Full Vs Partial Highlights: Which One To Choose

You are ready to spice up your hair with highlights. However, you hear the debate about full vs partial highlights and are uncertain about which to choose.

What is the difference, anyway? Partial highlights are when only a specific part of your hair is highlighted, while a full highlight is an overall color change but is still not dyeing your whole head.

Here at Hāste Urban Hair Spa, our specialist stylists can quickly provide a partial to full highlight.

So, get ready to mix up your look and play around with colors.

What are Partial Highlights?

As the name implies, partial highlights are partial, as only a particular part of your hair is highlighted.

Partial highlights offer a world of possibilities. We can brighten only the front pieces or the entire top half of your head.

Whether you’re considering blonde and brown hair highlights or dark red highlights, we can offer you a range of options to suit your unique style and needs.

Regarding a traditional partial highlight, we lighten only half a head of hair so that you will lighten only sections on the top half of your head.

If you’re looking for a subtle change with minimal maintenance, a traditional partial highlight is the perfect choice. We lighten only half a head of hair, creating a natural, lightened look that’s easy to maintain.

Another popular request we at Hāste Urban Hair Spa receive is partial face-framing highlights. So, we will add a few color pieces near the front of your head.

This technique adds dimension and brightens up your face. Depending on the hair’s placement, length, and thickness, partial highlights can comprise 20 foils at most.

Pros of Partial Hair Highlights:

• You have less hair damage as we bleach fewer strands of hair.
• Partial compared to full highlights are more affordable.
• You can place the highlights where you want for a natural, lightened look at the front.

Cons of Partial Hair Highlights:

• The color is not visible when wearing your hair in a ponytail.
• Partial highlights can’t fully change your hair color as the natural color remains.

Is partial highlights for you? Let’s find out with the following techniques and colors available.

10 Partial Highlight Tones

1. Curls With a Natural Tone

For curly hair, we can give a partial highlight around the mid-shaft, where most of your curls are. This gives your hair a light reflection, leaving it with a sun-kissed shine.

2. Subtle Blonde Highlights

Go with a long bob, relaxed waves, and a subtle blonde highlight that peaks through. The blonde shines through within each wave, adding dimension.

3. Golden Waves

You can add partial blonde highlights to your curly hair to give it loads of dimension. We can highlight only the top and even it all over to leave some darkness underneath and at the root. This works perfectly with a long bob.

4. Partial Red Balayage

Accent highlights applied using partial foil or hand-painting highlights on dark hair can add vibrant color. This pop of color is trendy and a great way to try new colors without damaging your hair.

5. Subtle Browns

Adding a shade lighter than your natural color can quickly spice things up. This works well with a soft, sleek hairstyle with partial highlights peeking through at the ends.

6. Front-Framing Highlights

With dimensional partial highlights, you can play around with them as they brighten your complexion without changing the overall color of your hair. So, if you are undecided, go with the face-framing highlights.

7. Cool and Playful Colors

Another way to add some panache to your hair using partial highlights is to scatter them through the top layer. With short hair highlights, you can lighten them at the base and add an all-over change with partial highlights.

8. Redefined Classic Look

To brighten your brown hair, add warm blonde with bronze tones. You can quickly achieve this with foiled highlights working from top to bottom and loads of color added throughout. Then, leave your bottom half with a natural brunette look.

9. Bronzed and Straight

For those with brunette hair, you can brighten it up with bronze and honey colors to achieve a classic look. This technique creates a soft and natural appearance but still offers a ‘I just got my hair done’ look. The balayage technique gives your hair a lived-in look that is easy to maintain, and we can create playful layers perfect for any time of the year with some toner.

10. Cool-Toned Balayage

The balayage technique gives your hair a live-in look that is easy to maintain. With some toner, we can create playful layers perfect for any time of the year.

What are Full Highlights?

Full hair highlights are for you if you want a dramatic overall look and color change. You will not be dyeing your whole head, but you will create a defined color that lifts through your hair.

The fantastic thing about full highlights is that you can create a subtle, dramatic, or chunky look, depending on your preference.

Most of the time, going for a complete hair highlight makes your hair look like you were on vacation and kissed by the sun.

Creating a full highlight look takes some time and effort. We need to select the right color for you carefully, and the process can involve using caps and foils to ensure the color is evenly distributed throughout your hair.

Pros of Full Hair Highlights:

• You can quickly go from a dark to a lighter color without bleaching all your hair.
• You can make your hair look dramatic or natural.

Cons of Full Hair Highlights:

• Full highlights, compared to partial highlights, are more expensive.
• If you get full highlights often, it can damage your hair.

Did you know that there are 13 highlight techniques available? Learn more about each one with us.

10 Full Highlight Tones

1. Blonde-Brunette Beauty

Mix up your hairstyle with brunette and blonde tones for a bronde look. Depending on your hair thickness, you can quickly achieve this look with full highlights in one or two sessions. While keeping the tones cool, you can accomplish a beige look.

2. Icy Blonde Look

With baby lights, also known as skinny highlights, used all over your hair, you can get that icy blonde look that is trendy at the moment. Curls and a long length will give your blonde hair life. Still, when we add a color to the root, it gives your hair a lived-in vibe.

3. Multi-Dimension Full Highlights

When the full highlights are done from the top to the bottom, the outcome takes your breath away. This technique works well on straight hair, is suitable for older women, and gives a classic look.

4. Add Multiple Colors

Why not add multiple tones to your locks, like a blonde with a fiery red look? You can even go with other colors, from blonde to purple.

5. Blonde and Red

When you have original highlights done, it can look chunky. So, if you want that gorgeous salon look, you can ask us for a chunky foiled highlight in different colors. You can instantly transform your look with full highlights.

6. Add Warmth With Auburn Red

Okay, this technique is not only about caramel blonde hair highlights and lowlights. Here, we give your hair red warmth without going red from the root to the tips. It provides a softer look and is easier to manage.

7. The Blonde All-Over Classic Look

Have you wanted to be blonde? You can even without bleaching your hair. You only need a few rounds of highlights at Hāste Urban Hair Spa. You will gradually have the blonde color you dreamed of.

8. Hair Highlights For Dark Hair

Get a dreamy tone with your bouncy curls, going from brunette to blonde. Keeping your highlights fewer and farther up between the roots creates a balayage vibe. Your curls will start where the highlight begins for a thicker and perfect look for long hair.

9. Icy Blonde Look

An all-over color is recommended for the icy blonde look. Minimal natural color will remain to give you that cool blonde look.

10. All-Over Highlights With Layers

Whether you choose hair highlights for brown hair or you are blonde, adding thin highlights will get your color right. You will have soft, bouncy layers that look classy and make your hair look healthy.

Full vs Partial Highlights: What to Choose

Great. Now that you know the difference between full vs partial highlights, which should you choose? We recommend deciding what impact you want to create.

Partial highlights give your hair color a subtle pop, while full highlights transform you entirely.

So, if you’re a brunette, you can make your hair color look extraordinary with brighter pieces strategically placed. This is also a great way to cover grey hair. Another technique is covering grey hair with root touch-ups instead of changing your color.

Recommendations to Consider Deciding Between Full Vs Partial Highlights

The Cost: Half highlights are more affordable but require frequent visits to upkeep. For example, getting full highlights and coming to a salon once to twice a year can be cost-effective. Partial highlights can cost between $100-$300, while a full highlight can cost between $175-$500, depending on the length and thickness of your hair.

Health of Your Hair: A healthier option is partial highlights, as you will only lighten some of your hair with succeeding visits as bleach is applied to your regrowth.

Maintaining Your Hair: A full highlight is more drastic as the growouts are more visible than partial highlights.

Styling: Consider the style you wear from a ponytail, half-down, bangs, or half-up, as this is essential in deciding between the two. You do not want an uneven color placement.

Does Partial Highlights Work On All Hair Colors?

Here is a two-sided answer: yes or no. Anyone can have a partial highlight regarding the levels and depths of your hair color.

The only time we say no is because many people think that when they have one done, it will look like everything is done and more cost-effective.

Still, from our point of view, having partials done can look disconnected when looking at the underside as it makes no cohesion with the color at the top, for example.

Yet, no matter which one you choose, the important thing is to use the correct products to maintain your fresh color. Hence, it is essential to use a quality shampoo and conditioner.

It will keep your hair hydrated while strengthening it, so why not invest in a deep conditioning treatment after your coloring? Still, if you have highlighted your hair and want to move from color back to gray, we also have some valuable tips to help you achieve this.

Wrap-Up: Full Vs. Partial Highlights

Both partial and complete highlights are excellent options. Consider how you want to change your look when deciding between the two. Partial highlights are subtler and more affordable.

It is a safe way to play around with colors, while full hair highlights give a dramatic look and change. However, it would be best to consider applying a hair toner for long-lasting color.

Some final advice: if you feel uncertain about what to choose or do not want to mess around, Hāste Urban Hair Spa can help.

We can even help if you have decided to color your hair at home and are unhappy with the results of a hair color correction followed by a keratin treatment to ensure your hair remains healthy.

And if you are unsure about what to do with your hair, you can always talk to our hairstylists, even if you only want a haircut.

Book an appointment today and talk to one of our stylists, or show them a picture of what you want. Our friendly stylist will present you with the best recommendation, as you may want partial highlights but instead want a perfectly blended full-head balayage.

FAQ