Halo Highlights Are a New Subtle Hair-Colour Trend
Halo Highlights Are the Small Hair Colour Tweak With a Big Impact
If you've ever coloured your hair, chances are you're pretty familiar with highlights, but what you may not realise is just how many types of highlights there are out there. Each technique can give you a completely different look, and knowing your options is key to getting the results you're after. For example, if you want colour that delicately frames your face, you should consider halo highlights.
What Are Halo Highlights?
In a way, halo highlights, aka ring highlights, make it look like you're walking around with a spotlight on your face. "[It] gives a lighter face-framing effect by adding highlights closest to the face, leaving the rest of the hair darker," says George Papanikolas, celebrity hair colourist and Matrix brand ambassador.
As opposed to traditional highlights, which are distributed throughout the entire head, halo highlights are concentrated around the face. However, unlike the money-piece hair colour trend, which also sees colour framing the face, halo highlights traditionally are very subtle and only a few shades lighter than the rest of your hair. The colour should be delicate at the rots and gradually get thicker and heavier toward the ends of your hair. "Going very strong and chunky at the roots can look harsh, so it's recommended to soften the root area with a toner so that the highlights are just a few shades lighter than the base colour," Papanikolas says.
To get the colour just right, Papanikolas says to stick to the universal rule of highlights: colour should be "within four shades of your base colour to be the most flattering." When done properly, halo highlights are very low maintenance because the root colour is so soft. "If you go with a stronger root, then the regrowth will be more obvious."
See examples of halo highlights ahead.
