You probably have heard of the popular makeup technique of “contouring,” using bronzers and highlighters to enhance your best facial features. Now, thanks to trending London colorists, this technique can be applied to your hair and wigs to make your hair color complement your face shape as well. Hair strobing is becoming the newest and hottest trend for highlighting one’s hair. It is gaining so much popularity because it helps to enhance each person’s natural beauty. The majority of people are getting highlights in their hair or wig, so why not personalize the highlights by optimally placing them to receive the greatest benefit possible?
Instead of randomly placing highlights throughout the hair, colorists are now being educated about the benefits of hair strobing. Colorists are being trained to carefully pay attention to a client’s face shape and skin tone in order to create custom face-framing highlights. Makeup artists use makeup to contour and highlight one’s face to enhance facial structure, resulting in a brightening glow. Now that same concept is being applied to hair and wigs.
This look can contour one’s hair just as bronzer would do to cheekbones. Face framing highlights, also called baby lights, mimic natural light that normally lightens your hair and brightens your face. The colorist strategically places blended highlights with thicker chunky highlights to bring a natural glow to your face.
A round face’s length is as long as its width and has a softer more rounded chin and jawline. Since round faces want to create longer and slimmer looks, highlights should be focused towards the bottom of the hair. Low lights should be added at the crown of the head to draw out your cheekbones. Avoid highlighting at the hairline.
Oval-shaped faces are longer than they are wide, they also have a soft, rounded jawline. Since oval-shaped faces are more balanced than other face shapes they can pull off almost any highlighted look. Highlights underneath one’s hair will illuminate one’s face and strobing along the cheekbones will always enhance one’s best features.
Heart-shaped faces have wide foreheads with narrow chins that come to a point. To balance out the narrow cheeks, make sure the highlights are focused by the crown of your head. Place the lightest highlights around your chin, which will give the illusion of a rounder face.
Square-shaped faces have a very strong jawline, and their forehead, cheekbones and jawline are all around the same width. To soften these features, evenly place highlights toward the front of your hair. Highlights should be carefully placed by the temples and cheekbones for additional softness.
The goal of strobing is to achieve a natural and effortless look. That is why it is best when choosing a color to choose one that is two shades lighter or darker than your natural hair color to ensure that the color best compliments your skin tone. To find the best placement for the highlights, look in a mirror and notice where the natural light hits your hair and cheekbones. Applying the highlights in your hair in those areas will help to pop your eyes.
The best thing about strobing hair is that it is completely personalized to you; the colorist works with your unique face shape, bone structure and skin tone to highlight the parts of your hair that will help to enhance your best features. Strobing is designed for everyone. Highlighting one’s hair to pop ones cheekbones works wonders for most face shapes. Because hair strobing is so personalized, be sure to find a colorist that will know how to place the highlights deliberately so that they are most flattering for your face shape.
By Sari Friedbauer
Sari Friedbauer is the owner of Sari’s Wigs. She is a licensed hair stylist and certified wig maker. She is available for consultations and can be reached at 201-694-5319.
