Full Highlights vs. Partial Highlights: What’s the Difference?

If you’ve ever looked at a salon menu and wondered, “What’s the difference between a full highlight and a partial highlight?” You’re not alone! Every salon structures their highlighting services a little differently, so today we’re explaining how we define them on our menu and how we use them to create a beautiful, lived-in color.

What Is a Full Highlight?

A full highlight means highlights are placed throughout the entire head.

This includes the areas you can easily see when looking in the mirror, as well as the underneath sections, back, and crown of the head. Because we are working throughout the entire head, a full highlight creates a more overall, dimensional brightness and helps refresh the color from top to bottom.

What Is a Partial Highlight?

A partial highlight focuses primarily on the top layer of the hair and the front half of the head, especially around the face. Think about what you can see when you look at yourself in the mirror. Those are the areas we focus on with a partial highlight. This makes a partial highlight a great option for maintaining your brightness and refreshing the most visible areas without highlighting the entire head every time.

This is a FABULOUS reference photo, by Cache Salon in Hanford CA.

What Does This Look Like for a Lived-In Color?

One of our favorite ways to maintain a beautiful, lived-in highlight is to alternate between the two services.

For many guests, a full highlight once or twice a year can refresh the overall placement throughout the head. Then, partial highlights in between can maintain the brightness around the face and top layers.

This approach can help create that soft, dimensional, lived-in look without needing a full highlight at every appointment.

So, Which One Do You Need?

It really depends on your current color, desired look, and where your existing highlights are placed.

If you’re looking to brighten throughout the entire head or refresh areas that haven’t been highlighted in a while, a full highlight may be the better choice.

If you’re happy with the brightness underneath and in the back but want to refresh what you see around your face and on the top layer, a partial may be all you need.

And remember: your stylist is your best resource! We can look at your current color, your grow-out, and your goals to determine which service makes the most sense for your next appointment. Every head of hair is different, and your highlight schedule should be, too.