Perhaps you are thinking of highlighting your hair but you may be wondering between cap highlights vs foil highlights which of them is best for you. Highlighting hair is one of the most fun things to do when deciding to change your hairstyle.
You can make it a drastic change or you can make it quite subtle. You may decide to go to a salon or maybe do it at home. No matter how you decide to highlight your hair, the first decision is knowing the difference between cap highlights vs foil highlights.
Highlights are used to enhance your features by changing your light and dark hair tones. Once finished, the highlights can sometimes change a person’s overall look! Adding some lighter tones around your face can also make you look younger and that is always a plus.
Deciding on which process to go with to highlight your hair is sometimes a difficult one. Do you want to go to a salon because they mostly do foil now? Most at-home kits use the cap highlights more often.
What are Cap Highlights?
Cap highlights are when you have a cap that goes over your head and the cap has perforated holes in it. You then use a hook to pull strands of hair you want to be highlighted through the cap.
Cap highlights are not a good idea if you have longer hair or curly hair because it is harder to pull long hair through the cap. Also, if your hair is curly, pulling through the cap will cause unwanted tangles.
You can pull the hair strands through every hole if you want a drastic highlight or you can pull through every other hole or even wider. How many strands of hair you pull through the cap is your decision. Caps are best used on shorter to medium-length hairstyles.
What are Foil Highlights?
Foil highlights are done in a more specific manner. They require a technique that hairdressers have mastered. Using foil targets the root or the ends of the hair strand.
Stylists will recommend coloring with foils if your hair is over-processed because they can adjust the strength of the color. Foils also allow for the hair color to be placed closer to the scalp.
Foils are done by selecting the strands of hair that you wish to be highlighted and placing them over the foil. The highlighting color is then painted on with a brush and the stylist folds the foil over the strand of hair.
This keeps the color from spreading onto pieces of hair that are not to be highlighted.
Are Foil or Cap Highlights Better?
This is debatable depending on the type of result you are looking for and possibly how much money you want to spend. The foil technique will give you the tightest highlights.
Foil highlights are most generally done in a hair salon by experienced hairdressers and to get that mastered foil technique you will have to pay the salon price. I am not saying you always have to go to a salon.
You may be a great self-taught hairstylist and can do the foil technique at home with ease.
Some people may prefer to use the cap because they like how creative or detailed you can get when you are pulling the hair through the cap. The cap makes it very easy to get the strands of hair evenly spread around your head. The cap is also easier to do at home.
The foils almost need two people so the pieces of foil can be handed easily to the person painting the color on the hair strands.
Both cap and foil highlights are timed and watched carefully to get the desired color effect and can both be done in about the same length of time as well. It all comes down to what you want the outcome of your highlights to be.
How Long Do Foil and Cap Highlights Last?
The answer to this question comes down to the type of hair dye used. The way you put on your highlights does not affect how long they will stay in your hair. The length of time your highlights last depends on what type of hair dye you used.
Permanent hair dye does not wash out. It may fade out somewhat over time but it will not disappear on its own. Once your hair is permanently dyed, the only way it will go away is with growth.
You can buy hair dye that is not permanent and washes out in so many washes like Clairol Natural Instincts Semi-Permanent hair dye. This may be a better choice for anyone not sure of the color they want or maybe you are dyeing your hair yourself for the very first time.
Is Highlighting Good For Your Hair?
Highlighting is the same thing as dyeing your hair. The only difference is you are only altering selected strands of hair and not all of your hair. Highlighting is still put on with hair dye. Hair dyes can change the structure of your hair and even cause damage over time if you are a person who colors your hair frequently.
When compared to bleaching your hair, highlighting is the better choice out of the two. Only you know your hair and know if it’s healthy, over-processed, or brittle. Make good decisions when choosing your products and don’t dye your hair excessively to keep it looking healthy longer.
Highlighting Hair is Fun No Matter How You Do It
Deciding on highlighting your hair is a great way to enhance your natural look. It’s a way to update your style without coloring all of your hair. Many of us choose to highlight because we just want a little pick me up and highlighting does that!
Cap highlights vs foil highlights is a decision you need to make based on your specific wants and the type of hair you have. Weigh all of the pros and cons, decide what is best for you, and go for it! Have fun and be creative! It’s only hair, it will always be growing and changing so live in the moment!
