Although lotsachaos' remark was sarcastic, it was also very true. As a hairstylist, I can tell you that it is NOT that easy to highlight your own hair. Working in a salon, I've seen woman come in for us to correct the mess they made with home highlighting kits and spend double what they would pay for a highlighting had they come to a salon in the first place. If you wash off the color or bleach too soon, you can end up with brassy tones. If you leave it on too long, you can make your hair almost white or even have it break off. If you just brush on the color or bleach as shown in the picture in the article, the pieces of hair that get the most saturation will lighten to the color you desire, but the pieces that just get a light brushing of the color or bleach will be a different color. You'll have all different colors in your hair, light tones and brassy tones. It will be a total mess. That's why colorists put the color or bleach on one strip of hair and wrap it in foil. This way the color hits only the pieces of hair they want and doesn't "bleed" onto the hair around the area. Highlights only have to be done every four to six months, so spend the money and have it done professionally. Spread out over four to six months, the cost isn't that much. And you'lll be much happier with the results.

Stylist shouldn't charge you out of the ass to do it,

I'd just like to share my experience. I think it can go both ways. I went to an expensive salon to have highlights added to my long, dark auburn hair and to have the color evened out because I home colored it for so many years, it was lighter auburn on top and by the time it got to the bottom it was very dark :( I was tired of the uneven color and always wanted hightlights..... Two months ago I went to the salon and asked the gal to fix the color, remove the dark auburn, and add some hightlights that weren't too much lighter than the auburn,(light auburn highlights on medium auburn hair) is what I asked for. She did say that auburn is harder to work with, but it wouldn't be a problem. After two visits to see her (5 weeks apart), she has made my hair with blonde highlights on top and still medium auburn on the bottom half......and I really don't like it at all... The highlights aren't light auburn they're almost white with some of the hightlights being brassy (orange). Now that my grey roots are growing out I don't know what to do with my hair......it's so many different colors and the highlights are tooooooo blonde on top of medium auburn.
I can't afford $130 every 4 or 5 weeks to have it done, not to have done what I asked for........she did add some honey color to get rid of a lot of the auburn underneath, so I'm thinking about adding my own Honey color to my entire head to see what happens.....maybe it will darken the blonde and lighted the auburn a little???
I'm so frustrated by paying high prices for bright blonde highlights I didn't ask for.
I've never highlighted my own hair......and at this point I just want to fix it. My bangs and one side of my hair looks really nice......but the other side is mostly blonde from too many highlights :(

I have done my own highlights for yrs.. If its overdone I go to Sallys and get a toner.. No big deal. I've made a mistake years ago on haircolor and paid $65.00 and it wasn't any better!

Hairdresser speaking!! The market is out there for people that want to save money. Thats fine. Don't expect this to be a great highlight. If you are lucky the first time.. Count your blessings. I want to see all those kitchen hairdressers do a touch up on the regrowth without error.

Save money somewhere else. Have you ever noticed one of the first things you say when you describe someone? Height...Length and color of hair. I make sure all my clients are described having great color. I think its worth the money!!! I think my clients are worth the money!! I am a professional and I don't put out a "BOX HAIRCOLOR" look for a large fee.. You can that look at your local drug store..with a coupon and a prayer

Duh! We are not all idiots and I have seen some pretty BAD results from hair stylists.
You can have a friend help. I went in for hi-lights and they put a cap on me and I came out completely blonde, pulled to much through. This was an uspscale salon, at least according to the prices..They offered to put a toner on but not being that dumb, I knew I would just be a different shade ALL BLONDE. This man gave good advice. Didn't overdue it and the shade was not that different so I think it would be hard to ruin it. I know this is your business but I sell wigs so I also get a lot of YOUR mess ups.

So there you have it, my point, most people don't know the difference between a good cut/color/perm, thank you Marcy for helping me make my point.
I'm not saying you can't use a box for all over color, this is a recession, but, not highlights your going to bleed, over-lift for breakage, and or be premature and have brassy color. You would not know when to use heat or for how long. I'll close with and old saying " penny wise and pound foolish" Terri, Stylist for 33 yrs.

For one, I take offense to you calling hair stylists self-righteous, most of us are here to help you create a style that is easy and versatile and that you are happy with! We love what we do! It seems by the way you are talking that you think you might be God's gift! I don't care who you are or how many people ask you who does your hair! I would like to see a picture, because I guarantee people are just being nice (aka lying) or they want to know who does your hair because they don't want to go where you go! I am appalled that you think we are self-righteous people and that we charge to much! We have to charge what we charge since most is commission based which is usually around 50% or lower for some. If we are charging $100 for highlights we only get $50 and out of the fifty we only really make about $30 after we pay for the product used and don't forget taxes! So if it takes about 2 hours to get a full head of highlights and we are only making $30, we are really only making $15 an hour! So in all reality, we are not making that much off of you! How much do you make an hour for what you do? I am sure you will find some sort of logic to defend what you make, but God forbid a hairdresser makes any kind of good money! We even work 10-12 hours a day or more to be available for you "business" women that can't make it in til 7 or 8 o'clock at night! We give up time spent at home to make sure we have hours that accommodate you! So I think we are far from self-righteous or thinking that we are God's gift, we are just people trying to make a living like everyone else, and shame on you for putting us down for that! Just because you have some business degree or maybe no degree at all does not make you better than us! We put in 1500 hours to be able to work on the public and 10's of 1000's of dollars to get our license! Just for your info, most hair stylists do hair because they love to do it and most of us have degrees, I am on my way to getting my masters in another year. So don't treat us like we are beneath you! We deserve to make a good living too!

I have to agree that the Revlon Frost n' Glow kit is the BEST. I am a stay-at-home mother and being on one income we cannot afford to spend $100 or more for highlights, especially when I can get the same result for $8. It takes patience and time to pull the strands through, but it always turns out and looks like I spent lots of $$$ to have highlights put in. You must do a test strand first because I have heard a wide range of opinions as to how long it takes to pull the color out of each person's hair. Mine is 30 minutes. I have dark brown hair with honey-gold highlights. It is not brassy or orange. It is not a quick process either. I plan to spend about 2 hours to see the end result because it takes at least an hour to pull the strands through. Once I enter the work force again, I may consider going to a salon to have this done. I love my hairstylist and get regular cuts...I'm not quite ready to do that on my own.

Dreamcowgirl made my point perfectly for me! i am a stylist and do it because I LOVE IT, and I thank God I do something that I love and get paid for it! For the people who have bad experiences, do remember that its not the "UPSCALE SALON" that screwed your hair up, IT WAS THE STYLIST! NOT everyone in the salon is created equal- everyone has very different techniques. Stylists NEED to possess that passion to be versatile with their coloring and cutting techniques- thus why the "at home" process does work for some people, but others it will not.
The at home products are very very different than salon brands. Please do your research if you are doubting wanting to spend the $ on a stylist. I don't feel my livelihood is at stake all- we are defending our profession. Just like anyone would, if they had someone who was not licensed and certified trying to say that they can do their job. Just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD. But whatever floats you boat.
Just FYI you may be able to do it on yourself, but that doesnt really matter- my clients are not just paying for their hair, they are paying for "me" time- relaxation, conversation, the welcoming and friendly atmosphere that my salon provides. And when my clients have lost their jobs or hit a rough time, I have done their hair for free. I make ALL my clients cookies, remember everyones bdays, always send a hand written card after every service. So, to a lot of people, its about the total package- hair and a friendship. A special treat to themselves.