A foil highlighting treatment lets you enhance your natural color without making a dramatic change. Naturally blending a lighter hue into your tresses can brighten your look, but these highlights require regular upkeep so they're looking their best.
Foil Highlights: The Basics
Using foils to highlight your hair gives your stylist extreme precision. Using this technique, the stylist can apply color to your hair root or ends, allowing you to touch up existing highlights, create ombre hair color or lighten or darken specific sections of your hair.
Immediate After-Care Tips
After a foil highlighting treatment, you have two goals: protecting the new hair color and nourishing your tresses. Don't wash your hair for about 24 hours after a foil highlighting session -- this delay will give the hair color time to be fully absorbed into each strand.
The first time you do wash your freshly highlighted hair, follow with a deep conditioning mask, which you leave on your damp, clean tresses for about 10 minutes. This treatment, which you can perform at home, can help restore any moisture loss that occurred during the chemical treatment.
Long-Term Maintenance and Care
You'll need to change up your hair care routine after getting foil highlights. Use products that extend the life of your hair color; cut back on those products and styling tricks that promote fading.
Cleansing and Conditioning
Use a shampoo and conditioner designed especially for color-treated hair. These products are infused with pH-balanced ingredients that make your color last. Plus, you can enjoy the nourishment of vitamins and minerals packed into these formulas.
Styling Tips
While you might not be able to ditch heat-styling tools entirely, minimizing their use is a simple way to gently care for your highlights. Blow dryers, flat irons and curling irons don't just damage your hair -- the heat can also fade your foil highlights. When you do have to use heat-styling tools, spray a heat protectant on your strands beforehand.
Sun Protection
While the sun might naturally lighten your hair, it can also damage foil-highlighted color. The sun can oxidize your highlights, resulting in unwanted shades. Using a color-correcting shampoo once a week can soften brassy or coppery undertones.
Highlight Upkeep
A few minor changes to your hair care routine can make those highlights last:
- Water temperature: Wash your hair with lukewarm, rather than scalding hot, water. Hot water is more likely to strip the color right off your strands.
- Shampoo frequency: To reduce fading, skip daily shampooing. Use a dry shampoo in between to soak up oil and improve shine.
- Chlorine: Avoid swimming in chlorinated pools when you can. If you do take a dip, wet your tresses and spray them with a leave-in conditioner before diving in.