Highlights vs. Color — What's the Difference?
By Urooj Arif & Fiza Rafique — Updated on May 16, 2024
Highlights refer to adding lighter strands to hair to create dimension and contrast, while color involves changing the entire hair color or large sections with a uniform shade.
Difference Between Highlights and Color
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Highlights involve treating small sections of hair with a lighter color than the base to create contrast, depth, and dimension. They can be subtle or dramatic, depending on the desired effect, and are typically applied using foils or balayage techniques. Color, on the other hand, refers to the process of changing the overall shade of the hair or large sections. This can include dyeing the hair a completely different color, covering gray hairs, or applying a new shade over the entire head.
While highlights focus on adding lightness and dimension to specific strands, hair color involves a more comprehensive change, altering the base color of the hair. Highlights can enhance the natural hair color and add texture, whereas full color changes the entire look of the hair.
Highlights often require less maintenance than full hair color, as they grow out more subtly. Full hair color changes usually need more frequent touch-ups to maintain an even shade and to cover roots as they grow in.
The techniques for applying highlights and color can differ significantly. Highlights often use methods like foiling or painting (balayage), while full color can involve application with brushes or bottles over the entire head or large sections.
Comparison Chart
Definition
Adding lighter strands for contrast and dimension
Changing overall hair shade or large sections
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Purpose
Create dimension, add lightness
Change entire hair color, cover gray
Application
Small sections, usually with foils or balayage
Full head or large sections, uniform shade
Maintenance
Less frequent, subtle grow-out
More frequent touch-ups needed
Techniques
Foiling, balayage
Full-head application, brush, or bottle
Impact
Enhances natural color, adds texture
Complete change in appearance
Compare with Definitions
Highlights
Can be subtle or dramatic.
She chose subtle caramel highlights for a natural look.
Color
Changing the entire hair color or large sections.
She decided to color her hair a vibrant red.
Highlights
Lighter strands added to hair for contrast and dimension.
She got blonde highlights to brighten her brunette hair.
Color
Can include dyeing the hair a different shade.
He colored his hair black to cover the grays.
Highlights
Often applied using foils or balayage.
Balayage highlights create a more blended, natural effect.
Color
Can be natural or unconventional hues.
She experimented with a bold blue hair color.
Highlights
Sections of hair treated with a lighter color.
The stylist used foils to apply highlights.
Color
Color (American English), or colour (Commonwealth English), is the characteristic of visual perception described through color categories, with names such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple. This perception of color derives from the stimulation of photoreceptor cells (in particular cone cells in the human eye and other vertebrate eyes) by electromagnetic radiation (in the visible spectrum in the case of humans).
Highlights
A technique to give hair a sun-kissed look.
Highlights can make hair look naturally sun-bleached.
Color
The appearance of objects or light sources described in terms of the individual's perception of them, involving hue, lightness, and saturation for objects, and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources.
Highlights
An area or a spot in a drawing, painting, or photograph that is strongly illuminated.
Color
The characteristics of light by which the individual is made aware of objects or light sources through the receptors of the eye, described in terms of dominant wavelength, luminance, and purity.
Highlights
An especially significant or interesting detail or event.
Color
A gradation or variation of this aspect, especially when other than black, white, or gray; a hue:fireworks that exploded in brilliant colors.
Highlights
Highlights Strands of hair that have been lightened, as by bleaching or coloring.
Color
A substance, such as a dye, pigment, or paint, that imparts a hue.
Highlights
To give a highlight to (the subject of a painting, for example).
Color
The use of different colors in visual representation.
Highlights
To make prominent; emphasize
The article highlighted the painstaking work of the detectives.
Color
The different colors used in visual representation:one of the earliest movies in color.
Highlights
To be a highlight of
The duet highlighted the concert.
Color
The general appearance of the skin, especially as an indication of good health
Regained her color after a few days' rest.
Highlights
To mark (important passages of text) with a usually fluorescent marker as a means of memory retention or for later reference.
Color
A reddening of the face, as a blush or sign of anger.
Highlights
To lighten (strands of hair), as by bleaching or coloring.
Color
Skin pigmentation considered as a racial characteristic or a marker of racial identity, especially when other than white:"My father told me if I go west, there's integration; you don't worry about color"(Itabari Njeri). See Usage Note at person of color.
Highlights
Plural of highlight
Color
A colored item, such as a badge, ribbon, or piece of clothing, serving as an identifying mark:wore the colors of their college.
Highlights
Summary of an event, such as a sporting event, focussing on the most entertaining or consequential aspects; compilation of each highlight of that event
Color
A flag or banner, as of a country or military unit:a ship flying the colors of Brazil.
Color
The salute made during the ceremony of raising or lowering a flag.
Color
ColorsOne's opinion or position:Stick to your colors.
Color
OftencolorsCharacter or nature:revealed their true colors.
Color
An outward and often deceptive appearance:a tale with the merest color of truth.
Color
Appearance of authenticity:testimony that lends color to an otherwise absurd notion.
Color
(Law)The appearance of a legal claim, as to a right or office.
Color
Vividness or variety in expression:a story told with a lot of color.
Color
Commentary distinguished by vivid details or background information, as during a sports broadcast:A former coach provided the color for the championship game.
Color
Local color.
Color
The use or effect of pigment in painting, as distinct from form.
Color
(Music)Quality of tone or timbre.
Color
A particle or bit of gold found in auriferous gravel or sand.
Color
(Physics)See color charge.
Color
(Astronomy)See color index.
Color
To impart color to or change the color of.
Color
To give a distinctive character or quality to; modify:"Both books are colored by the author's childhood experiences"(Deborah M. Locke).
Color
To exert an influence on; affect:The war colored the soldier's life.
Color
To misrepresent, especially by distortion or exaggeration:color the facts.
Color
To gloss over; excuse:a parent who colored the children's lies.
Color
To take on color.
Color
To change color.
Color
To become red in the face; redden or blush.
Color
(uncountable) The spectral composition of visible light.
Humans and birds can perceive color.
Color
A subset thereof:
Color
(countable) A particular set of visible spectral compositions, perceived or named as a class.
Most languages have names for the colors black, white, red, and green.
Color
(uncountable) Hue as opposed to achromatic colors (black, white and grays).
He referred to the white flag as one "drained of all color".
Color
These hues as used in color television or films, color photographs, etc (as opposed to the shades of grey used in black-and-white television).
This film is broadcast in color.
Most people dream in color, but some dream in black and white.
Color
(heraldry) Any of the standard dark tinctures used in a coat of arms, including azure, gules, sable, and vert.
Color
A paint.
The artist took out her colors and began work on a landscape.
Color
(uncountable) Human skin tone, especially as an indicator of race or ethnicity.
Color has been a sensitive issue in many societies.
Color
(medicine) Skin color, noted as normal, jaundiced, cyanotic, flush, mottled, pale, or ashen as part of the skin signs assessment.
Color
A flushed appearance of blood in the face; redness of complexion.
Color
(figuratively) Richness of expression; detail or flavour that is likely to generate interest or enjoyment.
There is a great deal of colour in his writing.
A bit of local color
Could you give me some color with regards to which products made up the mix of revenue for this quarter?
Color
A standard, flag, or insignia:
Color
(in the plural) A standard or banner.
The loss of their colors destroyed the regiment's morale.
Color
(in the plural) The flag of a nation or team.
The colors were raised over the new territory.
Color
(in the plural) Gang insignia.
Both of the perpetrators were wearing colors.
Color
(in the plural) An award for sporting achievement, particularly within a school or university.
He was awarded colors for his football.
Color
The morning ceremony of raising the flag.
Color
(physics) A property of quarks, with three values called red, green, and blue, which they can exchange by passing gluons; color charge.
Color
A third-order measure of derivative price sensitivity, expressed as the rate of change of gamma with respect to time, or equivalently the rate of change of charm with respect to changes in the underlying asset price.
Color
(typography) The relative lightness or darkness of a mass of written or printed text on a page. (See type color)
Color
(snooker) Any of the colored balls excluding the reds.
Color
A front or facade; an ostensible truth actually false; pretext.
Color
An appearance of right or authority; color of law.
Under color of law, he managed to bilk taxpayers of millions of dollars.
Color
Conveying color, as opposed to shades of gray.
Color television and movies were considered a great improvement over black and white.
Color
(transitive) To give something color.
We could color the walls red.
Color
(transitive) To cause (a pipe, especially a meerschaum) to take on a brown or black color, by smoking.
Color
(intransitive) To apply colors to the areas within the boundaries of a line drawing using colored markers or crayons.
My kindergartener loves to color.
Color
(of a person or their face) To become red through increased blood flow.
Her face colored as she realized her mistake.
Color
To affect without completely changing.
That interpretation certainly colors my perception of the book.
Color
(informal) To attribute a quality to; to portray (as).
Color me confused.
They tried to colour the industrial unrest as a merely local matter.
Color
To assign colors to the vertices of a graph (or the regions of a map) so that no two vertices connected by an edge (regions sharing a border) have the same color.
Can this graph be 2-colored?
You can color any map with four colors.
Color
A property depending on the relations of light to the eye, by which individual and specific differences in the hues and tints of objects are apprehended in vision; as, gay colors; sad colors, etc.
Color
Any hue distinguished from white or black.
Color
The hue or color characteristic of good health and spirits; ruddy complexion.
Give color to my pale cheek.
Color
That which is used to give color; a paint; a pigment; as, oil colors or water colors.
Color
That which covers or hides the real character of anything; semblance; excuse; disguise; appearance.
They had let down the boat into the sea, under color as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship.
That he should die is worthy policy;But yet we want a color for his death.
Color
Shade or variety of character; kind; species.
Boys and women are for the most part cattle of this color.
Color
A distinguishing badge, as a flag or similar symbol (usually in the plural); as, the colors or color of a ship or regiment; the colors of a race horse (that is, of the cap and jacket worn by the jockey).
In the United States each regiment of infantry and artillery has two colors, one national and one regimental.
Color
An apparent right; as where the defendant in trespass gave to the plaintiff an appearance of title, by stating his title specially, thus removing the cause from the jury to the court.
Color
To change or alter the hue or tint of, by dyeing, staining, painting, etc.; to dye; to tinge; to paint; to stain.
The rays, to speak properly, are not colored; in them there is nothing else than a certain power and disposition to stir up a sensation of this or that color.
Color
To change or alter, as if by dyeing or painting; to give a false appearance to; usually, to give a specious appearance to; to cause to appear attractive; to make plausible; to palliate or excuse; as, the facts were colored by his prejudices.
He colors the falsehood of Æneas by an express command from Jupiter to forsake the queen.
Color
To hide.
That by his fellowship he color mightBoth his estate and love from skill of any wight.
Color
To acquire color; to turn red, especially in the face; to blush.
Color
A visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect;
A white color is made up of many different wavelengths of light
Color
Interest and variety and intensity;
The Puritan Period was lacking in color
Color
The timbre of a musical sound;
The recording fails to capture the true color of the original music
Color
A race with skin pigmentation different from the white race (especially Blacks)
Color
An outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading;
He hoped his claims would have a semblance of authenticity
He tried to give his falsehood the gloss of moral sanction
The situation soon took on a different color
Color
Any material used for its color;
She used a different color for the trim
Color
(physics) the characteristic of quarks that determines their role in the strong interaction; each flavor of quarks comes in three colors
Color
The appearance of objects (or light sources) described in terms of a person's perception of their hue and lightness (or brightness) and saturation
Color
Add color to;
The child colored the drawings
Fall colored the trees
Colorize black and white film
Color
Affect as in thought or feeling;
My personal feelings color my judgment in this case
The sadness tinged his life
Color
Modify or bias;
His political ideas color his lectures
Color
Decorate with colors;
Color the walls with paint in warm tones
Color
Gloss or excuse;
Color a lie
Color
Change color, often in an undesired manner;
The shirts discolored
Color
Having or capable of producing colors;
Color film
He rented a color television
Marvelous color illustrations
Black-and-white film
A black-and-white TV
The movie was in black and white
Color
Applied over the whole head or large sections uniformly.
The stylist used a brush to apply the new color evenly.
Color
Requires regular maintenance to keep the color fresh.
Root touch-ups are necessary to maintain hair color.
Common Curiosities
Do highlights require a lot of maintenance?
Highlights generally require less frequent maintenance as they grow out subtly.
What are highlights?
Highlights are lighter strands added to the hair to create contrast and dimension.
How are highlights applied?
Highlights are typically applied using foils or balayage techniques.
What is hair color?
Hair color involves changing the entire hair shade or large sections uniformly.
How is hair color applied?
Hair color can be applied using a brush or bottle over the whole head or large sections.
Can highlights be subtle?
Yes, highlights can be subtle or dramatic depending on the desired effect.
Does hair color require frequent touch-ups?
Yes, full hair color changes usually need regular touch-ups to maintain an even shade and cover roots.
Can hair color be vibrant?
Yes, hair color can range from natural hues to vibrant, unconventional shades.
What is balayage?
Balayage is a technique for applying highlights that creates a more natural, blended look.
Does hair color change the entire hair shade?
Yes, hair color changes the overall shade of the hair or large sections.
Can hair color cover gray hairs?
Yes, hair color is often used to cover gray hairs.
What’s the main difference between highlights and color?
Highlights add lighter strands for dimension, while color changes the overall hair shade uniformly.
Can highlights enhance natural hair color?
Yes, highlights can enhance and add texture to the natural hair color.
What are foils used for in highlighting?
Foils are used to separate and apply lighter color to small sections of hair.
Do highlights change the entire hair color?
No, highlights add lightness and dimension to specific strands, not the entire head.
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Written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
