Don't start right at your roots when you apply the bleach, O'Connor says, instead start a couple of inches below them. Pull the product evenly through to the ends of the section you're highlighting, then go back to the top (near your part but not all the way down to the root) and glide the product through that area. This ensures you don't get too much product on top, which can look splotchy, and that your highlights don't turn out too light on top since roots develop faster.
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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.
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Touch Up Your Highlights With Care
"Focus your second highlighting experience on your root area, or new strands to highlight. Try to avoid applying your highlights on top of each other, as you will lose the balance and dimension of your highlights," Cona says.
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Treat Your Strands to Keep Them Shiny
To keep your color looking shiny and vibrant after you highlight, follow up your color treatment with a clear gloss (try Clairol Shine Happy Clear Shine Treatment, $7.99). It will help lock in your color and make your hair better reflect light, O'Connor says.
If highlighting your hair is something you're new at and still working to conquer, see a professional colorist every six months or so to help balance your color and make any fixes necessary, O'Connor suggests. They will help keep your color on track so you can easily maintain it at home.
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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.
