The language of hair colour explained

Sometimes hairdressers seem to speak a different language and can bamboozle you with technical jargon that frazzles your brain.

How do you know if you want highlights or lowlights of partial colour? We asked HJ's 2009 Schwarzkopf Professional British Colour Technician of the Year Chris Williams from Rush London, Croydon, to explain some of the terms that your colourist might use.

Lowlights

Highlights that are darker than your natural colour, they can break up overly blonde hair or add depth and contrast to darker styles.

Highlights

Fine, woven colour that is lighter than your natural hair colour, but leave natural hair looking natural but sun-kissed and lighter than the natural tone. These can be applied as full head or half head - which is below the crown - or as a T-section.

Partial colour

An area of highlights or colour not covering the whole head which are placed to accentuate a style, in the fringe or to frame the face, for example.

Block colour

All the hair is one colour.

T-section

Highlights are placed through the parting area and around the front hairline to cover the roots between visits.

Foils

Foils can be woven - when the colourist picks out small fine pieces with a tailcomb - leaving natural hair in between the weaves. The thickness can be adjusted to give different effects - chunkier or softer small result.

Colour

Each covers a varying degree of grey. A semi will only cover the first few grey hairs, whereas a tone on tone will cover up to 50% of grey and permanent colour will cover up to 100% of grey hair.

Semi

By definition, a semi-permanent lasts for 6-10 washes. It gradually fades out and the hair returns to a natural state. They tend are ammonia-free and peroxide-free.

Permanent

Colour that can lighten or darken the hair, it will cover 100% white hair and although permanent there will be some colour fade. Hair won't go back to its natural colour once this has been applied but you will get roots as the hair grows.

Ammonia

Companies use ammonia to swell the hair, allowing the colour to get into the hair shaft.

Placement colour

This is when a panel of colour or highlight/slices is applied in one area of the hair cut to emphasises a focal feature.

Freehand colour

Usually used on shorter styles, the colour is applied by combing or with fingertips to dab the colour on freehand. It's great for texture on shorter styles or to blend the grey without covering it.

Comb on colour/blending

Comb on colour is when you use a permanent colour and apply it using a comb to cover about 70% of the hair, leaving some strands of grey for a more natural look. Blending can also be used to make grey hair look a darker grey. There is no regrowth from this.

Back-to-back slices

Slices of colour that are applied not leaving any natural hair inbetween the foils to give a panel or block result. Each foil can be a different colour or the same.