Whether you’re dreaming of soft, sun-kissed blonde, bright platinum ribbons, or subtle dimension that grows out beautifully, highlights remain one of the most versatile and customizable hair color services available.
If you’ve ever searched for highlights in Indianapolis or wondered whether you should choose babylights, balayage, partial highlights, or a full foil, you’re not alone. Many clients arrive at Salon Wren with inspiration photos but aren’t always sure which technique will achieve the look they love—or how much maintenance it will require.
This guide is designed to answer those questions. You’ll learn how different highlighting techniques work, who they’re best suited for, how to maintain your color, and how to choose a service that complements both your hair and your lifestyle.
Highlights are sections of hair that are lightened to create contrast, brightness, and dimension throughout your natural color.
Unlike an all-over blonde color, highlights preserve some of your natural hair, allowing the finished result to look softer and more dimensional. Depending on the technique used, highlights can appear bold and bright or delicate and nearly invisible.
One of the greatest advantages of highlights is that every appointment can be completely customized. Placement, brightness, tone, and maintenance can all be adjusted to fit your goals.
Some clients want dramatic brightness around the face. Others want a subtle, lived-in blonde that grows out gracefully over several months. Both are achieved using highlights—the difference lies in the technique.
Highlights have remained popular for decades because they offer incredible flexibility.
They can:
Whether your hair is blonde, brunette, red, or somewhere in between, highlights can be tailored to complement your natural color.
One of the most common misconceptions is that highlights are all the same. In reality, there are many techniques, each creating a different effect.
Traditional foil highlights involve carefully weaving sections of hair and placing them inside foils while lightener processes.
This method provides maximum precision and allows your stylist to create consistent brightness from root to end.
Foil highlights are ideal for clients who want:
Babylights use extremely fine sections of hair to mimic the natural highlights often seen on children.
Rather than creating bold ribbons of blonde, babylights blend seamlessly throughout the hair, producing an incredibly soft finish.
Babylights are perfect for clients who prefer elegant, natural-looking blonde with very fine dimension.
Many of today’s luxury blonde looks are created primarily using babylights.
Partial highlights focus only on selected areas of the head and are measured by the surface area. Partial Highlights are usually broken down into 3 types.
This is usually the surface area which include a T-Section covering the surface area infant of the ears and on the top of the head to the crown. The T-section cover’s 1/4 of the surface area of the head.
Sometimes clients want to keep depth on the top of the head and brighten up the front and underneath. 1/4 head can also cover the surface area in front of the ears to the top of the head and behind the ears to the nape. This creates a subtle brightness around the face.
This is usually the surface area if a T-section, plus the crown area. It can also be a T-Section which also includes the area behind the ears to the nape of the neck. A Half head of highlights can be any section of the hair that covers half of the surface area of the head.
Some stylists like to work this way because it gives them more freedom with creative colors. It makes it easier to price highlights which can have a more creative sectioning patter, especially is someone wants a split dye with highlights only on one left side of the head and the right staying natural.
By now you can understand that three quarter head highlights would be a sectioning pattern which covers 3/4 the surface area of the head. This usually is a T-section including the crown and the nape area below the ears. It can also be the entire surface area of the head excluding the nape. Some stylist also will cover the entire surface area of the head, but space the highlights out quite a lot on the back of the head as if you only covering 3/4 of the surface area.
Salon Wren breaks the highlights down by surface area instead of just saying a partial highlight because it allows us to give a more fair pricing to our clients. If you are ever in doubt of whether to book a 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 head of highlights then always book the 3/4 head of highlights. If it turns out you actually wanted less, you will only be charged for the service you received, not the service you booked.
Full highlights cover the entire surface area of the head.
This service creates maximum brightness and allows your stylist to completely transform your overall color.
Clients often choose full highlights when:
Sometimes called a “money piece,” these lighter sections brighten the hairline and naturally draw attention to the face. It usually consists of 3 back to back babylights around the hairline.
Face-framing highlights can be dramatic or incredibly subtle depending on your personal style.
Lowlights add darker pieces throughout the hair rather than lighter ones.
Adding depth often makes blonde hair pop, appearing richer and more dimensional.
Lowlights are especially useful when hair has become too uniformly blonde or overly bright.
No two highlight appointments should look identical.
At Salon Wren, every color service begins with understanding your goals, your lifestyle, and the condition of your hair. From there, your stylist considers factors such as your natural level, previous color history, hair texture, density, and how often you’d like to return for maintenance.
Placement is just as important as color. Strategic highlights around the face can brighten your complexion, while softer ribbons throughout the interior create movement and depth. A customized approach allows your highlights to complement your haircut, your styling routine, and even the way your hair naturally falls.
The result isn’t simply lighter hair—it’s color designed specifically for you.
Lightness is only one part of beautiful highlights. Tone plays an equally important role.
Some clients prefer:
The healthiest-looking blonde isn’t always the lightest—it’s the tone that best complements your skin tone, eye color, and personal style.
Maintenance depends entirely on the technique you choose and the look you’re trying to maintain.
In general:
Clients who prefer a softer, lived-in look may comfortably go even longer between appointments.
Beautiful blonde hair isn’t just created in the salon—it continues at home.
To keep highlights looking vibrant:
Healthy hair reflects light better, making your highlights appear shinier and more dimensional.
One of the best things about highlights is their versatility.
Whether you have fine hair, thick hair, straight hair, waves, or curls, highlights can be adapted to enhance your natural texture.
Even clients with previously colored hair may still be candidates for highlights, though the approach may differ depending on your hair history and goals.
A consultation helps determine the safest and most effective plan for achieving your desired result while maintaining the integrity of your hair.
At Salon Wren, highlights are never one-size-fits-all.
Our approach is thoughtful, personalized, and focused on creating color that complements your features and fits your lifestyle. Rather than following trends for the sake of trends, we believe in crafting timeless, dimensional color that grows out beautifully and keeps your hair looking healthy.
Located near Garfield Park in Indianapolis, Salon Wren offers a calm, welcoming environment where every appointment begins with listening. Whether you’re looking for subtle babylights, bright blonde highlights, or a complete transformation, our goal is to help you leave feeling confident with hair that looks naturally beautiful.
