Lucy Hale, Jenna Dewan Tatum and Lauren Conrad are all #hairgoals, thanks to their uber-talented hairstylist, Kristin Ess. And now, Kristin has revealed how to DIY hair highlights on The Beauty Department (a website she co-founded where professional glam squad girls share their wealth of knowledge).
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Here are some of the ‘highlights’ we picked up from her guide:
#1 Don’t go overboard
We shouldn’t go too crazy. “I don’t recommend doing more than a little face frame highlight around the front because by doing more than that you could easily lose control and things could go very, very wrong,” Kristin says.
Image via The Beauty Department
#2 Safety first
Kristin stresses safety. You’ll need to get a bleach kit to do DIY hair highlights, so it’s important to be careful. She says to follow the allergy test instructions on the box, wear protective clothing and pop on some gloves to keep the bleach away from your eyes and skin.
#3 Grab a spoolie
Kristin suggests one brush for bleaching and one brush for blending. You should have an application brush in the bleach kit and for the second brush, Kristin suggests a spoolie (like the ones you use on your brows).
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#4 Have your hair styled
Before you start sectioning off parts of your hair, Kristin advises that you style and part it like you would on any usual day. This way, you can “see where the lighter pieces should fall with the way [you] normally wear it.” She also recommends that the size of each sectioned-off piece to highlight be no bigger than a shoelace.
#4 Apply from the middle
We should be applying the bleach from the middle of the strand to the end. “Anything higher than that could end up on your skin, or on other hair you don’t want to get bleach on, like your brows,” Kristin tells Allure. “I feel like almost anyone can do a controlled section, but I truly feel that it takes a professional colourist to go above that. And if your hair is shorter than a lob, you should go into see a professional. Once you start getting up toward the root you can really mess up doing it yourself.”
Have you ever tried doing DIY hair highlights? Would you give this a try?
