Summertime isn’t the only season to long for highlights that have been bathed in sunlight. However, for those of us whose natural hair color is closer to that of Morticia Adams, it may seem unachievable to lighten our jet-black hair without going overboard, but that idea couldn’t be further from the reality. Highlights added to black hair looks as gorgeous as it can be.
Celebrity hairstylist Julius Michael claims that the notion that black hair is uninteresting is the largest myth. “Black hair can remove years from a person’s appearance; it’s seductive and powerful!” A darker base can look just as amazing with highlights as blonde or brunette hair, despite what the general public believes.
It all comes down to controlling your expectations before diving in. You’ll achieve the elusive balance between skin tone, base color, and highlight shade in this manner. Before getting on the highlight train, we asked colorists Rita Hazan and George Papanikolas, as well as Michael, to share all the information they wished their black-haired clients knew.
Meet an expert
- Julius Michael is a famous hair stylist who works with Real Housewives cast members among her clientele.
- George Papanikolas is a famous colorist from The Matrix. He splits his time between New York City and Los Angeles.
- Rita Hazan is a colorist and hair stylist. Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and Mariah Carey are among her clientele.
For five professional-approved methods for getting black hair with highlights, scroll down.
The Secret Is Preparation
Taking a few proactive steps to whip your hair into shape ahead of your appointment will pay dividends in both shine and vibrancy.
“About a week before your highlighting appointment, it’s good to get rid of build-up with a clarifying shampoo…which will deep clean and remove build-up without stripping natural oils,”
states Papanikolas. In order to remove those dry, dead ends prior to your color treatment, he also suggests giving your hair a quick trim.
Hazan’s advice:
“Just condition, condition, condition.”
When it comes to strengthening hair for highlights, there is never too much conditioning. She advises using masks that deeply hydrate.
Choose Your Look Before You Begin
Given the range of jet-black hair, you’ll need to decide if you want a look or a look.
“If your hair is black or dyed black, it’s a dramatic color and can be very rock-and-roll,”
Hazan states
“I would pick one or two thick pieces and lighten it as much as I could, depending on the haircut and style, to give it an edge.”
That being said, it’s also acceptable if you prefer soft, warm tones.
Choose the Best Highlighting Shades for Yourself
“The best tones on black hair tend to be caramels and lighter browns,”
states Papanikolas. The color can be changed to a warmer or cooler tone to find the shade that best suits your skin tone. Papanikolas cautions against going lighter than four shades lighter than your base color, saying that this can quickly veer into a dramatic look that
“can look harsh and create too much contrast.”
Hazan advises avoiding anything in the very light to dark blonde range to keep hair vibrant and healthy because it can cause breakage.
“You can’t just go from black to blonde in one shot,” she says. “It’s a very long and possibly damaging process.”
Papanikolas says that the best course of action is to focus on your darker tones and strive for lighter, creamy highlights to give your skin a more glow and dimension. The red and orange undertones present in most black hair are accentuated by softer, more natural-looking highlights; however, these brassy tones can be readily countered by using an ash-based hair toner.
George Papanikolas, celebrity colorist for the Matrix
When it comes to black hair, I adore using highlights as a way to draw attention to the ends, the natural portion, and the face.
—George Papanikolas, celebrity colorist for The Matrix
Recall That Black Hair Has Its Boundaries
“Black is a tricky base color to give any highlights,”
Michael explains to us. But if you’re looking for a complete makeover, Michael advises taking a cautious approach, which will typically require multiple sessions.
Another problem with adding highlights to dark tones is that they lose their vibrancy.
“Black hair reflects the light best, and over time, you will lose some of that gorgeous shine,”
Michael clarifies. Nonetheless, keeping a rigorous maintenance schedule is one workaround.
“Glosses keep the color fresh, and you can do these treatments at home two to three times a week,”
says Hazan.
Observe Your High Points
Use color-preserving products, such as the acid-based shampoo Matrix Total Results Keep Me Vivid, and refrain from washing your hair every day, as is the case with all color-treated hair. In doing so, the fragile toner molecules are preserved and the cuticle is sealed. In order to keep shine, you should also use a deep conditioner designed to balance red tones. This conditioner will work twice as hard as usual.