What’s the Difference Between Partial and Full Highlights?

Dyeing your hair can create a dramatic change in your appearance. But with so many techniques offered by stylists, it’s hard to know what option to choose. One popular technique is highlights.

Highlights tend to be less harmful to hair than standard dyeing techniques because it uses only certain strands of hair instead of each one. Highlighting your hair adds dimension and a unique personalised style, depending on the type of highlight you get.

Two main techniques for highlights are partial and full, sometimes called a full or half head of foils. Learn more about each styling method offered by the stylists at Cutters His & Hers Hairdressing and the expected results to decide which one is right for you.

What are Partial Highlights?

Partial highlights are for those who want a more subtle framing or brightening effect on their hair. With partial highlights, most of your natural hair colour will show through from the back of the head to the nape of your neck.

A stylist uses foils and your choice of colour, then sections and colours the hair to create your desired look. The coloured areas typically include the top half and front sides, the top half, or the mohawk section of your hair.

Partial Highlights Pros

• Your stylist can place partial highlights to give the impression that your hair was naturally lightened by the sun.
• Less costly than full highlights.
• Your hair may suffer less damage because partial highlights bleach fewer hair strands.

Partial Highlights Cons

• You cannot completely change the colour of your hair because the dye will only touch about half of your head of hair.
• Most of the colour will be hidden when your hair is up, like in a ponytail.

Examples of Partial Highlights

Your stylist can achieve partial highlights in several ways. Depending on your specific hair goals, you can decide which option is best for you. Three popular partial highlight styles include:

• Golden Beachy Waves

Adding partial blonde highlights to waves can create layers of dimension in the hair. The top layer of waves are highlighted for a sun-kissed look, leaving the dark hue at the root and underneath.  A long bob is an excellent cut for this colouring.

• Soft and Subtle Browns

Adding just a few touches of colour a few shades lighter than your natural hair can change the entire look of your hair. A small addition of colour can add a sleek and soft feel to your style. These colourful highlights can be a similar shade to your base hue.

• Front-Framing Pieces

Dimensional partial highlights on the front portions of your hair will add a playful look when you want them. You can add colour around the face for a brightening effect to the complexion and add interest while keeping most of your natural colour. 

What are Full Highlights?

Full highlights are highlights that wrap around the entire head. Stylists sometimes refer to them as a full head of highlights or foiled highlights because a full highlight involves adding foils and colour that wraps around the entire head. 

A colourist creates a full head of highlights by using foils on all head areas, including the nape of your neck and back, sides, and front of your head.

Full Highlights Pros

• The amount of colour change is up to you. You can add more highlights for a dramatic change or less for more subtlety.
• You can change your hair from dark to light without bleaching your entire head of hair.

Full Highlights Cons

• Hair damage is still possible if you get highlights often.
• More costly than partial highlights.

Examples of Full Highlights

Just like partial highlights, your stylist can achieve full highlights in various ways. A few examples of how they can turn out are:

Full Colour Blend

Full highlights are a great way to add multiple colours to your hair. One dramatic look is a red and blonde combination that adds a fun, complex, lively style to your hair. 

Multidimensional Highlights

To stay away from streaky highlights that sometimes come from full highlights top to bottom, try multidimensional highlights. Multidimensional highlights are a variant of balayage in which the colour is swept through the hair from roots to ends using a freehand technique.

Icy Blonde All-Over

You can use very thin highlights, or babylights, all over your hair to get an icy blonde look. If you keep a root to your colour, you can avoid needing highlights quite so often or lessen touch-ups.

Partial Highlights vs Full Highlights

Highlights can dramatically change your hair’s look and overall style. The techniques for highlights are similar, but the effect and maintenance of half or full head of highlights can be quite different. Speak with your stylist at Cutters His and Hers Hairdressing to get your desired result.

The professional stylists at Cutters His & Hers Hairdressing are highly trained and experienced in all highlighting techniques. Our stylists can help you decide on your desired look and successfully implement the correct technique. Visit us today and explore the exceptional hairstyling services Cutters His & Hers Hairdressing offers.