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What is the difference between highlights and lowlights?

David Contreras • Nov 05, 2020

Looking to color your hair? With all the options out there, like full-coloring, highlights, lowlights, balayage, and more, it can be overwhelming! We can all agree, though, that a professional dye job can instantly improve our confidence . When you look good, you feel amazing! That is our philosophy at Austin’s hair color specialist My Stylist David. Our mission to improve our clients’ lives through the power of salon-quality hair styling and coloring.


If you want your beauty and confidence to shine through radiant, beautiful hair, you can trust the experience and expertise at My Stylist David. We are Austin’s premier hair color specialist and we guarantee professional highlight and lowlight services to give your hair depth and attitude. Our collective decades of experience and education, directly from celebrity stylists and industry leaders, afford us a superior ability to ensure you leave our salon with smile-worthy hair.

What are highlights?

Highlights are an effect that pop your natural hair color with a complimentary brighter tone. That can be blended in your hair in various styles and techniques, like ombre or balayage, but essentially they are worn to pop your hair color! Highlight hair involves 


If you want to rock a whole new level of confidence with radiant hair you’re obsessed with, you’ll wish to have the professional hair coloring team at My Stylist David to mix a color perfect for your hair tones. 


So, what are highlights?


  • Strands of your hair are colored lighter than your natural color

  • Sections of hair are colored from the root to the ends

  • Hair in between those sections are left alone to create that beautiful contrast

  • Highlights lighten the overall appearance of your hair


On top of all that, you have to consider how you want your hair highlighted. You can have it foiled or hand-painted, chunky highlights, or slim strands of brightened hair. Regardless of what you do, you can county on highlights to give you the sun-kissed allure you desire from professional highlighting services. 

What are lowlights?

Lowlights are another coloring effect that brings volume and depth into your hair. Stylists achieve this full-bodied look by coloring strands of your hair darker than your natural hair color. Many people even use lowlights to correct for over-highlighted, damaged, or graying hair


So, what are lowlights?


  • Lowlights add dimension to your hair

  • They tone down overcolored hair

  • They disguise graying hair without coloring your whole head 


For some hair colors, though, lowlights can be tricky to achieve. This is especially true for stylish who are inexperienced hair colorists. For instance, an intense over-processed blonde or light brown hair may pose issues for green stylists. When you work with My Stylist David’s salon, though, we have collective decades of experience lowlighting for every hair color imaginable.

Why not both?

Highlights and lowlights don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Many stylists apply both for maximum effect! The secret behind many of your favorite celebrity hair inspirations is that their stylists are both highlighting and lowlighting their hair. Highlights and lowlights are going to keep your hair that flare of pop and depth you will want for your luscious locks.

Get Started With My Stylist David

My Stylist David is a professional salon located in Austin, Texas. We pride ourselves on perfecting the beauty of hair styling through our superior work in hair coloring, balayage, blowouts, extensions, and more. Schedule an appointment with us for exciting and dynamic hair.

By David Contreras 20 Sep, 2021
On Christine’s hair we started by taking 4 to 6 inches off the length and giving her shorter layers. Her hair was all pretty much one length. For the hair color we did highlights, a balayage technique for the lowlights and retouched her roots to match the lowlight color and give depth and dimension.
By David Contreras 17 Mar, 2021
For both of them it had been a year, before the pandemic since they had color or a cut. On Janet’s hair the Auburn Bob Model we had already taken 4 to 5 inches off even in her before photo. Racquel as well with the violet highlights we had taken 5 to 6 inches off in her before also. Janet let me choose her color but Racquel knew exactly what she wanted and made the perfect choice…
By David Contreras 04 Mar, 2021
Obviously lighting makes a difference. Amy decided to go red after retirement and we cleaned up her Classic Graduated Bob cut and style. I would have to say Amy looks good in whatever hair color she wears but she wanted a change and red it is for her new chapter in life. The darker red is the same color only taken indoors with different lighting and obviously less direct sunlight. In person it is beautiful in either light but on print it is more vibrant in the sunlight.
By David Contreras 26 Jan, 2021
So Shelli came in to the salon after being isolated due to Covid where she pulled her hair up into a pony tail and went CHOP! Created somewhat of a mullet and needless to say she attempted the color which dried her hair out. Shown are her before and our first and most resent attempt to work with what she had done. It is coming along beautifully!
By David Contreras 06 Oct, 2020
On Mary’s hair we did some fine highlights, we did dimensional lowlights to match her base color and then we toned the highlights with an iridescent ash. When she came into the salon she had faded to an all over brassy blonde everything had washed together and she had no dimension left. As you can see we gave her dimension back.
By David Contreras 06 Oct, 2020
With Greatlengths hair extensions, the protein polymer bond method out intention on this day was to and density but when we added four rows of the extensions her hair and length blended in so well we just left the length and cleaned up the ends.Other methods of hair extensions offered are tape ins and hand tied wefts!
By David Contreras 06 Oct, 2020
Our procedure for today was simple. Phyllis had been lightened previously we simply did a retouch with lightener on her natural salt and pepper and toned her with ivory and violet.
By David Contreras 10 Sep, 2020
Balayage hair is a uniquely beautiful look. Unlike highlights, the hand-painted onto hair, meaning that it creates a smoother and more natural visual appearance. Each color blends seamlessly into the next, making for a rich and nuanced style.
By David Contreras 18 Mar, 2020
When Gianna first came to me she had long one length hair, very beautiful hair but we gave her long layers. These are her photos with long layers.
By David Contreras 01 Aug, 2019
We all know that fashion is ever-changing, which is why we often look back and make fun of the fashion trends of previous decades. We might remember that the 1990s as a decade of Molly Ringwald, Madonna, shoulder pads and power suits , and realize that those trends haven’t aged that well. Of course, it might be tough to constantly keep up with fashion trends between your personal and professional life.
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