If you like your color but are feeling a little too one-dimensional or if you are feeling too light overall, we’ve created this easy-peasy tutorial to adding low lights to your hair. Pro Tip: For first timers, it will take a little practice getting the hang of “painting” the color onto your hair on a foil. Use conditioner in the place of hair color and follow the steps below until you get the hang of it! So here we go…
What you’ll need:
- 1 box Natural Instincts
- Hair color foils (they are easier to use than regular aluminum foil since they are a thinner weight)
- Hair color brush and bowl
- 4 plastic clips
- Rat-tail comb
- Dark towels
- Timer
Step 1: Determine what level (degree of lightness to darkness) you hair is.
Step 2: Pick your low light shade. Keeping in mind your current color, choose a shade that is 2 shades DARKER with golden tone. The golden tone will safeguard your hair from turning an off-tone just in case your hair is porous and/or damaged.
Step 3: Using a rat-tail comb, create a center part down the middle of your head. You’ll use this as a guide for placing low lights.
Step 4: Mix the liquid from the color bottle and developer bottle into the bowl, stirring with the brush.
Step 5: Take a thin section of hair no more than 1/8 of an inch wide along your center part and put a foil under it. Until you are an old pro at this, stick to placing the low lights on to the top surface of your hair, along both sides of your part. If you feel like you have the hang of it, then you can try doing a section underneath the top layer for even more dimension.
Step: 6: With that free hand, dip your brush into the color and paint it down the strand starting near the scalp, running it down to the end. Be careful not to put too much color on the brush!
Step 7: Fold the foil. Repeat this process moving along your part line to the back of the head leaving ¾ to 1-inch space between each foil. You should end up with about 4 foils per side for a total of 8.
Step 8: Set the timer for 10 minutes…Pour yourself a glass of milk!
Step 9: When time’s up, remove all foils and immediately rinse out the color.
Step 10: Apply conditioner all over to seal in color and shine.
Here, we’re using Natural Instincts because it is a demi-permanent color that doesn’t lighten hair. It can only deposit color and that’s what you want to achieve a low light effect – darker pieces that don’t lighten. Keep in mind that demi-permanent color will gradually fade away since it is not a permanent color. If you like your results, you’ll need to do this again after 20-28 shampoos.
