- To find out how your colored highlights look, you’ll need to make a decision that’ll help you visualize the process “before and after.”
- If you want to dye your highlights but keep your hair color in the blonde range, I recommend you apply a dark blonde 6 or blonde 7 with ashy or pearly shades.
- Alternatively, if you want to dye your highlights but you’re also looking to darken your hair, I recommend you apply a light brown or brown 4 with ashy undertones.
- I’ll tell you which shade numbers to choose in each case.
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If I Dye My Hair, Will My Highlights Go Away? Not as you imagine…
I invite you to discover together the “before and after” of coloring highlights.
We’ll use pictures because they are worth a thousand words.
If you want to dye your highlights, you’re likely tired of their high maintenance.
I hear you. Going to the salon every four weeks, waiting to get your highlights done, and investing a lot of money to maintain them can be exhausting.
Applying a hair dye is one of the best ways to reduce highlight maintenance.
Now, you should be aware of something.
When you dye the strands with highlights, a color difference of up to one level can appear.
That’s why you should know how to choose the color you’ll apply. Even that color difference can lighten your face.
But you don’t have to worry. That little difference will brighten your face.
So, if you’re determined, let’s start visualizing what the colored highlights look like.
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Dyeing highlights and keeping the blonde hair color
If you don’t want to lighten your hair too much, apply any blonde hair color in the darker range.
Why the darker ones? They’ll cover all the shades of blonde in your mane, and your highlights will be slightly different. They’ll bring light to your features.
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You won’t lose your look completely and you’ll be free of having to maintain them.
What hair color number can you choose?
- Dark ash blonde 6.1 or dark pearly blonde 6.2.
- Ash-blonde 7.1 or pearly blonde 7.2
The ashy undertones will help you neutralize any brassy tones that may arise. In turn, the pearly undertones will help you eliminate yellow undertones.
Any of these two blondes will cover your highlights!
To extend the duration of the dye, I recommend you use a sulfate-free shampoo, wash your hair up to three times a week, and use a toning shampoo once a week.
You probably already use shampoo to maintain unwanted undertones away from your highlights. Remember that you should use a blue shampoo if you have orange highlights. Alternatively, use a purple shampoo to eliminate yellow undertones.
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Coloring highlights with dark dye
I recommend you don’t use black or dark brown dye. The idea is to go for a harmonious transition and keep the warmth in your features.
The dark dyes will cover your highlights. However, those bleached strands will reappear after some washes.
In this case, as you’ll cover your highlights with a dark color, the color difference will be half a tone. Therefore, it’ll be almost unnoticeable.
What colors can you choose?
- Light brown ash 5.1
- Ashy brown 4.1
Choose dark ashy dyes because they contain blue pigments that will neutralize the unwanted brassy tones.
Otherwise, you’ll have to tone your highlights to prevent orange shades. In that case, I recommend you use the blue shampoo once a week.
- In the shower, wet your hair with lukewarm water.
- Apply the blue shampoo on the lengths and ends and massage gently until you reach the roots.
- Leave it on for 1 to 3 minutes according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Rinse with plenty of lukewarm water and apply a sulfate-free conditioner so as not to remove the pigments of the blue shampoo.
Conclusions
What did you think of the images? Do they reflect how you would like your highlights to look?
As a final tip, when it comes to complex coloring jobs, such as dyeing highlights to achieve an even color, I advise you to go to a salon and ask a professional. You now have some suggestions to discuss with your colorist.
