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01.25.2020
Your Guide to Babylights
These days, there are endless ways to work highlights. Forget one-size-fits-all hair lightening, because adding dimension and luminous ‘lights is becoming more bespoke than ever. Case in point: babylights, which see traditional highlights go micro-fine and delicate. Think soft, subtle and so seamless, they look completely natural.
Want to know more? Keep scrolling for your everything guide to brightening babylights, including four ways to work the look, no matter what the base color may be…
WHAT ARE BABYLIGHTS?
Essentially, babylights are ‘baby-sized’ highlights. They’re created by applying a pre-lightener, like Blondor, to much finer sections of hair than traditional highlights. This can be done with or without foils, depending on the level of lift you want, and you can tone them to all manner of shades or keep them a bright, sparkly blonde.
They take subtle highlights to a whole new level because they’re virtually undetectable, designed to mimic unprocessed hair that’s been gently kissed by the sun. So, if you’re looking back at vacation photos of your six-year-old self, and wishing you still had that hair color, babylights are going to bring your childhood ‘lights back to life.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BABYLIGHTS AND HIGHLIGHTS?
Babylights are highlights – just very skinny, delicate ones that flatter anyone and everyone, whether hair is long, short, mid-length, red, brown, fine or thick. They’re the highlights to go for if a hyper-real, luminous finish is the end goal, creating a reflective sheen that looks less like highlights and more of a natural glow.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BABYLIGHTS AND BALAYAGE?
While babylights are all about the width of your highlights, balayage focuses on the placement, as well as the technique you use to sweep pre-lightener on. It’s a freehand process that involves painting random sections of hair with your lightener, typically focusing brightness through the face-framing layers, mid-lengths and ends. You can actually combine balayage and babylights, alternating painterly sweeps with skinnier ‘lights for a truly multi-dimensional effect.
4 BABYLIGHTS LOOKS:
1. COOL BLONDE BABYLIGHTS
Image Credit: @styledbydani_naz
“No root shadow, just 1,000 babylights.” That’s how Danielle Nasvaderani reached this bright beige blonde color, created using very fine ribbons of Blondor Multi-Blonde Powder with 20 vol. She then toned to icy cool perfection with 10/73 + 9/01+ 6 vol, resulting in surfer-girl soft lines that look positively glowy, whatever the season.
Image Credit: @verdinipeluqueria
To the untrained eye, this chocolate brown hair color might look like a born-with-it hue. However, it’s a scattering of babylights that’s lending all that depth and multi-tonal texture. For a similar finish, create your micro-fine babylights with Blondor first, aiming for a lift no more than two or three shades lighter than the base to achieve a seamless finish.
Then, once you’ve achieved the desired depth, tone with a light-boosting permanent color, like Illumina Color. There’s a spectrum of dark shades in the collection, from cool ash browns to warm caramel colors.
The sweetest way to do strawberry blonde hair is with warm blonde babylights, stroked through a copper or light red base to add a shimmering glint of sunshine. Keep this dreamy hue in check with color-enhancing aftercare, using INVIGO Color Brilliance Color Protection Shampoo for every wash, and INVIGO Color Brilliance Mask as a weekly treatment.
Image Credit: @daryl.lienhart.hair
You might think ‘bold’ and ‘babylights’ are two words that don’t quite go together, but Daryl Lienhart’s client’s silvery-emerald ‘do proves you can team this technique with any color. To get the look, hair was pre-toned with Illumina Color 9/60 + 10/ with pastel, before balayage and babylights were weaved through strands using Blondor. The deep gunmetal finish came courtesy of demi-permanent Color Touch, which will allow the hue to fade and blend beautifully over 24 shampoos.