Hair Help! How often should I do highlights?

Hair Help! How often should I have my highlights done?

This week’s Hair Help question comes once again from my client Desirie.

“Hey pro… I know it’s only Tuesday but I need Hair Help now (and an appointment). How do I continue to have even highlights once my hair starts growing out? How often should I be doing my highlights? I hate when my hair starts growing out and it looks two toned. My hairdresser hates it too she just stares at the top of my hair like really… You have waited this long to come to me? I don’t know what to do please help!”

Thank you girlfriend for supporting my website and providing me with Wednesday Hair Help questions. Desirie did follow up and make an appointment to even up her hair color and highlights, but it is a valid question that I do get asked a lot, especially on double processed heads. And by the way, her hairstylist does have a staring problem.

Double processed hair color, isn’t just the bleaching and toning of years past. Most heads have more than one color and process done to create the unique hair colors and styles that have depth and shine seen today. Desirie, as do I, color the base color a dark blonde and highlight over it.  I have more gray hair (as seen in the picture, thanks Mom), therefore my base of color takes on a slightly different shade than Desirie’s because her hair is naturally a shade darker. So much information-I know-I am getting to the point, which is, a dark blonde on me, will look different on someone else.

Unfortunately, maintaining that color is not easy, especially if your hair grows super fast like mine does. Average rates of hair growth vary, depending on many different factors, such as age, season, health, pregnancy and most of all DNA. I need to touch up my regrowth-not roots-we aren’t trees, every two weeks. I do so with just my base color as repeat highlighting is not recommended every two weeks, even if you just do the regrowth.

So, what hair help is to be offered?

• Always have your hair touched up by a licensed professional who will apply the dye to the regrowth area without overlapping onto the existing highlights. When you color your hair at home with a box, you will miss spots and inevitably cover the highlights you have paid good money for.
• Use hair mascara on the regrowth in between salon appointments, as it is a temporary fix that won’t affect the highlights.
• Highlight every other color appointment and a professional colorist will only highlight the regrowth so not to damage the tips further.
• Every year and a half or so, make your hair one color to give it a break, then go back to highlighting. It is nice to change colors once in a while and give the hair a rest from over processing.

I hope this answers your hair help question. If you need hair help or any other beauty or skin care advice you would like to see featured here, please fill out the contact form or reach me on Facebook. Answers may  remain anonymous if you like.

Happy Styling!

©Deirdre Haggerty, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this article may be reproduced without prior written permission and consent from the author.