How To Highlight Your Hair at Home with Garnier Olia No Ammonia Range

Having freshly highlighted hair can really make you feel like you’ve got your whole life together. Highlights add volume, texture and depth to your hair and can elevate your whole look. But unfortunately, as your hair grows your highlights grow out too and start looking less fresh and fab. If you’re between salon visits and want to know how to highlight hair at home for a little freshen-up, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Choose the best highlight product

Firstly, unless you’re using a bleach-based product, your hair will probably only lighten one to two shades. This is perfect for those wanting really soft, natural highlights, and is much gentler on your hair than bleaching your hair at home. Always read the instructions before applying any product to your hair, and then reread them again just to be safe.

One of the best products for blonde highlights is the Garnier Olia Highlights for Blondes and Brunettes , as its oil-powered formula uses natural ingredients and is ammonia-free for a nice smell. The gentle formula performs a beautiful and long-lasting at-home results. It also boasts up to 100% grey coverage, so you know you’re going to get a fantastic result. If you’re tossing up between two colours from the range, always go for the lighter shade.

As with any at-home hair dye, you’re going to want to prep the area with everything you need before you get started. Lay out all the products inside your Olia highlight kit for dark hair , set aside a towel, some non metal hair clips, your application brushes and some petroleum jelly to protect the surrounding skin from getting tinted.

Do a patch test

Even if you’ve given yourself at-home hair makeovers a million times before, it’s always important to patch test, also known as an allergy alert test, your no ammonia hair colour 48 hours before applying the product in its entirety. While allergic reactions are rare, they can be serious, so it’s always best to patch test to ensure you’re good to go ahead with your highlights.

Patch testing is quick and easy. Clean your arm, then dab a little bit of the product onto the back of your arm using a cotton bud. Let it dry, then repeat this two or three more times. Wait 48 hours, then check for any reactions like itching, redness or swelling. If you’ve experienced any of these symptoms, do not use the hair dye. If 48 hours have passed and you’ve not noticed anything unusual in the area, you’re ready to highlight your hair at home!

Stick to your hairline area

An easy (and less risky) way to freshen up your look between salon visits is to stick to your hairline area when figuring out how to highlight hair at home. Using your Olia No Ammonia hair colour, frame your face to connect the front of your hair to the rest of your colour so it won’t look as grown out. Work from the bottom-up and from the front-backwards to achieve a natural looking result, keeping in mind the product closest to your scalp will lighten faster than the ends. Don’t overdo it - less it more when using at-home Olia hair dye for blonde highlights , as you can always add more later but you can’t take it away.

Use two different brushes when applying the product

To achieve the best results when using at-home products for hair highlights, you should apply the product evenly and saturate the hair with it. To do this, it’s much easier to use a brush than trying to achieve even coverage with a bottle. We’d recommend using one brush to apply the product and one to blend, so you achieve a really natural finish and you’re not accidentally adding more product when trying to blend it out. You can also use an old toothbrush to softly frame small pieces around your face.

Let it rest before rinsing off

Once the product is on your hair, it needs a bit of time to work its magic. Let the tint rest for the time indicated on the product packaging before washing off. If you wash it off too early, it won’t have enough time to properly tint the colour of your hair. If the end results aren’t exactly what you were looking for, don’t immediately reach for another box, you should wait at least two weeks before trying to process your hair again.