Peek-a-Boo Highlights

Q: My name is Ashley, and I've been curious about peek-a-boo highlights for months now. I understand the basic concept, but when I mentioned them to my hairdresser, she looked completely lost. I've spent hours searching online for clear pictures and detailed descriptions, but I keep coming up empty-handed. Every website seems to show different techniques or uses confusing terminology. Could you tell me exactly what peek-a-boo highlights are and how they work.

A: Peek-a-boo highlights are one of those hair coloring techniques that sound more complicated than they actually are, though the execution does require some skill and planning. The concept is beautifully simple: these are strategic highlights placed in specific sections of your hair that remain hidden beneath your top hair layers most of the time, only revealing themselves when your hair moves, shifts, or is styled in certain ways.

Think of it as having a secret pop of hair color that plays hide-and-seek. The highlights are typically placed in the underlayers of your hair, particularly in areas that don't naturally fall along your usual part lines or around your face's front hairline. This strategic placement means that when your hair is styled normally, the highlights are completely concealed by the hair above them. However, when you move your head, run your fingers through your hair, toss it over your shoulder, or even just have a breeze catch it, these hidden colors suddenly flash into view before disappearing again.

The beauty of peek-a-boo highlights lies in the element of surprise they create. You can go incredibly subtle with colors that are just a few shades lighter or different from your natural hair color. Alternatively, you can embrace bold, dramatic contrasts. I've seen everything from soft caramel highlights in brunette hair to orange streaks in black hair, and even rainbow sections that create an almost magical effect when they catch the light.

One particularly striking example that comes to mind is a client with deep black hair who chose hot pink peek-a-boo highlights. In her everyday professional environment, her hair appeared completely natural and conservative. But when she went out dancing, every movement of her head would reveal this vibrant pink, creating an almost mesmerizing effect that perfectly matched her fun, energetic personality.

Girl with dark hair and hidden orange highlights — Image: AI illustration

The key to achieving successful peek-a-boo highlights lies in careful planning and communication with your stylist. You'll need to consider several important factors together. Color choice is crucial. While you can go with any color imaginable, you'll want to think about how much contrast you want between your natural hair and the highlights. Subtle contrasts create elegant, sophisticated effects, while dramatic differences make bold statements.

Placement is equally important and requires a stylist who understands hair growth patterns, natural fall of hair, and movement. The highlights need to be positioned where they'll be properly hidden by your top layers of hair but still able to peek through with normal hair movement. This usually means focusing on the interior sections of your hair, often in horizontal sections that run parallel to your natural hairline but deeper within the hair mass.

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See also:

Hair color blocking

Targeted hair coloring and peek-a-boo panels