Highlighting Highlights for Men

Flashback to the 1990s and you’ll see visions of men with frosted tips and highlighted hair. It wasn’t just popular boy bands like N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys who were getting highlights, although they were the poster boys for frosted tips. In the 90s, regular guys of all ages were coloring their hair in professional salons and kitchen sinks across the country. You may have hidden all the photo evidence from those years but you might not need a blast from the past to remember your frosted tips. Highlights for men are making a comeback.

What are highlights?

Today’s stylists are seeing an increase in guys requesting highlights in their hair. The goal of this modern man style is to add depth, giving hair a more textured, sun-soaked look. There’s an overall relaxed feel. Highlights are not supposed to be extreme. They’re supposed to look natural, complementing the color of your hair. Instead of drawing attention to the dye or bleach job, good highlights blend into an overall style. By that definition, the extreme bleaching and styling in the 1990s are not technically highlights. Fortunately, the current trends aren’t quite as extreme as the skunk stripe hair or frosted tips, but let’s revisit those hair styles just for fun.

Skunk hair

Skunk stripes got their start in punk rock bands and angsty teens before they spread to become a more mainstream look. The style is named after skunks because it resembles the smelly creatures’ tail. Both men and women have their own variations of skunk hair. In general, most of the hair is a dark color, either black or brown. A thick stripe, usually across the top of one’s head, is bleached and dyed a light blonde or platinum color. Further styling is done with gel, mousse, or various cremes to finish the look.

Frosted tips

In the 1990s, guys would reach another level of coolness with they frost their tips. To get the look, men would cut their hair short. Using a strong-hold hair gel or creme, you would form several little spikes of hair around your head. The tips of these spikes would then be bleached and dyed blonde to stand out from the hair’s darker roots. Celebrities loved this look. Everyone from Zac Efron and Guy Fieri to Justin Timberlake once showed their coolness with frosted tips. A word of caution though: If you don’t style your hair into spikes, the bleached spots will look a bit strange mixed in with your normal hair color.

Should guys get highlights?

If you’re a guy who’s thinking about trying a new look for your hair, there are a couple things to consider. Highlights can be damaging to your hair. If your hair is weak and thinning, you might want to avoid this trend because it can do more harm than good. Always go to a professional, that way you can get advice on the best color for your hair and the proper way to maintain it. Colored hair often needs special products to protect the color and make it last longer. You will definitely want to invest in color-preserving shampoo and conditioner to get started. To keep up with today’s trends, you don’t have to go to extremes, but highlights can be a fun way for guys to switch up their style and get a sun-soaked look.