How to fix your tiger stripe highlights at home (in only 3 steps)

at home

Did you do tiger stripe highlights awhile ago, and you’ve noticed it’s time to fix or renew them?

To do it you should pick an intermediate shade of dye between your natural tone and the tone of your previous highlights. That new color should be always two shades lighter than your natural color.
The idea is to balance out your natural hair tone, that is, the tone of your new growth with the color of your lighter stripe highlights.
You should always apply the new dye, starting from your roots, making some shorter brush strokes and other longer ones.

The most important thing to remember when your fixing your tiger stripe highlights is the new tone you’ll choose, because the idea is to blend in your growth and that the new tone will mix with the previous highlights.

Personally, tiger stripe highlights fascinate me, in dark hair just as much as with light, because by having two tones in your hair, it gives you texture and brightness, and in all cases, it’s favorable for the features of your face.

But you should know that they require a lot of maintenance—therefore, you must always keep up with your hair growth because if you don’t, the stripe highlights will look unkempt and uneven.

While I’m writing this, I’m remembering Sandra, one of my most loyal clients for many years.

Two weeks ago, she sent me a WhatsApp message that said: “Carina, S.O.S. I’ll be in the salon in 20 minutes, and I need you to help me”. The message was accompanied by the prayer hands emoji.

I knew that Sandra isn’t someone to do crazy things with her hair. It would never occur to her to bleach her hair by herself, much less anything else, so I just waited for her to arrive.

When she got to the salon, with her “national emergency” it was simply that she would be reuniting with her high school friends, in three months, for their graduation anniversary, and she didn’t want to go with her hair looking the same way as ten years ago, that is, when she finished high school.

The thing was, Sandra didn’t want a complete or abrupt change. First, because she has a classic style, and second because she didn’t want to damage the ends of her hair.

So, after attentively observing her face and hair, I said to her, “and what if we did some tiger stripe highlights to lighten up your face?”

It was if I had told her she had won the lottery—her smile flooded the salon with her perfect white teeth.

Her natural hair was a dark brown 3, so we choose to do stripe highlights in the tone of light ash blonde 8.1.

That was just the beginning of her change of look because when she returned to touch up her highlights, we looked for an intermediate tone.

Do you know why?

Because in this way, the new growth wouldn’t look unkempt, and her natural tone and the highlights would blend in naturally with the rest of her hair, like what happens with balayage.

Together we looked for the ideal tone to achieve this successful fusion between the two colors. As her natural hair is a dark brown three and her stripe highlights are done with a light ash blonde 8.1, we applied an intermediate tone, that is, a medium ash brown 5.1.

I applied that tone to her new growth in an irregular way so that it would mix with the stripe highlights that we had put in with her first visit to the salon.

When I finished, the change of look was complete—her growth had disappeared, and the new tone had fused with her tiger stripe highlights.

The next day, she sent me a photo with Whatsapp of her high school reunion, and I don’t mean to be snarky, but Sandra seemed 10 years younger than many of her old friends.

So, if you want to renew your tiger stripe highlights, stick around, because I’ll tell you:

How to choose the tone for fixing your stripe highlights
How to apply the dye to tidy up your stripes
How to keep your stripe highlights radiant for more time

After reading this, tiger stripe highlights will hold no secrets for you.

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How to choose the correct tone for fixing your tiger stripe highlights

loreal blonde range

As you’ll have realized with Sandra’s story, the most important thing for fixing your stripe highlights is the color selection.

You should always look for an intermediate tone so that your natural hair color mixes perfectly with your stripe highlights.

Why your natural color, and not the base color that you have in your dyed hair?

The reason is very simple—the tiger stripe highlights bleach from your roots, that is, from the place where your new growth comes from, and that’s where your natural color will appear.

To fix stripe highlights, you should wait until you notice your hair growth, and you should mix the two tones, finding an intermediate one.

This is because it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to always bleach the same part of your hair without staining the rest.

So, although you have dyed hair, you should apply an intermediate tone between your natural color and your stripe highlights.

If you want to cover up your tiger stripe highlights, you only need to apply a matching tone in all your hair. In this way, the stripes will disappear.

So, to pick the ideal tone, you should always start with your natural tone, and one way to not make any mistakes is to choose one that is two shades lighter.

Yes, just two tones, without paying attention to the tone of your stripe highlights.

If we go back to Sandra’s story, you’ll have noticed that in the first session, I applied a medium brown 5 to her stripe highlights, and the rest of her hair was a dark brown 3, her natural tone.

If your natural color is a brown 4, you should put in a light brown 6 tone.
If your natural hair is a light brown 6, you can go with a blonde 8.

As you can see, you should always pick two shades lighter than your natural color.

Why do I always recommend the two shades?

Because in this way, you won’t have any unpleasant contrasts, and you’ll avoid having your hair appear divided into several colors,

So, the tone selection is very important to be able to achieve a mix with your natural color, and so that the result will be harmonious.

Now that you surely have picked the perfect tone, it’s time to apply it.

How to fix your stripe highlights in 3 steps

Once you’ve identified the shade of dye that you’re going to use, you should buy the following materials:

Color kit of the tone you’ve chosen
Paintbrush

As a first step, I recommend that you take your time fixing your stripes. Because it’s still a coloring technique, and to get the results you’re hoping for, you need to act with patience and precision.

Step 1

Brush your hair so there are no knots that could bother you as you’re applying the dye
Make a middle part because in this way you’ll be able to identify well the new growth of your hair.

Step 2

Within the color kit, you’ll find a tube of dye and the developer, the two of which you should mix until they have a uniform consistency.

Step 3

Apply the dye in the shape of a line over your new hair growth, with the help of an applicator stick, and then with the paintbrush, cover the growth irregularly.
Don’t forget to cover part of your stripe highlights, because in this way you will blend in the two tones. I recommend that you do some longer brush streaks and some shorter ones.
Never slide the paintbrush in a straight line, because if you do that, you’ll leave a clear dividing line between the two colors, and that’s not something you ever want. Remember, the irregular line is very important.
Let the mix sit for 30 to 45 minutes, and after the time has passed, rinse with a lot of lukewarm water.

How to keep your tiger stripe highlights radiant

Would you wash your favorite cashmere sweater with whatever type of laundry detergent?

Of course not.

It’s the same with your stripe highlights. Always use a gentle shampoo, without sulfates, to maintain the color of your stripes for more time.
Just as you use a moisturizing cream on your face each day, you should do the same with your hair.
At least once per week, use a hair mask, which will help you avoid split ends and will moisturize your hair to prevent dryness.

And remember, this type of stripe highlights aren’t for everyone, because it’s a style that requires a lot of upkeep.

And that upkeep is always achieved by blending in new growth with an intermediate tone.

Which tone will you choose to fix your tiger stripe highlights?