Highlights over Highlights

Short asymmetrical hairstyle with highlights
Photo: Shutterstock
Q: I have a question about highlights. I had my hair cut and highlighted back in August of last year with blonde highlights. My natural color is medium to dark brown. I've never colored my natural hair color. I've only used highlights. But anyway, I had it done last August and they used foils. I really like the cap better.
 
Well, I am planning on going in and getting my hair cut and highlighted in the next couple of weeks. I just want to make sure it is safe to do highlights in that amount of time (7 months). I'm sure it is, but my old highlights have only grown out about 3 to 4 inches. Is it ok for me to do the other highlights right over these? They will be blonde as well. But they will be done with a cap. Will it look ok with them over the others? Any help would be appreciated.
 
A: The only real problem I foresee with what you are planning is that you are going to end up with some hairs that are highlighted and still have 3-4 inches of new growth, while others will look wholly highlighted.
 
The way it looks will depend greatly on the skill of your stylist in being able to target the hairs that have already been highlighted and pull them through the cap specifically. The size of the holes in the cap being used and the size of the highlights you want will also be a factor.
 
If you want "chunky" highlights, caps are available for that particular effect, and you may have better luck with the stylist being able to pull the previously lightened hair through the cap. However, if you prefer the cap because you can get a lot of slimmer highlights in the hair, you are going to end up with noticeably "grown out" highlights still visible in the finished hairstyle.
 
It might actually be better for you to talk to your stylist about doing a "tint back" on the old highlights before putting the new highlights in. What would be involved is applying a color that closely matches your natural color to the highlighted hair.
 
Once it has been re-colored to a uniform base, you can have the stylist use the cap method to give you the amount of new highlighting you desire. Since the "tint back" process would involve a deposit-only color, you can safely have both steps done in the same visit.
 
It's possible (depending on the number of old highlights to be dealt with) that your stylist will prefer to stick with foiling to be better able to target the hair that needs re highlighting, or will suggest the "tint back" and highlighting on her own accord.
 
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See also:
 
How to color hair
 
The foil highlighting technique
 
The cap highlighting technique