Lowlights are the most underused tool in hair color. Everyone knows what highlights are. Lowlights are the opposite — darker pieces woven into your hair to add depth, dimension, and contrast. And honestly, they solve problems that highlights alone never will.
What lowlights actually are
A lowlight is a section of hair colored darker than your base. Applied through foils or freehand painting, they create shadow and depth the same way contour works on a face — the darker tones make the lighter areas around them pop. Unlike highlights, which lift pigment out, lowlights deposit color in. It’s a permanent service that grows out gradually, and when it’s done well, it looks completely natural.
Think of it this way: highlights add brightness. Lowlights add richness. Most hair that looks truly dimensional has both.
When you should get lowlights
Your blonde has gone too uniform. This is the most common reason people come in for lowlights. After a few rounds of highlights, the contrast between your dark root and light ends starts to look one-note through the mid-lengths. Lowlights break that up. They reintroduce the natural-looking variation that makes blonde hair look expensive rather than bleached.
You want to go darker without going all-in. If you’re tired of being super blonde but the idea of a full single-process color feels too drastic, lowlights let you ease back toward a darker shade. You add depth piece by piece, over one or two sessions, and the result looks like a natural evolution rather than a sudden change.
Your natural color has gone flat. Brunettes get this too. Natural brown hair can lose its dimension over time — sun damage, product buildup, or just the way your pigment settles as you age. Lowlights in a slightly darker or richer shade of brown bring back the movement and depth that your hair had when you were younger.
You want low-maintenance color. Lowlights grow out beautifully because they’re close to your natural shade. No hard root line. No obvious regrowth. Most lowlight clients come back every 12–16 weeks, some even longer.
How we approach lowlights at Reverie
The shade selection is everything. We’re not just picking “brown.” We’re choosing a specific level and tone that creates the right contrast with your existing color. Too dark and it looks stripy. Too close to your base and it’s invisible. The sweet spot is usually 1–2 levels darker than your base, in a tone that complements rather than clashes.
Placement matters just as much. We typically concentrate lowlights underneath and through the interior of the hair, leaving the top layers and face frame lighter. This creates depth when your hair moves without making the overall look darker when it’s still. It’s the kind of thing people notice without being able to pinpoint why your hair suddenly looks so much better.
Lowlights + highlights together
This is what we do most. Highlights for brightness, lowlights for depth, and the combination creates the kind of multi-tonal, lived-in color that looks like you were born with the world’s most perfect natural hair. It’s more work than either service alone, but the result is worth it.
If you look at any of our before and after photos where the hair has that effortless, three-dimensional quality, there are almost certainly lowlights in there. They’re the secret ingredient.
Cost and timing
Lowlights are priced similarly to highlights — starting around $165 for a partial and $225+ for full placement. Combined with highlights, a full dimensional color service runs $275–$400+ depending on length and complexity. The appointment takes about the same time as a highlight service — 2–3 hours.
Not sure if lowlights are right for you?
Book a consultation at Reverie. Bring a photo of what your hair looked like when you loved it most — chances are, lowlights can get you back there. River North, Chicago.
