Seems like a no-brainer, but remember to read the directions on the box carefully. "There are years of research behind these at-home colors, so they should be executed in the way they were intended. Go by the guidelines. Don't take matters into your own hands," O'Conner says.
Image via Imaxtree
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Practice Before You Paint
To master the art of highlighting your own hair, Cona recommends practicing with your highlighting tools the day before you highlight. "Replace the highlighting product with conditioner, and practice your application on dry hair. It is a great way to get comfortable with the tools, and placement of your highlights," she says.
Don't rush into adding highlights. You can always add more if you decide you like them. The easiest area to add highlights to (and the area that will look most natural and similar to Jessica Alba's look at left) is around your face and crown. If you've highlighted your hair several times, you can experiment with more, but start off slow, O'Connor says.
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Section Hair Before You Apply Bleach
Look at your hair and pick out the pieces you think you'd like to highlight. O'Connor recommends pulling them out and clipping them aside to isolate them. Then secure the rest of your hair into a ponytail. Release the sections you clipped out of the way one by one and paint them. If you're worried about getting the bleach on the hair you don't want to highlight, place a piece of a paper towel under each section after applying the bleach.
Image via Imaxtree
Highlights can add dimension to hair and give it a gorgeous sun-kissed effect when done correctly, but a few missteps can make you look skunk-like or worse. Thanks to experts Rona O'Conner, celebrity colorist and co-owner of the Lukaro salon in Beverly Hills, Calif. and Marcy Cona, Clairol Global Creative Director of Color and Style we got the scoop on how to successfully highlight hair at home — read on to see their tips.
