Avoid Spotty & Uneven Lowlights With These Hacks

Placement & Application Techniques To Get Rich, Blended Lowlights EVERY Time

As the weather cools down and lowlight season approaches, be prepared when your blonde clients ask to be taken to the dark(er) side! Lowlights are a versatile way to transition blondes darker or add dimensional tones without the commitment to lightener or permanent colors. 

Read up on pro tips from Samantha Harman (@samanthasbeautyconfessions) to avoid muddy and uneven lowlights that will have your books filled for the cold season ahead.

Three Ways To Ensure Even Lowlights: 

• Use a board to apply color

Painting against a hard surface makes it easy to evenly saturate color into the hair.

• Keep lowlights off of the ends

As we know, the ends of the hair are the most porous. Eliminate splotchy color, especially on blondes, by avoiding bringing color down through the ends.

• Double up on foils

Lay a second foil flat on top of your first instead of folding it in half. You’ll find that this helps eliminate transfer marks and lines of demarcation.

Pro Tip: Samantha preps the hair with Joico Defy Damage Pro-Series 1 Spray as a pre-treatment before using LumiShine™ Demi-Permanent Liquid Color in 4N and 5N for these gorg lowlights:

 

 

 

 

 

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Placement Tips For A Natural Gradient

If you think about it, lowlighting is a lot like contouring. Lowlights create a shadow for lighter tones to pop, emphasizing dimension and creating movement in the hair. 

When you keep that in mind, lowlight placement becomes super important to create a natural gradient by emphasizing the right sections of hair. Samantha says, “I only pull my lowlights half to three-quarters of the way down (always deeper in the crown) to create dimension without darkening the ends.”

Pro Tip: When you need to cover gray before lowlighting, Samantha uses Joico LUMI10™ Permanent Creme Color to quickly process the roots before glossing. The 10-minute processing time makes routine maintenance like gray coverage a breeze to allow for more detailed work like low lighting.

RELATED: 10-Minute Foiling & Gray Coverage Tips

Ready to try Joico color? Get your own FREE sample kit here!

Adding Lowlights To Blonde Hair 

This can be an intimidating request for the mere fact that blondes love to stay blonde! When a client is in need of dimension but scared they will lose their bright blonde, use these tips for a subtle but visible difference.

• Always use a demi-permanent color

Using demi-permanent color is a lifesaver for indecisive clients AND gives you major control over processing time and tonal ranges. 

• Use two formulas for a natural gradient

Match the first formula to your client’s natural color and paint from the root to the midshaft. The second formula will be 1-2 levels lighter than the first and blended onto the midshaft and through the ends.  

• Apply root color at an angle

Doing this will create a halo effect for dimension and movement for the perfect lived-in look. 

Pro Tip: ONLY paint the second formula through the ends every 2-3 foils! Samantha says, “Every single highlight should have a lowlight in between but not every lowlight will be pulled all the way through.⁣” 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by HAIRSTYLIST | EDUCATOR (@samanthasbeautyconfessions)

Products Used

Haircare

Defy Damage Pro-Series 1

Joico

Demi-Permanent Color

LumiShine™ Demi-Permanent Liquid Color

Joico

Gray Coverage

LUMI10™