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Highlights for Dark Hair

Ningthoujam Sandhyarani
A woman's most lovely feature, has got to be her hair. A lot of us don't realize just how powerful a great haircut is, especially when it's colored and styled to perfection. Whether sectional or freehand, highlights lend hair an appeal that can never go stale.

Not such a fad, after all!

Highlighting hair is a trend that's been around right from the 1960s (considered a fad trend at the time), evolving over time as hairstylists put their own spin on the technique.
Today, we have all sorts of ways that hair can be colored using conventional hair dye hues, to bold shades in every possible color.
Highlighting hair came into being in the 1960s, where the ombré trend was the hippest hair coloring technique in the 1970s.
It is now back with a bang, with many women sporting this much-coveted style, where hair has a mix of dark and light tones, to give it a gradually-colored, sexy, yet natural look.
For those of you with dark tresses, there's so much you can do with color. Because the base is dark, light colors will pop in a flattering manner without looking garish.
The important thing to remember is, choose a color that complements your skin tone, since that will determine just how good the result will look.
Follow this rule - medium-light and dark hair dye colors go with dark skin tones, where those with cool/fair skin tones usually have it better, since they can choose practically any hair color.
Speak to a professional hairstylist from a reputed salon if you don't have a clue about how to pick a color; he/she will have valuable feedback and advice about what to do.

Types of Highlighting Techniques
There are all sorts of things that a hairstylist experiments with while coloring hair, with the most common technique being the hair-foil method.
Many of us are familiar with this way of coloring hair - one's mane is parted into sections and then placed against the surface of a tin foil, as hair is carefully slathered with a color mix, and then packed into place as the foil is gently folded.
Another technique practiced is by using a highlighting cap, where a plastic or rubber skullcap is placed over one's head, as hair is carefully pulled through the punctured holes, using a pick.
While both ways are effective, they can leave hair looking artificial and bland in appearance. That's because hair has been colored using a sectional maneuver, making the result look generic and passé.
A favorite highlighting technique that's slowly finding its way to many salons (especially high-end), is the balayage highlighting technique. It's where large, chunky sections of hair are colored, using freehand, light-to-dark/dark-to-light highlights, that look so natural, it's an eye-popping beauty to look upon.
It also lends a dramatic dimension of sorts to one's tresses, giving any hairstyle a beautiful finish, even if left loose and tousled. You can see how well this works for celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker and Rose Byrne, and models Gisele Bundchen and Erin Wasson.
The technique is more freehand than sectional, where hairstylists use a paddle brush to achieve that uber chic chunky-highlights effect. If there's one technique you need to try, it's definitely this one. You'll have to do a bit of research about which salons practice this way of coloring hair, before paying a visit to one.

Highlights for Dark Hair

Gold-Blond

Fierce Red

Ash Blond
There are so many colors that you can combine to produce a result that is stupefying and pretty. This is also a great technique to use to help cover grays, since hairstylists can spot-color these areas while dyeing sections of hair. Don't drench your tresses in a single color, since it can look artificial; unless the color used is soft and not bright.