Hair Care

Master At-Home Highlights With These Tricks

Coloring hair at home can be inexpensive and time saving, but also tricky, so follow these tips to avoid disaster

by Kristen Oldham Giordani

12 of 18

Watch Your Highlights Develop As soon as you're done painting on your highlights, keep a close watch on them to make sure they're not getting lighter than you want them. "The best way to check your highlights as they develop is to use a white paper towel, and wipe off your product, using a water bottle, and dry the strands to check the development. If you need more lighting action, reapply your lighteners," Cona says.

Warning: "99.9 percent of the time women with lighter eyes will have highlights that develop faster," O'Connor says. She suggests sticking to the time recommended on the box, but checking the color two minutes before the recommended removal time. If you're extra nervous about how they'll turn out, check them five minutes before. If the color looks the way you want it to look, they're ready.

Image via Imaxtree

SEE NEXT PAGE: Touch Up Your Highlights With Care

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Older comments

You can give yourself highlights or a color weave using foil, just like the salon. It's easy to get professional results, especially if you have a friend to help. There is a great photo tutorial on line at Poppy's Money Tree House

by Poppy Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 02:02PM Report as inappropriate

i want to try this but am a little nerveous.

by lharrell80 Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 11:30AM Report as inappropriate

I think im going to try this out~

by gaej19 Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at 02:40PM Report as inappropriate

The cap definitely works best on thin, short/medium hair. I've used it on my long, thick hair, but my hair gets super tangled. Finger painting is probably the easiest. Yeah, you'll get a little dye on the rest of your hair, but not enough for it to be a big deal if you're just doing subtle highlights.

by LipglossandSpandex Monday, April 18, 2011 at 08:30PM Report as inappropriate

where's garnier??

by Bon_Bon Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 06:05PM Report as inappropriate

whatever happened to sun-in?

by LittleBunny Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 07:27PM Report as inappropriate