Everyone wants to feel their best, and for many of us, that means dyeing and highlighting our hair.
However, if you’re like me, a lot of the time life’s so busy it’s just not possible to make it to the hairdresser and pay near enough £100 every time it needs touching up! Instead, why not try highlighting your hair yourself?
In this guide, I’ve put together some of the best highlighting kits that are easy to use and will give you professional results, without looking streaky.
I’ve also answered some commonly asked questions and tips from my salon friends.
Covered in this Article:
Best Home Highlight Kit
Wella Home Highlighting and Streaking Kit
Yes, it’s a classic because it works!
This Wella streaking kit is a classic home highlighting kit that has been around forever. You may find the 80s packaging amusing – but there’s a reason this kit is always sold out!
Whether you want a new sun-kissed looking do, or lighter highlights to frame certain parts of your face, this kit is easy to use. It comes with a highlighting cap to separate your hair, a highlighting needle and a small brush applicator too.
To use the highlighting cap, start with dry hair and brush through it so that there’s no tangles or knots. Then, pull the cap over your head so that it covers all of your hair, using a highlighting needle or the end of a comb, pull sections of your hair through the holes in the cap.
Then, you can use the highlighting kit on the hair that has been pulled through the cap to give you even and perfectly separated highlights.
Here’s a good video on how to use caps if you’re not used to them:
There have been plenty of customer reviews raving about this product, with one reviewer saying that their hair turned out as good as if a salon had done it.
The blonde was not ‘brassy’ and the result was natural, but noticeable. I use it all the time, and it’s usually not very expensive. What more do you want from a highlighting kit?
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Comes with highlighting cap, needle and applicator brush
- Gives a natural, yet noticeable look
- Doesn’t destroy your hair
- Loyal customer base
Cons:
- May not work on really dark hair, as the bleach is not strong enough to loft the colour and it may go orange
Best Highlighting Kit For Blonde Hair
BBlonde Highlighting Kit
This BBlonde Highlighting Kit Number 2 by Jerome Russell is a great highlighting kit for those who have blonde to light brown hair, any darker than that it most likely won’t lift the colour and leave you with ginger highlights rather than blonde.
The kit is easy to use, with instructions on how to mix and apply the colour and leaves a natural looking result.
Inside the box you get a directions leaflet, an applicator bottle, the colourant, nozzle to attach to the bottle for precise application, a pair of hair dye gloves and a generous bottle of conditioner that is enough to last for more than one wash, as well as a highlighting cap and needle!
If you’re not keen on using a highlighting cap, or have a sensitive scalp, then I’d recommend using aluminum foil instead.
Simply separate the bits you want highlighted, place some tin foil underneath, apply the dye to the hair on top of the foil until it’s completely covered and then fold the foil up until it reaches the root.
Reviewers have said that this product is an affordable and effective way of bringing life back to dull hair, and that they absolutely love the results that this kit gives.
Pros:
- Easy to use highlighting kits that gives a beautiful, highlighted look to blonde/light brown hair
- Kit contains everything that you need to do at home highlights, including highlighting cap, needle and gloves
- Comes with conditioner for more than just one wash
- Plenty of positive reviews
Cons:
- Can’t be used on dark hair as it will not lift the colour
- Some people have said that the holes in the highlighting cap can be hard to get through
Best Highlighting Kit For For Brown Or Dark Hair
Jerome Russell Highlight Kit No 1
Jerome Russell’s BBlonde Highlighting Kit Number 1 is the same kit as the one above, except this one is formulated for those with darker hair to give blonde highlights with no brassiness.
If you’re after more of a subtle look, don’t leave the dye on as long as it will only lift your colour a few shades, giving you light brown/dark blonde hair highlights.
It can also be used to ombre/balayage hair, if you’re looking for a gradient effect.
It contains all the essentials you need to highlight your hair (the same as in the previous kit) and reviewers have stated that the colour lasts a while, it doesn’t fade after a few washes like some at home kits can do.
The dye itself is also formulated with Avocado oil to ensure that the dye doesn’t damage your hair too much, instead leaves it hydrated and shiny!
Pros:
- Contains all the things you need to highlight your hair
- Works on darker hair without leaving brassy tones
- Plenty of positive reviews
- Comes with conditioner
- Can be used to ombre/balayage your hair too
Cons:
- Some reviewers have said that this kit does not work on dark hair that has been dyed this way, it works better on dark, virgin hair
Best Highlighting Kit For Root Touch Ups
Clairol Root Touch Up Hair Dye
This Root Touch Up Permanent Hair Dye by Clairol is one of the most popular root touch-up kits in the UK.
With so many colours to choose from, you’ll be able to find one that matches your previous highlights colour, even if it’s from a different brand!
It’s one of the best on the market for covering stubborn greys that can be tricky to dye over, and guarantees 100% grey coverage.
The formula blends with the tones already in your hair to give you a natural-looking result that looks consistent.
All you have to do to cover your roots is to mix the colourant into the developer and give it a good shake to mix it together, then use the expert precision brush to saturate your roots with the colour.
Leave on for 10-15 minutes then rinse your hair until the water runs clear and condition (don’t shampoo – it can can strip the colour out).
Many reviewers have commented that this has been a lifesaver when they can’t get to the hairdressers for whatever reason, and that it gives a natural looking result that blends seamlessly with their previous salon colour.
However, there have been comments that the kit does not come with a lot of dye, and if you have extremely long or thick hair – it may be best to purchase 2 kits.
Pros:
- Covers 100% of greys, including stubborn ones
- Easy to use, comes with an expert precision brush to ensure full coverage
- So many colours to choose from, you’ll be able to find a match whatever your hair colour
- Blends with the tones in your hair to give a natural and consistent look
- Only takes 10 minutes to develop
Cons:
- If you have extremely long or thick hair, you may need more than one box to ensure that you get full coverage of all your roots and aren’t left with any patches
Pro Tip – Get an Accessory Kit (Will Make Highlights Much Easier!)
If you’re planning to regularly dye your hair at home, then one of my top tips is to purchase a reusable hair dye accessory kit, such as this one from Corrines.
This way, you always have anything you may need on hand as some dye kits do not contain accessories. If you lose or break something during application, you won’t be panicking to find substitutes with your hair full of dye, either!
This kit contains everything you could ever need when it comes to dying your hair, including:
- Hair clips x 6
- Hair dye brushes x 6
- Ear covers x 4
- Mixing bowl x 2
- Disposable shawl (to protect your clothes/skin) x 2
- Mixing spoon x 2
- Disposable gloves x 2
The accessories are all easy to wash, so you can use them as many times as you need.
You even get multiple brushes, all different sizes to cover as much (or as little) hair as you need them to.
Reviewers have commented that they are surprised at the quality of this kit, and that they’ve used it multiple times, even the gloves, and everything is still going strong!
Pros:
- All accessories are washable and reusable
- 24 piece kit, with different sized versions of certain accessories
- Comes with ear covers and shawls to protect your skin from dye (although you could always coat your skin with Vaseline instead)
Cons:
- Some reviewers have said that the handles on the bowls are thin and flimsy, so not ideal to hold all the time
Tips On How To Highlight Your Hair At Home (UK Edition)
Many of us have tried to dye our hair at home over the years, but if you don’t know what you’re doing it can often turn out differently to what you had in mind.
Before embarking on your hair dyeing journey, read these tips below to ensure you’ll get the best result possible.
- Choose your station – make sure the room is bright enough to see what you’re doing, preferably with plenty of natural light. It’s likely that there will be a few spillages – so I’d advise dyeing in the bathroom or at least somewhere with wipe clean surfaces.
- Make sure the room isn’t too cold too, as this can affect the dye.
- Read the instructions – although the process for highlighting your hair is fairly similar, each kit may differ slightly in the steps you need to take. They can also change them without warning. Read the steps and follow them carefully!
- Lay out your tools – It’s a lot easier if you have everything you need to hand before you have dye on your hair. The accessory kit by Corrines (mentioned earlier) is great to have by your side, as it has everything you may need during the process.
- Protect your skin and clothes – wrap a protective shawl or an old towel around your shoulders to protect your clothes from any stray dye.
- You can also use ear covers to protect your ears, or if you prefer, smooth some Vaseline along your forehead, temples and ears to prevent any dye staining your skin.
- I always advise removing any jewellery and keep some kitchen roll close to hand to mop up any spills.
- Apply according to the instructions and set a timer – Follow the instructions with the kit and apply your dye, using clips to pin away any stray hair or a highlighting cap if you don’t trust your own judgement.
- Leave on for the recommended time only. More is often not better!
- Once the timer goes off, check the colour of your hair by scraping the colour off one strand. If it’s not how you wanted, leave for an extra 5-10 minutes, but no longer! You don’t want to damage your hair.
- Wash the dye off – First, run your hair under the water until it begins to run clear.
- Then, shampoo your hair (unless it is advised not to in the instructions) and apply a conditioning treatment and leave it for 5 minutes or so to restore moisture back into your hair.
- Dry your hair – I’d recommend leaving your hair to dry naturally until it is slightly damp, applying a heat protector and then finishing off with a hairdryer, this way you won’t use too much heat and risk damaging your hair even more.
- If your hair hasn’t turned out the colour that you wanted, do not dye your hair again straight away! Leave it to settle first, and seek advice from a professional.
Can I Dye Previously Highlighted Hair?
Dyeing hair that has already been dyed is tricky, it’s not that it can’t be done, but it’s unlikely that the colour will look the same as it does on the box.
You can dye previously highlighted hair, but it’s best to wait 4-7 weeks after dyeing your hair before you do it again to avoid causing irreparable damage to your hair.
It’s always easier to dye your hair darker than it is to lighten it, but if you want highlights then the best thing to do is do a patch test on an area that cannot be seen to see how the colour will turn out.
If it doesn’t lighten – then there are plenty of kits you can buy to strip the previous dye from your hair and make it easier to highlight.
If you’re just looking to touch up your roots, then one thing to remember is to only dye your regrowth rather than the whole head to avoid causing damage.
I hope you’ve found all the information you were looking for after reading this article, and are ready to start on your journey to lovely, highlighted hair done from the comfort of your own home!
Remember, if you’re sure you want to dye your hair at home, but aren’t sure where to start – conduct plenty of research and ask a professional for advice. Good luck!