Highlights - foils question

If your friend is shy and has never had highlights before, I would suggest doing something subtle at first. Stay away from bleach highlighting kits. The highlights will look too stripe-y against his natural colour and could damage his hair. They may also end up looking too yellow or orange. The last thing he needs is a hair-colour disaster.

I would suggest doing some highlights with a bleach-free product. I've had some success using two different ash blonde shades (Feria and Herbal Essences Hi-Lift [NOT HIGHLIGHT] are good). When brown hair is lightened, it can look orange, so stick to ash shades -- they will counteract the warmth. You might want to consider using light brown shades (maybe a shade of Feria Hi-Lift browns) rather than blonde since his hair is dark brown. Make sure you do strand tests first, though. I'm attaching a link with foil instructions. Practice with water (if you're using an applictor bottle) or a thick conditioner (if you're using a brush) first. It can take a bit of practice to get the hang of it. Good luck!

P.S. One tip that isn't mentioned in the step-by-step instructions -- when separating the hair with the end of the comb, weave it in and out close to the scalp to pick up randomly-placed strands -- you can achieve much more natural-looking results this way. If you want a more obvious "streaked" or striped look, follow the instructions on the website.

http://www.chennaionline.com/style/Beautytrends/beautytips/highlighting.asp

I'm not a professional. I learned how to use foils by watching my sister (she learned from watching her colourist). If you want to try foils, just practice with water or conditioner until you feel comfortable. Once you've done it a few times, it starts to feel natural and you'll have enough confidence to use colour or bleach. I'm sure your wife would love to have a husband and hair-colourist in one.

P.S. Maybe when you try it for the first time, you could do just a few on the top and sides of your wife's hair (where the sun would hit). If they turn out well, you'll have the confidence to do more next time.

I just use regular aluminum foil for highlights. I tear off about 16 rectangles before I start, but I've never used all of them. I guess it would depend on how much hair and how many highlights you're dealing with. On long hair I probably use about 12 or 13. Two levels of highlights would probably be plenty on shorter hair -- maybe 3 or 4 foils on each level. It's handy to have a clip for each one.

Hey Juliana, Thanks for the tips on foiling - I've been searching for almost 4 hours and everything I needed was right here - you were the only person i could find to tell me if it was ok to use regular aluminum foil and regular hair-dye (bleach scares me) Thanks for the tip about Hi-Lift !