Highlights & Blonding Services
Be your best blonde at Studio W.
At Studio W Salon, blonding is never one-size-fits-all. The goal isn’t just to get lighter, it’s to create a blonde that looks natural, intentional, and wearable long after you leave the salon.
Modern blonding focuses on softness and dimension: brighter around the face, gentle contrast through the lengths, and tones that complement your natural base. Whether you’re subtly enhancing your color or planning a full transformation, our colorists take a personalized, hair-health-first approach to every highlights and blonding service.
A Personalized Approach to Blonde Hair
No two blondes should look the same. Before choosing a technique, we consider:
- Your natural color and contrast level
- Hair texture, density, and previous color history
- How you style your hair day-to-day
- How often you want to maintain your color
This allows us to recommend techniques that not only look beautiful in the chair, but grow out gracefully and fit your lifestyle.
Highlighting Techniques We Use
Foil Highlights
Foil highlights are ideal when brighter, more noticeable blonde is the goal. Foils allow for greater lift and precise placement, making them perfect for everything from classic highlights to high-impact blonde transformations.
Babylights
Ultra-fine sections create soft, delicate brightness that mimics natural lightening. Babylights are ideal if you want subtle dimension without visible striping.
Teasylights
Teasylights blend the softness of balayage with the precision of foils. They create a seamless transition from darker roots to lighter ends and are especially beautiful if you wear your hair straight.
Dimensional Lived-in Blonde
Dimension is what keeps blonde hair looking rich and natural. Techniques like lowlights, root melts, and strategic placement allow us to maintain depth at the root while keeping the ends bright.
A root melt softens the contrast between highlights and your natural color, creating a smoother grow-out and a more effortless, lived-in look.
Hand-Painted Blonding Techniques
Balayage
Balayage creates soft, sweeping highlights with a natural finish. It’s ideal for wavy or textured styles and clients who prefer lower maintenance. Learn more about balayage.
Foilayage
Foilayage combines hand-painting with foils for extra lift. It offers brighter results than traditional balayage while maintaining a blended look.
Balayage-Style Highlights
In some cases, foil techniques such as babylights and teasylights are used to recreate the softness of balayage with finer, more polished detail, especially for clients who wear their hair straight.
Blonde Finishes & Enhancements
Finishing techniques refine and personalize your blonde:
- Root Drop / Root Smudge: Softens heavy highlights and improves grow-out
- Money Piece Highlights: Brighter face-framing pieces that instantly refresh your look
- Ombre Effects: Gradual lightening from root to ends for a noticeable yet blended contrast
These details are what elevate blonde hair from “nice” to truly tailored.
Blonde Color Correction & Brassiness Repair
Blonde hair can shift over time. Brassiness, dull tones, uneven highlights, or harsh grow-out lines are common — especially after sun exposure, hard water, heat styling, or previous lightening services.
Blonde color correction focuses on refining and restoring blonde hair, not starting over. This may include:
- Neutralizing unwanted warmth or brassiness
- Rebalancing uneven highlights
- Softening harsh regrowth or banding
- Refreshing faded or muddy blonde tones
Depending on your hair’s condition and color history, correction may involve advanced toning, targeted lightening, lowlights for balance, or a root melt to restore dimension and blend.
Because brassy blonde issues can come from many sources, we always assess your hair first and recommend a customized approach that protects hair integrity while improving tone and wearability.
If your blonde no longer looks the way it should, too warm, too dull, or too high-maintenance, a consultation allows us to map out the best path forward and bring your highlights back to life.
I have been coming to this salon for 4 years and I have never been disappointed. I’ve had multiple stylists do my hair and they are all professional and enthusiastic about their work. The environment is welcoming peaceful. If you haven’t gotten your hair done a million times or looking to get it done for the first time i highly recommend Studio W Salon!
Kayla did such a great job with my granddaughter. She got a trim and fairy highlights. My Granddaughter was nervous and antsy , but Kala was so good with her and she felt like a princess when we left.
I came in to get a new hairstyle. Amelia M. did an amazing job. She listened to what I wanted,and cut and styled it the way I asked. My highlights from a previous hair salon, was brassy and did not look good. I asked Amelia for her opinion, and she made my highlights look fresh and new. I am definitely returning to her.
I have been coming to this salon for 4 years and I have never been disappointed. I’ve had multiple stylists do my hair and they are all professional and enthusiastic about their work. The environment is welcoming peaceful. If you haven’t gotten your hair done a million times or looking to get it done for the first time i highly recommend Studio W Salon!
Kayla did such a great job with my granddaughter. She got a trim and fairy highlights. My Granddaughter was nervous and antsy , but Kala was so good with her and she felt like a princess when we left.
I came in to get a new hairstyle. Amelia M. did an amazing job. She listened to what I wanted,and cut and styled it the way I asked. My highlights from a previous hair salon, was brassy and did not look good. I asked Amelia for her opinion, and she made my highlights look fresh and new. I am definitely returning to her.
Not Sure Which Highlighting Service You Need?
Highlights can mean a lot of different things — foil highlights, babylights, teasylights, balayage, foilayage, or a combination of techniques. The right choice depends on your starting color, how light you want to go, how you style your hair, and how often you want maintenance.
Our complimentary highlights consultations are designed to take the guesswork out. We’ll look at your hair in person, talk through your goals, and recommend the techniques that will give you the best result — without overdoing it.
Request a Free Hair Color Consultation
Use the form below to request a consultation, and our team will follow up with available times.
Book an appointment at Studio W Salon in Castro Valley
Use our online booking system or call us 510-862-5525. Or you can send us an appointment request with a few suggested dates and times and we'll contact you with some options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between balayage and highlights?
«Both are wildly popular, both use a brush. So what's the real difference between these two highlighting techniques? The main difference is the way the lightener is applied. The type of lightener itself is also slightly different. In a balayage, we may work in larger sections and selectively paint the hair as we examine how the light naturally hits it. In a foil highlight, we work in micro sections and apply lightener from root to tip. If you've tried both, you'll notice the shade of your highlights get a subtle, richer result with balayage. Highlights yield a brighter, more obvious result.
What is foilayage (also called foilage)?
«Foilayage - sometimes spelled foilage - is a hair color technique that combines balayage with foil highlights. The balayage is hand-painted, then wrapped in foil to allow the lightener to process longer. This creates extra lift for brighter, more noticeable blonde while still keeping a soft, blended finish.
Foilayage is ideal if you love the natural look of balayage but want added brightness and dimension. At Studio W in Castro Valley, our experienced colorists tailor each foilayage service to your hair type, lifestyle, and desired level of blonde - from subtle and sun-kissed to brighter and more luminous.
What is a color melt hair color?
«A color melt is a hair color technique that blends multiple, closely related shades to create soft dimension and a seamless, lived-in finish. The colors transition smoothly into one another, giving the effect that they are melting together.
This low-contrast technique is perfect if you want natural-looking color with depth, rather than bold highlights. At Studio W in Castro Valley, we customize color melt services and combine techniques when needed to achieve your desired look. Just show us your inspiration - we’ll handle the rest.
Will coloring my hair damage it?
«At Studio W in Castro Valley, protecting the health of your hair is always a priority. We use the latest professional hair color products, tailor techniques to your hair type, and work with your natural hair rather than against it. When needed, we’ll also recommend treatments to help maintain strength, shine, and overall hair health before, during, and after your color service.
Why does blonde hair go brassy over time?
«Blonde hair can warm up due to natural underlying pigment, mineral buildup from water, sun exposure, or previous color choices. Strategic toning and corrective techniques help rebalance those tones.