can either fix your highlights with your own hands or visit a professional hairdresser.
Why?
First of all, to prevent hair damage.
Don’t forget that highlights are done by bleaching some sections of your hair to achieve that lighting effect.
If you try bleaching your highlights again to fix what you don’t like, you run the risk of severely damaging your hair.
Secondly, you may like the highlighting technique, but you aren’t convinced by the color of the highlights.
In that case, you’ll be better off with the help of a professional stylist.
A stylist can determine whether to bleach again. Then, decide what color to apply to fulfil your expectations.
There’s only one case where you can fix the highlights with your own hands if you don’t like them, and that’s what I talk about next.
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If you don’t like highlights because you prefer an even color, you can apply a permanent hair dye
Why is a permanent hair dye the best solution in this case?
Because the highlights will disappearyou’re your hair will be even.
What color should you choose?
You can choose the color your hair was before you applied the highlights.
Do you know what color you had before the highlights?
It’s easy to know.
You need to take one of your unbleached strands and compare it with the photo in the box dye. Take your time to do it carefully.
Once the color of the bleached strand matches the photo in the box dye, you’ll know which color to use to fix the highlights.
The highlights will disappear after coloring, and you’ll have an even and uniform color.
Remember to respect the exposure time of the dye and moisturize your hair using nourishing masks at least once a week.
If your highlights are too light or too dark, you should go to the salon to have the color corrected
This is what I want to emphasize: if you don’t like the highlights because they are too dark or too light, you should leave your hair in the hands of a professional.
Usually, women want to copy a model’s coloring job in an Instagram photo.
They don’t listen to other options. They want the exact same highlights they saw in the Instagram photo!
But they don’t take into account several things.
- Photos posted on social media are enhanced with filters.
- It’s almost impossible to know the exact color that was chosen to make the highlights in a photo.
- Nor is it possible to see the hair health when highlights were done.
Even if the hairstylist advises you to use a different technique or choose a different color for the highlights, clients often insist on copying social media.
Then comes the disappointment.
Those ashy highlights that looked so good on the model, may not turn out as expected on their hair.
That’s why I advise you to go to a salon if you want to correct your highlights.
If the highlights are too light, you’ll need to go back to the salon to cover them with a dark hair dye
This dark highlighting technique is called lowlights and is very common among women who get highlights often.
If your hair was light, and it’s lifted some levels with the highlights, you can ask your colorist to apply lowlights to darken the color.
Your colorist will look for the color that most closely resembles your natural hair.
Why are your highlights too light?
Because the highlighting technique consists of separating small strands and bleaching them. Approximately 70% of the hair is separated, and the remaining 30% retains its natural color.
The hair becomes blonder and blonder with each application. That’s why colorists apply the lowlights to balance.
A session of lowlights is usually applied every three highlights sessions.
If the highlights are too light, it’s best to go to the salon after three weeks to touch them up
Remember that your hair is bleached every time you apply highlights. Therefore, your hair loses moisture and nutrients.
Also, the highlighting technique is usually touched up every three weeks. The colorist will know which highlights to bleach to lighten or darken them.
It’s important to understand that patience is the only solution. You shouldn’t bleach your hair on your own or apply a lighter permanent hair dye.
Otherwise, you’ll completely lose the technique. So, be patient because the highlights will inevitably get lighter.
If your highlights are too yellow or too brassy, a toning shampoo can fix them
Bright colors always arise after bleaching.
- Yellow unwanted shades appear after bleaching dark blonde 6 and blonde 7 hair.
- Orange shades, instead, appear from the bleaching brown 4 and light brown hair 5.
If what you don’t like about the highlights is that they are too yellow or too orange, there’s a simple solution.
What’s the solution?
Use a toning shampoo to neutralize those colors.
Do you know what neutralization is?
It’s a process to balance the colors by applying the opposite shade to the one you want to neutralize. The color wheel helps in this technique.
- Violet neutralizes yellow.
- Blue neutralizes orange.
Toning shampoos, such as violet or blue, are very easy to use. They usually don’t contain corrosive chemicals that can damage your hair or the highlighting technique.
They are readily available and you can use them according to the instructions.
Here’s a step-by-step:
- Wet your hair with the coldest water you can stand.
- Apply the toning shampoo (purple or blue) all over your hair.
- Massage your hair and leave it on for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Rinse with cold or almost cold water.
- Apply a toning conditioner if you want the full treatment. You can also use your usual conditioner.
After two or three washes with the toning shampoo, your highlights will look neither yellowish nor orange.
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Conclusions
If you just had your highlights done and you don’t like them, the first thing you should do is wait a week for the coloring job to settle into your hair.
If they are too light or too dark, you should go to the salon for color correction.
Alternatively, if you prefer an even color throughout your hair, apply a permanent hair dye to get rid of the highlighting technique.
