The Art of Highlighting with Katie Eck

When I started doing hair I was fascinated by highlights. I feel like this is what happens when you are a natural blonde in hair school! Having had my hair highlighted myself since I was 13, I wanted to know how to get the perfect effect. My first apprenticeship out of hair school I worked for a woman who could do a full head of highlights in 20 minutes. This was amazing to watch and from her I learned what creates maximum impact with less foils. However, I personally wanted to be more detail oriented in my work.

During my second apprenticeship, we were trained weekly and I repeatedly brought in clients trying to get better. I would practice my speed and would place foils in all different directions to find what worked best on the head.

When I finally got into my groove, I figured out that I needed to customize each foil to everyone's specific needs. This is when I really started to understand the importance of the individual needs of each client. When you want maximum impact, blonde foils should be placed horizontally with the part to create a more solid look. If you are looking for a softer look with less blonde and more dimension, they should be placed vertically to the part. It is amazing how many different ways there are to foil and I feel like I am learning new ways each day.

I love to listen to my clients and find out exactly what it is they are looking for and to customize my foil technique to their specific needs and we continue to do that each visit. Sometimes we switch it up, but like everything, change is always welcomed, especially when it comes to blondes.