Reverse Highlights: The Trendy Hair Color To Adopt In 2023

We know the trendiest way to light up your hair with pretty highlights to start the new year on a high note and the good news is, it's low-maintenance!

The year 2021 has barely started and already, a new way to shade your color to display pretty reflections in your lengths is freaking out social networks (TikTok in the lead) and promises to be the new type of strands to ask your hairdresser during your next meeting: the reverse highlights.

What are reverse highlights?

This coloring trend, which can be translated word for word in French by “inverted strands”, consists in carrying out a work of strands targeted mainly on the lower part of the hair, unlike the classic illuminating strands which are usually very clearly distinguished from the root. hair to blend better into the hair over the lengths. Hence their well-found name of reverse highlights echoes the inversion of the technique usually used to achieve lighter strands in the hair.

But that doesn't mean that strands lightened with this coloring technique are only lightened from mid-length. To obtain this more intense result on the lower part of the hair without showing obvious strands that streak the hair on the top of the head, the hairdresser must actually work his strands over the entire length of the hair, but first of all in a very fine at the roots before making the locks thicker as they go down the length so as to intensely illuminate the mid-lengths and ends and create that famous reverse highlights effect.

The result is a coloration full of contrasts that lacks neither radiance nor depth thanks to a very discreet highlighted effect on the top of the hair but clearly visible on the lengths and ends, which creates a play of shadows and softer and more natural light but also much easier to maintain. In fact, the streaked effect of reverse highlights evolves better over time than conventional locks when the hair grows because the root remains very natural with this technique. No more bar effect present in regrowth when we sport many blonde locks in our natural brown: the illuminating effect created remains unchanged for a long time before having to retouch the coloring because there is no obvious demarcation in roots. An interesting feature for the maintenance of these pretty reflections is thus greatly facilitated and guarantees us less regular appointments with the hairdresser.

A real godsend even though we have spent nearly a year maintaining our locks and highlights ourselves at home (with varying degrees of success) because of the successive confinements that have resulted in the closure of our hair salons for many months and prevented us from entrusting our hair to seasoned colorists.

Inverted wicks: for whom?

If the streaking technique advocated by reverse highlights appeals to you, know that it has the advantage of being suitable for the greatest number of people. Indeed, it is possible to achieve it on all hair colors, so you can try it whether your hair is blonde, brown, or red. If the principle of making the lock is reversed for this trend, that of the choice of the color of the locks remains exactly the same as for the conventional locks. It will therefore suffice to adapt the shade of your reverse highlights to your base to adopt the trend. Natural blondes will be able to choose very light locks while chestnut and red bases will prefer honey locks and brown hair will opt instead for a caramel-colored lightening which will blend more harmoniously with their natural base.

On the cut side, inverted strands again work for most lengths, although of course, they will not be possible on very short hair. They will therefore gladly illuminate a long bob or XXL lengths.