5 Expert Methods for Removing Highlights From Hair

Once in a while, you make a spur-of-the-moment decision to add highlights to your hair. But now you are unhappy with the results and wondering if there are methods for removing highlights from hair.

Maybe you are struggling with brassy tones, as blue and purple shampoos and deep conditioning can only do a certain amount of magic.

The excellent news is that Haste is here with some of the best practices for saying goodbye to those highlights using different techniques, from cutting your hair to adding lowlights.

1. Lowlights

You can quickly eliminate your highlights with lowlights to tone them down and keep the dimension. We use balayage or foil with lowlights to add darker pieces to the blonde hair. This adds darkness and richness to any blonde highlights and does not entirely cover the blonde.

Pros

If you are undecided about eliminating highlights but still want your hair toned down, lowlights offer a happy medium.

It is an excellent technique if you have doubts and are unsure about going darker, as you can quickly test the waters with this method.

If you are unhappy, you can quickly reverse them when you visit our salon. It is a quick process, taking half an hour to place and another half an hour to process.

Cons

Lowlights might not answer your question about removing highlights entirely, but it will reduce the brightness of the number of lowlights you want added.

2. Color Melt or Shadow Root

With a shadow root, you add depth to the base and root area of the hair. Color melts add darkness to a depth lower into the root and the hair’s mid-lengths.

You can think of a reverse ombre with a color melt while using a shadow root, which will concentrate the depth around your base to help diminish the highlight appearance directly in the root.

This will ensure the color grows more naturally as the lines of demarcation fade. Both techniques will add richness and depth to the hair root area.

If you want to remain blonde, you have more freedom to time between your highlights, leaving a more live-in look.

Pros

This method is perfect if you want to keep some bright pieces around your face and prefer a darker base shade. We will add more depth to your top portion, a quick technique. The placements are essential and must be specific, as you will sit for 30 minutes in the shampoo bowl.

Cons

As with lowlights, both these methods will not remove the highlights altogether but can tone down the effect with the deeper base color. Neither will it reduce blonde highlight brightness, as you will still see them. The deeper color you find concentrated around your top, and you may need to combine it with lowlights.

3. Using a Dark Gloss or Toner

Another highly effective technique for removing highlights is to color-correct using a darker toner or gloss. This method is excellent if you want to keep your hair length but want to remove bright tones.

When you visit us, we will ensure you get a multi-dimensional finish and that we fill your hair correctly with shade for long-lasting results. When we fill your hair, we replace the color the bleach stripped out when you went blonde.

Once filled, we apply a darker toner. While you can do this at home, we recommend visiting us instead.

Pros

When you do a gloss or toner correctly, it temporarily removes the highlights. Furthermore, it can help give your hair a healthier and shinier appearance and takes around 20 minutes.

Cons

Using gloss or toner is a temporary solution for removing highlights. Eventually, your color will start to fade when you wash your hair.

Furthermore, it is high-maintenance if you do not want your highlights to return. While you can use an at-home color-depositing conditioner or gloss, it can cost some extra time. However, to get the full effect, visit a professional hairstylist.

4. Cut The Highlights Out

A sure way to remove highlights when they start fading back is to cut them out. You can visit us at the salon to have all the highlights completely removed to return to natural color.

We will start with a hair consultation before you get your shampoo to see if a pre-cut will be needed. We will discuss how short you want your hair to have no regrets about the cutting.

Pros

Cutting the highlights out can give you a new hairstyle that will leave your strands looking healthy. You will also remove your damaged hair and immediately return to your natural color. The other positive thing is you will no longer need to worry about using glosses or color-depositing conditioners.

Cons

The only concern is if you love having long hair and want to keep all the length. The same goes for short hair; the highlights span a large area. Furthermore, it also depends on how prominent the color is, as cutting it off might result in a very short style.

5. Do an All-Over Color

As with hair gloss, you can use the permanent route to cover the roots to tips with color. Compared to gloss, using an all-over color will not fade when you wash the hair and gives you an instant and effective process. The process takes up to an hour, with blow-drying and styling included.

Pros

With permanent color, you get more staying power as it lasts longer. While a gloss is effective, it fades after a few washes, which does not happen with permanent color. It also presents low maintenance as it does not need regular touch-ups.

Cons

Changing your hair color can be drastic, especially if you want to go lighter again. If you want to go lighter in the future, we will have to break through your permanent color, and it also depends on how dark the hue is. Hence, you can end up with aggressive color lifting using bleach that can damage your hair and needs to be done gradually.

Wrap-Up: Embrace Your Natural Hair with Confidence

Removing highlights from your hair, whether dealing with a brassy tone or wanting your natural look back, can be done in a few simple steps.

You can remove your highlights with lowlights, toners, coloring, or cutting your hair. There is a method available that fits in with your style.

Each method offers different benefits, but we recommend checking the disadvantages before making the right move.

If you need help deciding which highlight removal technique to use, let our stylists at Haste assist you with a consultation to ensure you get your desired look.

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