How to fix streaky highlights (yes, you still have time to fix them!)

 

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I can imagine the situation, almost as if I were a fly on your wall. You found a photo of an influencer on Instagram with a hairstyle just like the one you’ve been imagining forever.

Inside, you’re squealing: “Finally! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! Highlights that make my face light up and give my hair more depth.”

 

You can’t wait even more minutes more before getting them because that’s how you are when you want something: you go out and get it. You run to the store to buy everything you need for highlighting your hair.

You’ve seen a few tutorials on YouTube and asked for advice from a few of your best friends, since that’s what friends are for, right? And then, you start the process.

 

But, when you look into the mirror after all of your hard work, your heart drops to the floor.  All you see are horrible two-colored streaks in your hair that don’t look anything like those beautiful highlights that your Instagrammer had.  

And then come the sobs, the regrets, the calls for help to your friends who will have the difficult job of consoling you.

 

And at that moment, I want to hug you and tell you that all is not lost because you still have time to fix those streaky highlights.

But, I’ll help you under one condition.

 

If you accept my help, promise me that you won’t mess around with your hair anymore. Because when it comes to dyeing your hair, the results can often turn into tsunamis that are impossible to contain.

But, don’t worry. What seemed like a tsunami, in this case, is just a little ripple in your hair.

 

So, stick with me, because I’ll tell you:

 

Are you ready to have those beautiful highlights you were looking for?

 

Why your highlights turned out streaky

Before finding a solution to your streaky highlights, you must know why they turned out that way. Why do you need to know that?

Most importantly, so you don’t make the same mistakes next time around.

 

That is the visual effect of streaky highlights.

 

It’s a common problem when you don’t have the right experience and prior knowledge to do highlights correctly.

The thing is that the most important part of doing highlights is making sure that the colors turn out harmonious and perfectly mixed. This applies both to your hair’s bleached areas, which will turn into the highlights, and the rest of your hair, meaning your base color.

 

 If you bleach thick sections of your hair, you won’t get the color mixing effect, and the contrast between your highlights and your base color will be too strong. 

For example:

That way, the tones in your hair will be harmonious and not overly contrasting.

 

You can do highlights two different ways:

 

Usually, streaky highlights happen when you use aluminum foil because you separate thicker hair areas than you need to. So then, when you bleach your hair, and the highlights turn out too light, you lose the fresh, harmonious nature of this technique.

 

The areas of hair your separate out shouldn’t be wider than 2-3 millimeters.

If your highlights turned out streaky, it’s probably because each area of hair you separated was more like half an inch to an inch.

Now you know why your highlights turned out streaky, let’s get you out of your sea of tears. Let’s look at the solution.

 

How to choose and use the right dye for fixing streaky highlights

Like I told you initially, the solution is to use a dye on your roots that is the same color as your base color and always apply that dye using a rat tail comb. And I’ll tell you more about that last piece in a few minutes.

What is your base color?

 

Your base color is the color your hair is without bleaching it.

For example:

 

 That way, all your hair will be even, and the beginning of your highlights at your roots will disappear, just leaving the part below your ears. 

So, you won’t lose the highlights’ lightening effect, but you can hide the streakiest part – which is right at your roots.

Once you know your base color, what do you need to fix streaky highlights?

 

 

Materials:

 

Steps by step:

• Part your hair down the middle so you can see your roots while you use the dye.
• Mix the bottle of peroxide with the tube of dye in a plastic container until you get a smooth, thick cream.
• Use the dye on your roots, combing it downward with the rat tail comb.
• Then, separate another area of hair, use the dye on the roots there, then comb, repeating this all the way around your head.
• Once you’ve finished with the dye, leave it in for 40 minutes.
• Once that time has gone by, rinse your hair, and then use the post-color treatment.