Chunking Hair Color Techniques

Learning a few chunking hair color techniques can really infuse some vivacious, bold drama into your style. The color doesn't have to be crazy or funky, of course. You can easily rock a look that's subtle, yet powerful.

Achieve a bold new look with chunking.

Chunky hair color is a popular method of coloring sections of the hair. An alternative to the traditional highlighting process, chunking is a technique that highlights large portions of hair. Color choices can vary drastically. Some individuals use chunking as a method of infusing ultra-bright, unexpected shades into their natural hair color. This creates a drastic contrast between the two shades, and the look is typically very bold and rich.

Others, however, might like the look of chunky highlights but not necessarily want to turn heads with a shocking hue. This is easily achieved by using a very natural color that provides little or no contrast to the original hair color.

Chunking is one way of testing out a color on larger sections of hair without committing to it completely. Since this method allows the color to be distributed all over the head or just in specific spots, it's particularly effective in ascertaining how a certain color may look over the entire head.

Whether you do it at home or have a professional stylist do it for you at a salon, chunking hair is relatively uncomplicated. Here are a few chunking hair color techniques to introduce you to this funky look.

Chunking is also known as baliage highlighting. Though it's a relatively recent addition to the hair coloring world, it's fast become one of the most popular looks today. The good news is that no matter what type of hair you have, you can take advantage of this popular style. Regardless of your hair's length or texture, it's possible to achieve chunk-style highlights without any hassle.

No short hairstyle is off bounds when it comes to chunk highlights. Stylists can give personality to your look with just a few quick strokes of a brush! A classic bob can be chunked using the traditional highlighting method, while a funky mohawk can easily look even more striking with some extra color. In order to add chunky highlights to a mohawk, the stylist first shapes the hair into the pointy style. Then each section is brushed with color and left to set. The result is a bold, healthy look that adds dimension.

Long, freshly highlighted hair practically gleams under the lights. Chunk highlights can add greater versatility to any look. If they don't turn out the way you planned (or for some reason the look is too "striped" for your tastes), there's a quick fix: Have the stylist separate the chunks and add hair lowlights shades to half of each one. This will allow the colors to blend in better and give you the depth you're looking for.

Chunk your hair at home with the L'Oreal Chunking Kit. This kit contains all of the materials needed to achieve professional looking chunk highlights at home, including a mixing tray, plastic styling hook and applicator, chunking cap, lightening powder, cream developer, conditioning chunking cream, conditioning shampoo, gloves, and an instruction sheet.

This kit is virtually foolproof, even for complete hair color novices. Depending on how large the chunks of hair are that you plan to highlight, you can opt to do the job with or without the included cap. Larger chunks of hair are more difficult to pull through the cap's holes; if you have a helping hand or are experienced enough to do it yourself, consider using sheets of highlighting foil instead. These will allow you to highlight large sections of hair without subjecting your scalp to any stress.

If, however, you do want to achieve thinner highlights, don't hesitate to use the cap. As with other at-home hair color products, simply mix the powder and developer together to create the highlighting blend. Use the applicator to brush it through as many or as few strands as you wish, making sure to separate the strands of hair prior to brushing the mixture through. Leave the mixture on your hair for the designated amount of time, then rinse and condition hair as normal.

Always remember to conduct a patch test prior to using any new hair color products. Even if you've used a particular brand before, there's no guarantee that you won't experience irritation with various products from the line. It's better to be safe than sorry when you're applying chemical products to your hair.

Though many, if not most, salons practice chunking techniques nowadays, there are stylists who specialize in this method of coloring. Visit Balayage's salon locator to find the stylist nearest you.

Chunking hair color techniques can give you a bold, fresh look without the drastic change of an all-over color shift. By experimenting with different colors and highlights, you can enjoy a rejuvenated style quickly and easily.

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