Brunette Foiling Tips: Create Elevated, Rich Tones Fast

Achieve Seamless, Dimensional Brunettes With These Foiling Tips

Creating luxurious brunettes that balance rich tones with highlights that pop is an art and a science. In this “Next-Level Brunettes” breakdown from BTC University and TRUSS Professional Global Ambassador and #ONESHOT Winner Marina Sellecchia (@colorbymarina) learn strategic sectioning and foil placement to create cohesive ribbons of dimension to bring any brunette from everyday to extraordinary.

Watch Next-Level Brunettes with @colorbymarina—click here to join BTC University for a year for ONLY $99!

This 5-Section Technique Will Elevate Any Brunette Color

To begin, Marina sprays her client’s hair with the TRUSS Professional Stop Damage | No Metal Protect Fluid to replenish amino acids lost during the lightening process and remove any impurities from the hair.

Marina’s 5-section technique. Marina uses the same 5-section technique on every client—these precise sections allow room to customize placement while ensuring a connected blend from front to back. This technique also allows for a reliable grow-out, allowing clients to go six months to one year between sessions while maintaining a luxe lived-in look.

Placement Hot Tip: Don’t neglect the back of the head. Marina says this area is just as important as the front, especially when the hair is pulled forward. The foils at the nape connect the front money piece section to the back, allowing everything to flow cohesively. 

Struggling to navigate cowlicks and natural parts? Watch Marina’s demo to tackle those challenging areas like a pro:

Common Lightening Mistakes When Adding Dimension To Brunettes

Marina says brunette clients want highlights and dimension—they don’t want to be blonde. Over-foiling is the most common mistake made when adding dimension, so Marina breaks down how to create intentional depth between foils to give highlights a base to pop against a rich brunette backdrop.

To create her highlights, Marina combines TRUSS Professional blanc.blonde and TRUSS Professional air.libre lightening powders. The blanc.blonde has blue pigments to neutralize warm undertones, can lift up to seven Levels and contains repairing ingredients like collagen and lanolin. The air.libre is a freehand lightener formulated with vegan collagen that conditions and protects, boosting hair health. 

Master brunettes by avoiding these two common client complaints:

4 Tips for Creating Dimension Every Brunette Client Wants

1. Use a board:

Marina uses a board during her application to perfect her placement: This allows her to control the saturation, apply maximum tension on the hair and minimize slippage. 

2. Avoid harsh transitions at the root:

Marina’s signature technique for creating a blended ribbon effect is to apply the lightener generously from the mid-shaft down first, then feather up toward the face on a diagonal. This placement allows the highlights to gradually blend and create controlled warmth at the root without leaving a harsh line.

3. Use wider weaves:

Using wider weaves allows for larger, more defined sections of highlights that create a ribbon effect while maintaining the richness of the brunette base. 

4. Create your blend in the foil:

Don’t rely on a color melt to fix or blend your look. When toners and color melts fade, the original placement and blend remain—make sure the foil work is solid from the start so your ribbons of dimension stay intact.

Click here to watch the full class on BTC University!