How Often Should You Get Your Hair Highlighted? Ultimate Guide

How Often to Get Your Hair Highlighted

Getting your hair highlighted can provide a fresh new look, whether you're going for subtle touches of color or a drastic change. However, many people wonder just how often they should get their hair colored to maintain the vibrant, beautiful highlights.

Every 6-8 Weeks for Dramatic Highlights

If you have chosen a dramatic highlighting with stark contrasts between the highlights and base color, plan to get your roots touched up every 6-8 weeks. The regrowth will be quite noticeable with this type of look, so frequent highlighting is needed to keep the colors looking crisp.

Dramatic highlights often require bleaching to lift the hair to a very light shade before applying the highlight color. This can damage hair more than subtle highlights, so be sure to use a good conditioning hair mask between appointments.

Every 10-12 Weeks for Subtle Highlights

Those with subtle, natural-looking highlights can typically wait 10-12 weeks between appointments. The regrowth will not look as pronounced with this type of highlighting, allowing you to go longer between touch ups.

Subtle highlights create a soft, sun-kissed look. The colors tend to blend smoothly from darker roots to lighter ends. Let your hairdresser determine how long you can go between appointments based on your hair type, color and lifestyle.

Seasonal Highlight Refreshers

Some people opt to get partial highlight refreshing two or three times a year. For example, you might get a full highlight before summer, then get a partial refresh before the holidays and again in spring.

This allows you to modify your highlights while limiting the number of full coloring services. It can help prevent excessive damage from too frequent bleaching or coloring.

Factors That Affect How Often to Get Highlights

How often you should get your highlights touched up depends on several factors. These include:

Your Natural Hair Growth

The rate that your hair grows plays a big role in determining your ideal highlight schedule. If your hair grows quickly, regrowth will be more noticeable, requiring more frequent touch ups. Typical hair growth is about 1/2 inch per month.

Highlight Placement

Face-framing highlights around the hairline tend to need refreshing more often. Regrowth shows quicker since the highlighted pieces are small and close to the scalp. Full head highlights let you go longer between appointments.

Lifestyle Factors

Those who wash their hair daily or sweat heavily may need more frequent highlight coloring. The shampooing and sweat can cause the highlights to fade faster on some hair types. Discuss your daily hair care and fitness regimen with your stylist.

Damage Considerations

Frequent bleaching and highlighting can damage some hair types over time. To keep hair healthy, it's ideal to limit coloring to every 10-12 weeks when possible. Always use conditioning hair masks or leave-in treatments to combat any damage.

Signs It's Time for A Touch Up

Wondering if it's the right time to freshen up your highlights? Look for these signs:

Noticeable Regrowth at Part and Hairline

Dark regrowth means its time for some fresh color. Part your hair and check around your hairline for any black roots or obvious lines of demarcation from highlight color to natural color.

Highlight Color Appears Dull

When the vibrant shine of your highlights gives way to a dull, mousy tone, schedule an appointment. Gloss treatments can help, but most discoloration means its time for a coloring session.

Different Tones are Appearing

Sometimes highlights can turn brassy or take on yellow or orange undertones, especially for blondes. This means the color molecules have oxidized and need refreshing.

Maintenance Tips Between Highlighting

To maximize the time between highlight sessions:

Use Sulfate-Free Shampoo

Sulfate-free shampoos are gentler and help preserve hair color better. Look for moisturizing formulas that keep both highlights and hair strands shiny and healthy.

Rinse With Cool Water

Hot water can cause highlights to become dull and fade quicker. Give your strands an extra boost by doing a final cold water rinse after shampooing.

Try a Toner

Purple or blue toners counteract brassy tones that can crop up between highlight jobs. Apply it just to the highlights and not roots. Ask your colorist for a recommended toning product.

Do Occasional Deep Treatments

Hydrate and strengthen hair with once a week deep conditioning hair masks. Concentrate conditioner on the mid-lengths and ends which see the most color processing and chemical damage.

Protect Hair From Sun

Use a hat or protective hair product when outdoors to shield highlighted strands from UV rays. Too much sun exposure can cause fading and color changes.

Seeking Help from An Expert Colorist

Getting your hair colored is an investment, so seek out an experienced stylist. Be sure to:

Ask About Experience

Find out how long they've worked as a colorist and the types of techniques they're trained in. Look for continued education like balayage, dimensional coloring, corrective color, and working with natural hair.

Evaluate Their Portfolio

A picture is worth a thousand words when assessing a colorist's skills. Examine before and after photos of clients with tones and coloring similar to what you want.

Discuss a Maintenance Plan

Have a consultation ahead of time to formulate a maintenance schedule that fits both your hair needs, lifestyle and budget. Planning ahead helps ensure your highlights stay gorgeous long-term.

Getting your highlights touched up every 6-12 weeks will keep your hair color looking its vibrant best. Pay attention to regrowth, fading and discoloration so you know when it’s time. And work with an exceptional colorist who understands the unique needs of your strands!

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.