What’s the Best Way to Prepare My Hair for Highlights?

Step-by-Step Guide to Prepping Your Hair

1. Clarify (But Not Too Close to Your Appointment)

Around one week before your highlights, consider using a gentle clarifying shampoo. This helps remove product residue, hard water minerals, and excess oils that can interfere with your color lifting evenly. Think of it like giving your hair a fresh, blank slate.

• Pro Tip: Avoid clarifying shampoos too close to your appointment day. You don’t want to strip your scalp of its natural oils completely, as those oils actually help protect your hair during the lightening process.

2. Nourish, Nourish, Nourish

In the days leading up to your appointment, make deep conditioning your new best friend. Highlights can be drying, so you want to fortify your hair with moisture and protein before any bleach touches your strands. A mask or deep conditioning treatment once or twice in the week prior will do wonders. Prepare for Color Correction

• At-Home Option: Use a rich, salon-grade mask and leave it on for the recommended time (usually about 10-20 minutes). This helps smooth the cuticle, reduce frizz, and create a prime surface for color.

3. Avoid Major Chemical Treatments Right Before

Planning a keratin treatment or a Brazilian Blowout? Those typically need a touch-up every 3-4 months, and you want them spaced out from your highlights. If possible, schedule them after your highlights or at least a few weeks before. Too many chemical services in a short span can stress out your strands.

4. Go Easy on the Heat

Heat styling tools—like straighteners, curling irons, and blow dryers—can cause dryness or split ends, which may affect how your highlights lift. If you can, reduce heat usage the week before. When you do style, apply a heat protectant to safeguard your hair from further damage.

5. Arrive with “Day-Old” Hair

On the morning of your appointment (or the night before), skip the shampoo. Slightly “lived-in” hair helps preserve the natural oils on your scalp, which can act as a protective barrier when the bleach or color is applied. However, don’t overdo it—excess buildup or extra oil can also hinder an even lift. One day of not washing is a sweet spot for most people.

Metaphor Alert: Your Hair Is a Garden

Imagine your hair as a garden. If the soil is dry, nutrient-depleted, or clogged with weeds, even the best seeds (read: color formulas) won’t flourish. Preparing your hair is like tilling the soil and fertilizing before planting—it sets up the perfect environment for your highlights to thrive and shine.

What to Discuss with Your Stylist

1. Hair History

Have you used box dyes, hennas, or color-depositing shampoos recently? These can impact how your highlights lift. Be upfront with your stylist so they can adjust the bleach or color formula accordingly.

2. Desired Maintenance Level

Are you ready for highlights that require 6-8 week touch-ups, or would you prefer something more low-key like a balayage that can go 3-4 months between sessions? Talk this through, so your stylist can tailor the technique to your lifestyle. Prepare for Balayage

3. Budget and Time

Highlights can be an investment—not just financially but in salon time too. Clarify what you’re comfortable spending and how often you can swing by for touch-ups or toners (every 6-8 weeks). This ensures no surprises and helps you plan ahead.

The Lush Hair Folk Salon Experience

At Lush Hair Folk Salon in Houston, Texas, we’re dedicated to making your hair color journey fun, personalized, and oh-so-rewarding. From the moment you sit down in our chair, we consider your hair type, lifestyle, and color aspirations. Our stylists train rigorously in the latest techniques—be it baby lights, foil highlights, or root shadowing—so you get the most flattering effect possible.

A Subtle Call to Action

If you’re craving that perfect glow, book a consultation with one of our color experts. We’ll walk you through the best way to prep your hair, recommend professional-grade products, and craft a highlights plan that suits you.

Aftercare: Keeping the Glow

Use Color-Safe Products

Once you’ve got your fresh highlights, switch to a sulfate-free, color-safe shampoo and conditioner. This helps prolong the brightness of your highlights and prevents brassiness. Prevent Brassy Blonde Hair

Deep Condition Regularly

Continue that deep conditioning love. Scheduling a salon-grade treatment every 4-6 weeks helps to maintain hydration and prevent split ends, ensuring your highlights remain shiny and vibrant.

Mind the Sun and Chlorine

Sun exposure and pool chemicals can zap the life out of your color. Use UV-protecting sprays or wear a hat when outdoors for extended periods. Rinse your hair immediately after swimming to remove chlorine residue.

Final Thoughts

Prepping your hair for highlights is like setting the stage for a standout performance: the better the prep, the more spectacular the show. By clarifying your hair a week in advance, nourishing it with deep conditioners, spacing out any chemical treatments, and having an open, honest dialogue with your stylist, you’ll set yourself up for highlights that look salon-fresh far longer.

Ready to get glowing? We at Lush Hair Folk Salon in Houston are here to guide you every step of the way—from your very first clarifying wash to that final, jaw-dropping reveal. Because the best highlights aren’t just about color; they’re about shining confidence, too. So go ahead: book that appointment and let’s bring those highlight dreams to life! Watch Our Video