Highlights vs Lowlights: What's the Difference?

When researching professional hair coloring services, you may come across highlights and lowlights. Neither of them are full coloring services. Rather, highlights and lowlights only target some of your hair. Some of sections of your hair will be colored, whereas others will remain uncolored. While highlights and lowlights are similar in this regard, however, they aren't the same. To learn more about highlights and lowlights and how they differ, keep reading.

What Are Highlights?

Highlights is a partial hair coloring service that involves the application of a brightening coloring agent to sections of your hair. The coloring agent typically consists of pigment mixed with hydrogen peroxide. It's specifically designed to brighten your hair.

When getting highlights, a professional stylist will wrap sections of your hair in foil. He or she will then apply the coloring agent to the surrounding hair. The foil essentially protects the other sections of your hair from being exposed to the coloring agent.

What Are Lowlights?

Lowlights is a partial hair coloring service that's designed to create darker sections of hair. Like traditional highlights, it involves the use of a coloring agent. With that said, lowlights uses a darkening coloring agent -- and that's what distinguishes it from traditional highlights.

Highlights create a lighter color for the treated sections of hair. In comparison, lowlights create a darker color for the treated sections of hair. They both involve the application of a coloring agent, as well as foil, but they are used for different purposes.

Benefits of Highlights

You can take advantage of highlights to lift your hair's natural color. The highlighted sections will enhance your hair's natural color. If your hair needs a visual lift, look no further no highlights.

Highlights are also easy to maintain. Since it doesn't expose all of your hair to the coloring agent, you don't have to worry about your roots showing. Even as your hair grows, the highlighted sections will continue to project a uniform and natural appearance.

Benefits of Lowlights

Lowlights offer similar benefits. They can lift your hair's natural color while requiring little or no work to maintain. Depending on your natural hair color, in fact, lowlights may prove even better than highlights.

Lowlights are designed to create darker sections of hair. If your natural hair color is light brown, for example, you can get lowlights in a dark brown color. The dark brown-colored sections will then enhance the appearance of your natural hair.