I finally learned to stop overloading my foils and my highlights came out so much cleaner

Was watching a senior stylist at my salon in Austin knock out a full head of foils in under an hour and noticed she used way less product per section than I do, and when I tried her method on my next client the color lifted perfectly without any bleeding, has anyone else found that less is actually more with lightener application?

3 comments

3 Comments

hill.margaret1mo agoTop Commenter

OH MY GOD yes! I had this EXACT same revelation about two years ago and it changed everything for me. I used to cake on the lightener thinking more product meant faster lift but all it did was make my foils bleed and leave patchy results. I was at a class in San Antonio and the educator said she uses less than half the amount of product most stylists do and her highlights came out so even and clean. I think we all are trained to think "more is better" especially when we are starting out but honestly the lightener can only hold so much moisture before it just slides off. Now I literally use just enough to coat the hair thinly and my clients leave with zero staining or banding. It's like once you see it work with LESS you can never go back to the heavy handed way.

jade5171mo ago

That "lightener can only hold so much moisture before it slides off" point you made really stuck with me. It makes perfect sense when you think about it too much product just creates a mess and wastes your resources, plus it stresses the hair out more than it needs to.

rose_reed1mo ago

Learned this same lesson the hard way after a few foils bled through on me early in my career.