Do you want to dye your hair, but don’t want your roots to show? Or to get natural looking highlights without the expensive up keep? Here’s what I did:

Bright Red Peek A Boo Highlights

After I spent 2 years growing out my natural color, I decided I was bored with the flat color. I want to add depth, but didn’t want to go dark, so I talked to my hair stylist for ideas. We decided to go blonde, yet I was terrified of the color – what if the strands around my face totally pinked out or washed out my skin? Plus, I’d spent so much time not dying it to ruin it with bleach.

Hair Color Pen for Highlights

We met half way with Peek A Boos. There are two different ways to do this type of highlight. The most common to see is the platinum top half and a dark brown/black bottom half, where the blonde covered the roots. At a party, I heard this was called the “Bro Hoe” look but I kind of like it, because you can do a few different things with it, such as reddish tones or different shades of blonde, or even leaving the bottom half your natural color and only dying the top – but this makes it so your roots will be visible.

Another way to do Peek A Boos is by highlights. This is my favorite and the one I chose, because if you have layers the color will peek out, highlight your face, and lighten the overall shade of your hair, which was my result. I haven’t touched up my roots in four months, sadly, but you can’t even tell that my roots are grown out unless I part my hair too far to the side. If you want a hair dye job without obvious growth or too much commitment, this is definitely the one for you. Plus, it will be less obvious if you mess up!

When I went to the salon, it cost me only $40 for just the Peek A Boos, but you can try it yourself at home.

Peek A Boos for Dark Hair

First, you need to decide what color you want to go. You can find any hair color at ULTA Beauty. For blonde hair, you can use almost any color. For a spunky look, you can even try some pink or your favorite color, since you can bend the normal rules for dyed hair. If you have red hair, try blonde to add depth, like I did. Medium brown can go a warm blonde or black. Dark hair should be bleached before color is added unless you want a “washed” color, which is actually very pretty if you decide on red. Try not to stick with the bleached streaks, though, because it will be too stark and hair needs to be harmonious. Chestnut and golden hues work best, or even try pink for a little fun.

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Now the fun part: dying. You need to have help for the back of your head, so find a friend you can trust (mine was a slightly OCD friend who made sure it was perfect). You’ll need the hair dye, hair paint brush, foil, a comb, and a clip.

First, take the hair surrounding your part, about two inches from each side and put it out of the way in a clip. Take the pieces of hair you want colored, about a fourth-inch thick, and place a 6×4 inch piece of foil underneath snug against your scalp. Use the mixed dye to coat from the roots down, since the ends absorb dye faster than the roots. Liberally coat the length of hair, making sure you get as close to the scalp as possible on top and bottom. After you coat the ends, make sure your hair is entirely on the foil. Fold the foil until it meets at the scalp, bend the edges in like an envelope, making sure none of the hair is sticking out – this prevents the dye from spreading to hair you do not want colored.

Be Original with Peek A Boos

If you want more depth, you can do to packets stacked on each other, but try not to do more than two. Do both sides equally and have a friend help with the back, where you can do three packets if you want. It’s okay to have the pattern broken, since it actually makes it look more natural than a solid U around your crown.

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If you have layers, decide which pieces you want peeking out the most and dye accordingly.

Follow the directions on the dye packet for wait time and so forth. If you’re going with a lighter color, use some form of dry heat (like a blow drier) to further activate the dye.

Remember, you don’t want to do more than a third of your hair total. If there’s too much, your hair will look to chunky. The goal for Peek A Boo’s is depth and low-maintenance beauty.

I hope you enjoy your new look. Let us know how yours turned out!

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