Do Highlights Damage or Ruin Your Hair?

Professional hair stylists hear this question all the time, and the answer is not as clear as you might think. There are many contributing factors: pre-care, the application process, the drama of your color change, the salon you choose and the aftercare you invest in. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most pertinent issues relating to highlighted hair and damage, so that you have the knowledge you need to protect your hair.

Do Highlights Ruin Your Hair?

Almost every decision you make about your hair will have an impact on its health. It may surprise you to learn that 9 out of 10 women do something damaging to their hair every single day. This can include:

• Tying hair tightly.
• Brushing too roughly.
• Dyeing.
• Highlighting.
• Heat styling without adequate protection.
• Exposure to UV rays.
• Exposure to pollution.
• Chemical treatments.

Highlights absolutely can have a negative effect on your hair if you don’t take the right steps. At Indulge Salon, we prioritize the health of your hair and will ensure your hair is taken care of before teaching you how to continue that care at home. This way, we can prevent long-lasting damage such as breakage, weakness and dullness, and maintain the beautiful, highlighted look you desire.

The reason that highlights have the potential to damage your hair is that they strip your hair of its natural pigment. This can have the side effect of altering the balance of natural oils and proteins in your hair, depleting the factors that can give your hair a healthy shine. You might notice your hair becomes dry, brittle or frizzy after highlighting, but there are ways to mitigate this and to repair any existing damage.

Pre-Treatments Can Strengthen the Hair Shaft

An effective way to prevent the damage caused by highlighting is to harness the power of a pre-treatment that works on the hair from the inside outwards. Bond-building treatments work deep in the hair shaft to strengthen each strand and protect it from the drying effects of highlights.

Whether you want balayage or baby-lights, your stylist can mix the right amount of pre-treatment to protect your hair as the highlighter develops. They will then follow up with a bond-stabilizer after rinsing out the lightener, which will further strengthen your hair and rebalance the pH level after coloring.

After a good shampoo and conditioner, your hair will be ready for the next stage of styling, with strong and healthy highlights.

Blonde Without the Bleach?

It’s absolutely fine to want to explore lighter shades for your hair and equally want to avoid bleach. Bleach is undeniably a cause of damage to hair and takes a lot of looking after to maintain the best condition of your hair after treatment.

Luckily, there is a range of products that can lighten hair to different degrees without the chemical nature of bleach. For example, Koleston Perfect’s Special Blondes palette aims to lighten and tone the hair in a single step while maintaining natural beauty and a stunning shine.

Personalized color results are our specialty – we want you to feel magnificent in your color, so use your consultation as an opportunity to explore the options available to you, whether that involves bleach lightening or it’s something you want to stay away from.

Put Space into Your Color Schedule

A good way to avoid damaging your hair is to take your time with color change. Of course, you want to achieve your end-product look, but rushing from A to Z is sure to increase your risk of dry and damaged hair. If your hair is dark, you shouldn’t expect to see full lightening after just one session – and don’t book your subsequent session too soon, either.

Your stylist will advise you on how many sessions will likely be needed to achieve your final look and advise on how long to leave between highlights to maximize the health of your hair. Regrowth will start to become visible between seven and eight weeks after an initial appointment, so this is the minimum time we’d ask you to consider between highlighting appointments.

Combined with a stringent pre-color routine and after-care treatment, you should expect to have a beautiful, ultra-natural head of hair no matter how far along your color journey you are.

Care for Your Highlights at Home

Consider these tips to care for your highlights between appointments:

• Reduce how often you Wash Your Hair: This may sound counterintuitive (of course, you want clean and shiny hair!), but overwashing can reduce the natural oils in your hair that protect the scalp from irritation and the hair from damage.
• Choose Your Hair Towel Carefully: Traditional towels pull at the hair when drying and can increase frizz, so we encourage the use of a microfiber towel. These are gentler on hair, whether it is highlighted or not and can actually dry your hair faster than traditional towels.
• Reduce Heat Styling: Blow dryers, flat irons and curling irons on high heat can all exacerbate the problems of dryness and brittleness brought about by highlighting. Reduce the frequency of heat styling, reduce the temperature you style with, and choose high-quality heat-protecting products.
• Invest in a Silk Pillowcase: Cotton pillowcases can contribute to frizz and dryness, so consider switching to silk, which will allow your hair to slide over it as you sleep. This can reduce tangles and breakage, as well as reduce dryness.
• Listen to Your Stylist’s Recommendations on Hair Products: At Indulge Salon, we have extensive knowledge of the right products to support happy and healthy hair. If you have questions, talk to your stylist and ask all the questions you need to understand your haircare.

Conclusion

In summary, highlights can cause damage to your hair, but it’s not a forgone conclusion that they will ruin or irreparably damage it. There are many steps you can take to protect your hair prior to the highlighting process, and at Indulge Salon, you can be reassured that your stylist will take every possible step to reduce and prevent damage during your color treatment journey.

We have the knowledge and expertise to teach you how to take the best care of your highlighted hair, so that it can be the crowning glory you deserve without the damage that is so often associated with highlighting.