Twilighting is a hair coloring technique that adds subtle, warm, golden highlights to brunette hair, mimicking the glow of twilight by blending the techniques of balayage (hand-painted) and babylights (ultra-fine highlights) for natural dimension, depth, and movement, without the harshness of traditional highlights. It creates a soft, shimmering effect with golden hues, enhancing natural tones for a low-maintenance, multi-tonal look.
A combination of two different highlighting methods, twilighting involves the balayage and babylights highlighting techniques. These are merged together, to create a natural, multi-layered look. The balayage method is used on the lengths and ends of the hair, while the babylights tackle the area around the hairline.
7 Natural Ways to Dye & Color Your Hair without Chemicals
Deciding between the two depends on the vibe you're going for. It all comes down to whether you want to lighten things up or add some contrast. If you want something brighter and more vibrant, highlights are the way to go. If you're aiming for a more natural or grounded look with a bit of depth, lowlights are perfect.
The 7 stages of lightening hair refer to the color progression as pigment is lifted, moving from deep red/black through shades of red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, to pale yellow/platinum, revealing underlying tones as the natural melanin is stripped away. These stages (often more than 7 distinct levels in practice) show the gradual shift: black (deep red undertones) → dark brown (red) → medium brown (red-orange) → light brown (orange) → dark blonde (orange-yellow) → medium/light blonde (yellow) → pale yellow/platinum (pale yellow), with toning needed to neutralize unwanted warmth.
The hardest hair colors to remove are typically black and vivid reds, due to their dense pigment load and strong staining power, often requiring multiple bleaching sessions; while vivid blues and purples are also very difficult, especially cool-toned ones, because their small dye molecules deeply bond to porous hair, making them stubborn to lift.
A bleach bath typically lifts hair 1 to 3 levels, offering a gentler lift than traditional bleaching by diluting bleach with shampoo and applying it to wet hair, making it great for removing toner, correcting color, or subtle lightening, though results vary based on your starting hair color, porosity, and developer strength.
For a youthful look at 60, opt for warm, soft, blended colors like honey blonde, caramel, warm auburn, or chocolate brown with caramel highlights, which add brightness and soften features, avoiding harsh, solid dark colors or platinum blonde. Adding subtle highlights or lowlights creates dimension, and embracing natural gray with a silver or platinum shade can also be very modern and flattering, especially with a soft, layered cut.
First, can lowlights actually cover gray hair? Yes! Lowlights, which, unlike highlights are actually a few shades darker than your hair, bring out the most natural look versus using brighter traditional highlights, says Michael Canalé, Jennifer Aniston's longtime colorist and creator of hair care line Canalé.
Balayage drawbacks include a higher initial cost, longer application time, potential for brassiness (especially on dark hair), the need for a skilled stylist to avoid patchiness, and it might not achieve very bold, uniform lightening in one session, sometimes requiring multiple visits for significant color changes, plus the potential for dryness from bleach.
Ingredients you should avoid in hair dyes
A lighter hair colour
Darker colours often look harsher and accentuate the shadows in your face, which brings extra attention to wrinkles and lines in your face. Don't wanna go light right away? Try highlights around your face first, this has the same effect.
Opt for hair dyes made with natural colorants like henna, indigo, cassia, beetroot, coffee, and other plant-derived ingredients. These natural hair dye options allow you to color your hair without harsh chemicals like ammonia, PPD, resorcinol, and peroxide commonly found in conventional dyes.
Brush your hair thoroughly and apply a lightweight, frizz-smoothing oil. Wrap your hair around your head or secure it in a low ponytail. Cover with a silky scarf or bonnet to reduce friction. Wake up with smooth, shiny strands that need minimal heat (or none at all).
Balayage represents one of the most popular advanced hair coloring techniques in salons today. This French method involves hand-painting color onto hair sections. The result creates natural-looking dimension that grows out beautifully. Unlike traditional foil highlights, balayage allows for customized placement.
Soft Cream Neutrals
Creamy neutral hair colors soften the overall beauty landscape for 2026. These shades blend warmth and balance, creating a polished yet wearable finish. Neither too cool nor too golden, they flatter a wide range of skin tones. The result is effortless sophistication with lasting appeal.
It works by removing product buildup and environmental residues that can accentuate gray strands. By tightening the hair cuticles, it also gives hair a smoother texture and a natural shine, making grays less stark.
The Colors to Avoid with Gray Hair
Here are a few to steer clear of: Muddy Neutrals: Beige, taupe, and other muted tones can make your skin look washed out and ashy. Earthy Yellows and Oranges: These warm tones clash with the coolness of gray hair and can make your complexion look sallow.
Pick a lighter hair colour
In the beginning this a perfectly fine choice, but as you're turning greyer your face slightly changes tone as well. A lighter colour will then look better. Your hair follicles produce less pigment as you're turning older.
Shoulder-length waves
This length strikes a perfect balance - it's long enough to create the illusion of more hair, but short enough to avoid looking stringy or lifeless.
Silver, ashy, blond, and platinum are indeed the most popular hair color choices for women over 60.
If you're looking for a gray hair dye without harsh chemicals that can harm your strands, reach for Herbatint Permanent Haircolor Gel. With 41 color options to choose from and a gentle, ammonia-free formulation, this box hair dye is everything you need to keep your hair looking naturally beautiful.
The salon price to dye your hair can fall between $75-$200+ depending on the coloring technique used, the salon, the experience level of your stylist, and your current hair situation.
Diluted household bleach has been safely used for many years to help treat skin infections. A small amount of bleach added to the bath is recommended for conditions such as eczema, impetigo (school sores), boils, and infected wounds, to help reduce bacteria on the skin and improve the severity of disease.
Bleached hair will only fall out if it's been overprocessed to the max or the bleach is left on for far too long, which shouldn't happen with a trained professional. What's more likely to happen is breakage.