Highlight Shade Options For Brunettes
Depending on factors such as their age and hairstyle, brunettes have a variety of color shades to choose from when highlighting their hair.
For brunettes, highlighting is an excellent alternative to changing the entire hair color. Highlighting provides a change in appearance that is not too drastic, yet easily noticeable. When choosing the proper shade to highlight their hair, brunettes should keep in mind several factors. These factors include their age, the shade of brunette they are, and their current hairstyle.
Younger brunettes tend to prefer highlighting their hair a shade of platinum blonde or wine red. This is only acceptable for those in their mid-teens through their mid-twenties, since after that such a noticeable shade of highlighted color can look too brassy. It is recommended that lighter shades of blonde should be restricted to those who have lighter brown hair to provide a subtle contrast. Likewise, darker shades of red look better on those who have darker brown hair. Young brunettes may make a rebellious beauty choice by deciding to highlight their hair shades of pink or blue, but this does not do justice to their brunette hair color it is, in this case, best to stick to platinum or wine red if a drastic change is desired. A natural alternative that lighter brunettes have to using actual hair color would be to work lemon juice through the hair in a comb-like motion with the fingers, and then expose the hair to sunlight for about a half-hour to an hour, letting the lemon juice bring out blonde highlights.
For those younger brunettes who choose to highlight their hair shades of platinum or wine red, they should take note that these shades look best on brunettes with shorter hair especially hair with lots of choppy layers. These extreme highlights combine with those types of hairstyles to create a sassy, unique style. Alternatively, for younger brunettes who wish to be a bit more subtle, honey blond highlights are a wise choice. This shade of blonde works well with both lighter and darker shades of brunette hair, as well as for those who have hair that is shoulder-length or longer. Younger brunettes also have the option of highlighting their hair a lighter shade of red that is leaning more towards auburn, which again works for both lighter and darker shades of shorter or longer brunette hair. No matter what shade of highlights younger brunettes choose, it is important to know that highlights look best on hair that is layered, because the layers add dimension to the highlights, thus making them more noticeable.
Brunettes that are past their mid-twenties should stick to more subtle shades of highlighting as well. Besides honey blonde and auburn highlights, an interesting highlighting idea that has been seen more often is highlighting the hair a lighter shade of brown. For example, a person with dark brown hair could choose to highlight their hair a caramel color of brown, thus providing a unique contrast. It should be noted that, regardless of the age the brunette is, if a lighter shade of blonde is the chosen color to highlight one s hair, the hair will most likely need to be stripped with peroxide first. If the hair is not previously stripped with peroxide, the hair that is being highlighted blonde will turn either a reddish or orange color, because darker hair color pigment is harder to highlight a lighter color.
After a suitable highlighting color has been selected, the final decision to make is in regards to selecting the width of the sections of hair the brunette wishes to highlight. As a general guideline, it is best not to select sections of hair that are more than half an inch wide to highlight, otherwise the hair will be overly burdened with hair color. Also, there are highlighting kits that are available at most convenience stores, and while they are far less expensive than having hair highlighted at a salon, it is best to choose the latter option, because if a mistake is made in the highlighting shade, it is worth the cost to have it repaired at a salon in an efficient manner. Highlighting one s hair is the option to choose if one wants to express hair color in a creative way, and with root touch-ups every few weeks, the highlighted color can continue to provide that extra bit of beauty creativity for a long time.
By: Alison Faria
