Foilage
Essentially, foils serve as the separators between your new colour and your old colour. Your stylist will place either a bleach to lighten or a dye to darken your strands within the material. With various techniques available, your foil highlights can span whatever width you would like. When your hairdresser applies the substance to the sections, they can also brush close to the root without applying the product to your skin — thus reducing chances of irritation, the outlet notes.
​
Highlights Foilage
Highlights are strands of hair that are lifted to be a few shades lighter than the base. They brighten up areas of the haircut, you can go for only one level of lift or a more contrasting effect. Highlights work through any base colour, from blonde shades to bold reds and even dark brunettes, adding light-boosting luminosity that flatters everyone.
​
Lowlights take the base colour deeper. They’re added when your client wants a little extra depth in their hair and can be used to neutralize brassy tones or correct colour that’s been lifted too light. Unlike highlights, they’re typically achieved with a demi-permanent, toner or gloss instead of a pre-lightener, which means lowlights are also a gentler option.
​
Babylights should always appear micro-fine and subtle. The clue’s in the name with this one; the ‘lights are ‘baby-sized’, because you paint colour onto much smaller sections of hair, using a fine-toothed comb to neatly section off the strands. Opt for babylights when you want highlights or lowlights to appear virtually undetectable, creating the subtlest colour shift that appears entirely natural-looking.
Sectional Foilage
Full head treatments will colour all hair layers, unlike half or three-quarter head foils covering the top, sides, or excluding the lowest, underlying layers. The technique is perfect if you wear your hair up (think red carpet) or want to go as light as possible (think glamorous silver or platinum).
​
A Half head of foils is a hair colouring technique that involves placing foils on half of the head. This technique is often used to cover regrowth that appears where the hair parts. It allows the colourist to use 2 or more different colours, giving a more natural finish and the illusion of movement. It is also a quicker and more affordable alternative to a full head of foils.
​
A T-section is a section of lightened hair along your parting and crown at the top of your head.
These are great for lightening up your hair colour while making it seem like you have more volume. So they’re particularly fab for fine hair peeps.
Roots Foilage
Using foils on the roots is for two primary reasons
1) Distinct Regrowth
2) Covering Greys