What type of highlights would suit me?

The best highlights aren't chosen from a menu, they're designed around you. When we recommend highlights, we look at your natural colour, skin tone, eye colour, hair texture and condition, as well as your haircut and how you naturally wear your hair.

We also consider how light or dimensional you'd like to feel, how often you're comfortable returning to the salon and how you'd like your colour to grow out.

Placement is just as important as colour. Where we put the light can influence not only how blonde or dimensional your hair feels, but also which of your features are naturally drawn into focus.

Chhaly, Style Director, Senior Technician & Wella Master Colour Expert at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains: “When I'm deciding where to place highlights around the face, I look at the client's face shape and which features we'd like to enhance. More brightness isn't always better, it's about putting the light in the right places.

For example, I might use less brightness directly through the cheek area and concentrate more light higher around the face, towards the brow or upper hairline. That can change where the eye is naturally drawn and create a completely different feeling around the face. Face-framing highlights should be personalised in the same way as the haircut. It's about using the placement of light to complement the shape of the face and bring attention to the features we want to enhance.” 

The size and softness of the highlights matter too. Finer pieces can create a softer, more seamless result, while wider or more contrasting pieces can give the hair greater definition and movement. Your existing colour also plays an important part.

Someone with naturally dark hair wanting to feel lighter needs a very different approach from a blonde wanting more brightness, or someone beginning to see natural grey and wanting to soften the contrast. And you don't necessarily need highlights everywhere.

Sometimes the most beautiful result comes from putting light exactly where it will have the greatest impact, while keeping some natural depth to create contrast and make those lighter pieces look even more beautiful. Ultimately, the right highlights should do more than simply make your hair lighter.

They should complement your features, work with your haircut and texture, suit the way you live and still look beautiful as they grow out.

That's why at TONI&GUY Auckland, we begin with a personalised colour consultation before deciding on the technique, placement and tone that's right for you.

Full head vs half head highlights, what’s the difference?

The difference is simply how much of the hair we’re highlighting and where we place that light, but choosing between them should be based on the result you want, rather than automatically booking the same service every time.

A half head usually focuses the highlights through the areas you see most: around the face, through the top and sides of the hair. It can be perfect when you want to refresh existing highlights, add brightness around your face or maintain some of your natural depth underneath.

A full head allows us to introduce light throughout the hair, including underneath and through the back. We may recommend this when you're making a bigger change, want a more consistently lighter result, wear your hair up regularly, or simply need more brightness throughout. 

Can highlights make me look blonder without going fully blonde?

Absolutely, and this is one of the things highlights do beautifully. You don't necessarily need to lighten all of your hair to feel significantly blonder. The secret is often in where we place the brightness and how we use light and depth together. Tash, Colour Technician & Highlight Specialist at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains:

“The first thing I look at is what you already have in your hair and where we actually need to create the brightness. Quite often, if someone tells me they want to feel much blonder without being blonde all over, the answer isn't necessarily adding more blonde, sometimes we actually need to introduce a little more depth. That darker colour creates contrast, which makes the lighter pieces stand out and appear brighter. Then I can concentrate the blonde in the areas where it's going to have the most impact, particularly around the face and through the top of the hair. It's really about getting that balance of light and shade right, so you feel beautifully blonde without losing all the dimension in your hair.”

By keeping some depth and being thoughtful about where we introduce light, we can create a result that feels noticeably blonder without turning the whole head blonde. It also gives the hair movement and dimension rather than leaving the colour feeling flat.

That's why consultation and placement are so important. Rather than simply adding more foils, we'll look at your existing colour, your haircut and your features and decide where the blonde will give you the greatest impact.

Can highlights blend grey hair?

Yes. Highlights can be a beautiful way of working with grey rather than simply covering it.

When the tone and placement are carefully chosen, lighter pieces can reduce the contrast between your natural colour and your silver or white hair. Instead of seeing a distinct regrowth line, the different tones begin to sit more naturally alongside one another. How we approach this depends very much on your individual grey pattern.

Someone with silver concentrated around the hairline may need something quite different from someone whose grey is scattered throughout the hair. And importantly, having highlights to blend grey doesn't mean you've decided to “go grey.” You can continue colouring your hair while gradually allowing as much, or as little of your natural silver to become part of the finished result as you choose.

Explore our approach to Grey Blending →]

How often will I need my highlights done?

There's no single timetable for highlights, and that's actually one of their advantages. 

Some clients love a brighter, freshly highlighted result and prefer to return around every 6–8 weeks. Others choose a softer, more lived-in result and may comfortably leave 10–12 weeks or longer between larger colour appointments.

It depends on your natural colour, how much contrast we've created, where the highlights are placed, how quickly your hair grows and, most importantly, how you feel about seeing your natural colour return.

If you know you don't want to be in the salon every six weeks, tell us. We can take that into consideration from the very beginning and design your highlights to give you a softer, more seamless grow-out. Jackelin, Top Stylist at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains:

“If someone doesn't want to be back in the salon too often, I really think about the placement of the highlights and how they're going to grow out. I might keep them slightly away from the root or use a softer, more woven placement through the parting and around the hairline, so you still get that beautiful brightness but the regrowth isn't as obvious.

If they want an even softer result, I can place some of the highlights underneath rather than having everything sitting visibly on the surface. It's really about creating light in the hair without creating a strong line as it grows. I also think about whether we need colour between the highlights, particularly if we're blending grey. Permanent colour can create a more noticeable regrowth line, whereas a demi-permanent colour can give us a softer blend as it fades.

So I'll always look at the whole picture, the highlights, the natural colour, any grey and how often the client realistically wants to come back and design the colour around that.”

And not every return visit needs to mean another full set of highlights. Sometimes a few carefully placed highlights around the face, a toner or a smaller colour refresh is all that's needed to keep everything looking beautiful.

Ultimately, beautiful colour should work with your life, not dictate it. Your colourist can create a maintenance plan that works for your hair, your desired result and how often you realistically want to visit the salon.

What if I already have colour on my hair?

You can often still have highlights, but your colour history becomes really important in deciding what we can achieve and how we approach it.

Previous permanent colour, darker tints, home colour or earlier lightening can all affect how your hair responds. Even colour that was applied some time ago can still be sitting within the lengths of the hair. One of the things clients don't always realise is that making previously coloured hair lighter is different from lightening natural hair. Chhaly, Style Director, Senior Technician & Wella Master Colour Expert at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains:

“One thing clients often say to me is, ‘I want highlights, but I don't want bleach.’ What they don't always realise is that if their hair has already been coloured and they want those pieces to become lighter, we generally need to use a lightener to lift that artificial colour from the hair.

You can't simply put a lighter colour over previously coloured hair and expect it to become lighter. That's why it's really important for us to understand your colour history, what's already in the hair, how dark it's been coloured, how many times it's been coloured and what result you're hoping to achieve. Highlights don't always mean one particular product or technique.

We can use different colours and approaches depending on the hair. But if we're trying to create lighter highlights through previously coloured hair, that's where lightening becomes part of the process.”

That doesn't mean previously coloured hair can't be beautifully highlighted. It simply means we need to understand where your hair is starting from before deciding the safest and most effective way forward.

Sometimes the result you're looking for can be achieved in one appointment. Other times, particularly when we're working through darker or repeatedly coloured hair, we may recommend gradually taking the hair lighter over several appointments.

Our priority isn't simply “How light can we make it today?” It's creating a beautiful progression towards the colour you want while protecting the condition and integrity of your hair.

How do you choose the right tone of blonde?

The right blonde isn't necessarily the blonde that's fashionable at the moment. It's the one that works beautifully with you.

Choosing that tone is about much more than simply deciding between “warm” and “cool.” Your natural colouring, skin tone and eye colour all play a part, but so do your personal style and, importantly, the colours you naturally feel most comfortable wearing. Andrea, Style Director, Senior Technician & Colour Specialist at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains:

“When I'm choosing the right tone of highlight, one of the first things I look at is your skin tone and natural colouring. The right tone should really complement your complexion and make you look brighter, you want the colour to enhance you, rather than notice the colour before you notice the person. But it's also about what you love.

You might naturally suit a slightly warmer blonde, for example, but if you really don't like warmth in your hair, that's important for me to understand. A good consultation is about bringing those two things together, what works beautifully with your colouring and what makes you feel most like yourself.

From there, we can personalise the tone, whether that's something cooler, creamy, beige, golden or warmer, so the finished colour feels completely right for you.”

We also consider what your hair can realistically achieve. Your starting colour, previous colour and the condition of your hair all influence the tones we can create beautifully while protecting the integrity of your hair. And bring inspiration images if you have them.

We won't necessarily copy the photograph exactly, that colour was created for someone else's hair and colouring, but it helps us understand what you're seeing when you say, “I love that blonde.”

From there, we can interpret the elements you love and create a version that feels beautifully suited to you.

How much do highlights cost?

The cost of highlights depends on your starting point, the amount of colour work involved and the result you'd like to achieve.

A few carefully placed highlights designed to brighten around the face will naturally be a different investment from a full head of detailed highlights, toning or a more significant colour transformation. Your hair length, density, existing colour and colour history can also influence the service required.

And if you have a particular budget you'd like to work within, please tell us. It gives your colourist another important piece of information to consider when designing your colour. Diane, Senior Colour Technician & Stylist at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains:

“If you've got a budget you'd like to work within, I'm always happy for you to tell me. It doesn't necessarily mean we can't create a beautiful change, it just helps me think differently about where we're going to get the most impact. Sometimes we might not need to highlight everything.

A few beautifully placed pieces around the face or through the areas where they'll be most visible can make a real difference. We can also create a plan and build towards a bigger result over time rather than trying to do everything in one appointment. We'll always talk you through what we're recommending and the cost before we begin, so you know exactly what we're planning. For me, it's about finding the best way to use your budget to create a result you'll really love.”

At TONI&GUY Auckland, we'll recommend the most appropriate service for your hair and explain the expected cost before we begin.

If you're considering a bigger change, working within a particular budget or simply aren't sure what you need, a colour consultation is the best place to start. Highlights from $X. View our colour menu.

Do highlights have to be blonde?

Not at all. Highlights are simply a way of introducing lighter tones into your existing colour to create movement, dimension and interest and those tones certainly don't have to be blonde.

On brunette, red, copper or darker hair, highlights can be incredibly subtle. Sometimes just a small shift in tone is enough to break up a solid colour, bring light around the face or make the hair appear richer and more dimensional. Andrea, Style Director, Senior Technician & Colour Specialist at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains:

“Highlights definitely don't have to be blonde. On brunette, red or darker hair, we can use different tones to break up a block colour and create beautiful dimension and movement. It's also about where we place that colour.

Highlights can come right from the root, sit softly through the lengths, or be positioned around and behind the face to bring light into particular areas. Sometimes you only need a subtle difference in tone to completely change how the hair looks. The idea isn't necessarily to make the hair blonde, it's to use light and shade to give the colour more depth, movement and interest while still keeping the richness of your natural or chosen colour.”

The important thing isn't making every highlight as light as possible. It's choosing the right amount of contrast, the right tone and the right placement for the result you want.

Sometimes the most beautiful highlights are the ones you notice because of what they do to the hair, not because you can see where every highlight begins and ends.

Why choose TONI&GUY Auckland for highlights?

Beautiful highlights aren't simply about adding lighter pieces to the hair. It's about understanding where to place that light, how much contrast to create, choosing the right tone and making sure the colour works beautifully with your haircut, your hair and you.

At TONI&GUY Auckland, everything starts with a really good consultation. We want to understand what you love about your hair, what you'd like to change, how you'd like it to feel and how much maintenance you're comfortable with before we decide what your colour needs.

Andrea, Style Director, Senior Technician & Colour Specialist at TONI&GUY Auckland, explains what separates a beautiful set of highlights from an average one:

“For me, what makes a beautiful set of highlights different is the time, care and thought that goes into making them completely individual to the person sitting in my chair.

It’s not about following the same placement or technique on everyone. I’m thinking about your haircut, your face shape and features, your natural colour, how you style your hair and how you want the finished result to feel. Every highlight should have a reason for being where it is.

When all of those details are considered together, the colour becomes part of the whole look rather than something that’s simply been added to the hair. That’s what makes highlights feel really personalised and beautifully done.”

Colour education is a really important part of what we do. Our colourists are trained to international TONI&GUY standards and continue to develop their knowledge throughout their careers. But that technical knowledge is only valuable if we use it to create the right result for you. We don't simply choose a highlighting technique and apply it.

We think about your colour and haircut together, where the light should sit, how it will move through the hair and how we can use it to enhance your best features, whether that's bringing attention to your eyes, cheekbones or the shape of your face. It's about making every element work together to create a complete look that works with your hair texture and feels beautifully suited to you.

Colour is one of the core strengths of our salon, and our team has extensive experience across highlights, blondes and personalised colour. We'll consider your natural colour, hair condition, previous colour, how light you'd like to be, how often you'd like to return and what you'd like to invest in maintaining your hair. From there, we'll recommend an approach that gives you the best possible result for your hair and the way you want to look after it.

Sometimes that might mean lots of beautiful brightness. Sometimes it's only a few carefully placed highlights around the face. We may want to keep some natural depth, soften grey, correct previous colour or gradually take you lighter over several appointments. There isn't one formula for beautiful highlights because there isn't one type of client sitting in our chairs.

Ultimately, we want your colour to feel like you, beautiful, flattering, easy to wear and created specifically for your hair.