How to Weave a Section of the Hair for Foil Highlighting

Foil highlighting is an intricate and time-consuming way to color your hair, but with a few expert tips and practice you can have salon-worthy highlights at home. Before you begin, decide what type of highlights you want to achieve. Choose between subtle sun-kissed strands or bold, fashion forward panels. Each look requires a different weaving technique and method of sectioning the hair. Foil highlighting requires two hands, so it is difficult to do on yourself. Ask a friend to apply your highlights for you, but only after she has mastered the correct technique.

Subtle Highlights

• 1

  Brush hair from root to tip to ensure there are no tangles. Create a section on the top of the head that is approximately two inches thick, beginning at the front hairline and ending at the back of the head. This will be your first section from which to weave your highlights. Keep the sectioned hair in a clip so that it remains separated from the rest of the hair.

• 2

  Begin at the front of the head. Use the pick end of the styling comb to make a horizontal part in your sectioned hair, approximately one centimeter deep. Secure the rest of the hair back in the hair clip so it will not interfere with your foil highlight.

• 3

  Comb the section downwards and hold it taught near the ends. Take the pick end of the styling comb. Working from right to left, weave the tip of the pick up and down as you move through the hair section. For thicker highlights, weave the pick up and down three to four times. For thinner highlights, you can weave it more frequently to separate smaller strands of hair.

• 4

  Lift it up to separate the hair that has been weaved out, once the pick has reached the left side of the panel, Grab the hair on top of the pick tightly with your other hand. Let the hair on the bottom of the pick fall. This section will not be highlighted and can lie in its natural position.

• 5

  Place the foil underneath the roots of the weaved hair and secure it by holding the hair down on top of it with enough tension to keep it in place. The hair is now ready for color application and processing.

Bold Highlights

• 1

  Brush hair from root to tip to ensure there are no tangles. Create a section on the top of the head that is approximately two inches thick, beginning at the front hairline and ending at the back of the head. This will be your first section from which to weave your highlights. Keep the sectioned hair in a clip so that it remains separated from the rest of the hair.

• 2

  Begin at the front of the head. Use the pick end of the styling comb to make a horizontal part in your sectioned hair. Make this section approximately one centimeter deep; more if you want thicker highlights. This technique does not require any further weaving. Secure the rest of the hair back in the hair clip, so it will not interfere with your foil highlight.

• 3

  Comb the section downwards and hold it taut near the ends. Place the foil underneath the roots of the weaved hair and secure it by holding the hair down on top of it, with enough tension to keep it in place. The hair is now ready for color application and processing.