Do hairdressers still do highlights ??

[MrsLindor]

I'm in my mid 40s, the odd grey hair has recently increased to little clusters of grey hairs so I'm going to have to start a more regular hair colouring routine. To date it's been a mixture of box dyes at home and a full head colour at the hairdressers, nothing fancy.

So, I'm a bit out of touch with all the new techniques. I'm thinking I want a base colour that's brunette and not too different to my natural colour, and then I was thinking some cool/ash blonde highlights I've seen them where they seem to be darker closer to the head and blonder nearer the ends? What do I need to ask for? Balayage? Ombre?

It's a Wella salon, I've booked an appointment (on-line) that's called "Full head of foils/Color I.D freelights". What are freelights ?

If you have a similar style, can I ask how often you get the roots touched up and how often you have a full recolour? Prices for a touch up don't seem much less than a whole new colour but I'm guessing it's fiddly and time consuming and better for your hair.

Ooh placemarking! I’d like to know this too.

The foils are highlights. I alternate full head with t-bar highlights and some lowlights every 8 weeks or so

Freelights are freehand highlights (balayage). They’re usually done in foils but not the same as the regular pattern of traditional foils.

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I’m starting to grey so I get a dark blonde tint on the top of my hair, then she does lighter, slightly thicker foils underneath that start a little lower down to avoid the tell tale tide line. It’s a very similar technique to traditional balayage but more appropriate for my fine shoulder length hair. I get a tint every six weeks and the foils redone every 3 months.

OK, thanks, it sounds like I've at least booked the right appointment type, although I guess it's the length of appointment that's important.

Can someone explain what a toner is and what it does? Last time I had my hair done, other than a full head colour, they used a toner after the colour and the highlights ended up being much darker (less blonde) than I wanted. I wasn't happy with the end result so haven't been very adventurous since.

Toner just changes the colour slightly. Some people (often due to their natural tones) will bleach to a yellower colour than they want, so toner is put on top to make them creamier or ashier.