How To Do Peekaboo Hair At Home: The Easy Guide

Peekaboo hair is all the rage right now in the hair color world. This unique, underneath hair color style sees the under layer of your hair dyed a different color from the top layer.

Amazing! But how do you know if a peekaboo hairstyle will suit you? What color will you pick? And how to you get the look at home? You’re in the right place!

If this is your first time trying peekaboo hair, we understand it can be hard to know where to start.

There are so many color combinations you can choose! And what are peek a boo highlights? Or underneath highlights? And how do you even get the look at home? It can all seem very overwhelming.

We created this guide for you with everything you need to know about this edgy hair trend including; best underneath hair dye, tips on dyeing your own hair, and our favorite products that will help make your new hairstyle last longer than ever before!

This step by step guide has everything you need for beautiful colored under layers in no time. Let’s go!

Peekaboo Hair: A Playful Twist on Your Usual Dye Job

Peekaboo hair is having a major moment right now! It’s all about adding an unexpected pop of color to the underside of your hair. Think of it as a hidden surprise—your little secret until you decide to reveal it.

The idea is simple: the bottom layer of your hair is dyed in a different shade than the top.

You can go for a bold block of color, subtle streaks, highlights, or even unleash your wild side with a rainbow, mermaid, or skunk stripe effect.

The beauty of peekaboo hair is in its versatility. It peeks through when your hair moves or when you style it in an updo, adding a playful touch to your everyday look.

This style works with all hair types, whether you have short, long, wavy, curly hair, or even bangs.

Typically, semi-permanent or permanent dyes are used to create this look, with bright shades often being the go-to for that eye-catching contrast.

It’s the perfect way to experiment with color without a full commitment!

Expert Insights

“Peekaboo highlights are popular because they offer versatility. They’re ideal for those who want to experiment with color while maintaining a more natural look for professional settings.”

-Celebrity colorist Janice Thompson

How To Do Peekaboo Hair Step-by-Step.

Once you’ve decided on the style that suits you best, follow these simple steps for creating perfect underlayer hair locks.

You’ll need to set aside at least two hours to get it right.

Preparation: Essential Supplies

Before beginning, gather these supplies:

• Hair dye (semi-permanent recommended for beginners)
• Tinting brush
• Mixing bowl
• Hair clips (sectioning clips work best)
• Protective gloves
• Old towels or cape
• Petroleum jelly (to protect skin around hairline)
• Wide-tooth comb
• Hand mirror
• Timer

Step 1. Choose Your Color

Select a shade that complements your base color.

For a subtle look, choose a color 2-3 shades lighter or darker than your natural hair. For bold results, consider vibrant colors like blue, purple, or pink.

Very Important: Assess whether bleaching your hair is necessary before coloring.

• For dark hair: If your natural hair is dark and you want vibrant or pastel colors, bleaching is often necessary. This lightens the hair, creating a blank canvas for vivid colors.
• For light hair: If your hair is naturally light or previously lightened, you may be able to skip bleaching.
• For subtle changes: If you’re only going a few shades lighter or darker, bleaching might not be needed.

Bleaching Process:

1. If bleaching is necessary, do this step before coloring.
2. Use a bleaching kit designed for at-home use. Follow instructions carefully.
3. Apply bleach to the sectioned underlayers only.
4. Monitor the bleaching process closely to avoid over-processing.
5. Rinse thoroughly and deep condition before proceeding to coloring.

Caution!: Bleaching can damage hair if not done correctly. If you’re unsure or have never bleached your hair before, consider consulting a professional colorist.

Expert Insights

“Proper bleaching is crucial for achieving vibrant peekaboo highlights on darker hair. It’s also the step where most at-home colorists run into trouble. Always do a strand test first and be prepared to visit a salon if you’re not confident in the process.” –

–Enza Piazza, Professional Hair Stylist & Color Consultant

Step 2. Prepare Your Hair

Start with dry, unwashed hair.

Natural oils protect your scalp during the dyeing process. Wear old clothes and drape a towel over your shoulders.

Apply petroleum jelly along your hairline and ears to prevent skin staining.

Step 3: Section Your Hair

Use crocodile hair clips to section your hair at the back, leaving the hair underneath exposed at the nape of your next.

Make sure you cover the width of your neck from side to side.

Protect your clothes by covering your shoulders with an old towel or hairdressing cape.

Step 3. Lighten your hair.

If you are lightening your hair, apply a bleach formula on the underneath part only and allow it to process according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Be careful to keep an eye on it! You don’t want to over-process it as we’ll be dyeing it again.

Shampoo it out and conditioning as instructed above.

This prep step is only needed if you are going lighter or want a peekaboo effect to be more visible.

Step 4. Time to dye!

Apply the color of your choice all over your underneath layer. Start at your roots and make sure your hair is fully saturated in hair dye.

Pay special attention to the underneath section if you have already lightened your hair as per step 3 above.

This will help create a deeper contrast between top and bottom colors. If you haven’t, don’t worry it’ll still look great!

Step 5. Process time.

Allow the dye to process according to manufacturer’s instructions before washing out… Ta-daaaa!

Step 6. Style and admire!

Once dry, style as usual with a flat iron for that perfectly peeking color or scrunch up with sea salt spray for beachy texture and volume! 

And that’s it, you’re done!

Watch and Learn: How do you color underlayered hair?

Watch and learn this video from the experts to show you how to get this style successfully at home!

Peekaboo Hair FAQs

Can I get peekaboo hair without bleach?

You can get peekaboo hair without using bleach, but it will be a lot lighter and slightly less vibrant. It all depends on the color your hair is now, and the under hair color you want it to be!

If you have hair darker than medium brunette, you’ll almost certainly need to use bleach to get the right base for a pop of color.

Color cannot lighten color, so if your heart is set on a lighter shade, it’s bleach for you.

The brighter you want your underneath color to be, the more likely you’ll need to use bleach to get the look.

If your hair is already a light shade, and you want to go darker underneath – like blonde hair with jet black, midnight blue or rich red under hair dye- you may be able to get away with it!

The best thing to do is always try a strand test first to see what the resulting color will really be.

What color should I dye the underside of my hair?

Dyeing just the underside of your hair is an easy way to try out new shades without committing.

Pair different colors and blends with each other and you’ll get some really cool effects. Try black dye if you have platinum blonde locks or bright pops of every neon and pastel color imaginable!

Rainbow hair colored dyes are good for adding more color in an otherwise monochrome look; reds go great next to green or blue; orange gives off such vibrant shades – perfect when paired together with pink peekaboo hair (or purple peekaboo hair!).

The best effects work with a high contrast – so if you’re dark hair, think light, bright colors and if you have light hair, think bold and dark.

Check out the latest looks for ideas and inspiration.

How do you dye your hair two colors without bleeding?

Your base hair color should be dark enough so that the peekaboo color layers will show through your top layer of hair and not bleed into it!

It’s all in the application.

Ensure that you pre-lighten the underneath section of your hair only if you plan to go lighter for peekaboo effect or if you want it to be more visible.

Otherwise, do not lighten beforehand and apply the dye to the underneath layer alone.

As with all hair dyeing, do not shampoo your hair the night before dying as this will strip your natural oils and leave hair dry and prone to smudging.

You should also use a specialist no-rinse conditioner or intense conditioner if you have dyed your hair blonde/bleached strands beforehand so that it doesn’t damage your hair as much.

How do I style peekaboo hair?

There are several ways to style this look.

You can have a full block color underneath which will show through sheer colored layers on top, or just a few pieces of a different color that peak out for a stylishly subtle effect.

You can also go crazy and use any variation of colors imaginable from pastel, neon, metallic and glittery hues – the world is your oyster.

Think pink ombré with an electric blue dyed hair underneath!

Or how about orange streaked blonde peekaboo hair topped with bright green highlights? The possibilities are endless… And so much fun to experiment with! Best part of all it’s low maintenance as there’s no need to constantly recolor your hair.

Just shampoo and condition as usual and your peekaboo color will look its very best every time you wash!

Will peekaboo hair suit me?

This is perfect for people who want to play with all kinds of different colored locks. It’s a fun trend that’s really versatile so there are no limitations to who can try it out.

You don’t even need to have any past experience dying your tresses, because the on-trend style is easy to master.

It works particularly well with short or long haircuts but be aware that shorter styles may require retouching more frequently as it grows.

Color blocking is definitely a hot trend right now so it’s the perfect time to try this look out, especially as it looks its best when the contrast between your natural hair and the underneath dye color is very different.

This means that if you have strawberry blonde or dark brown locks you’ll want to use a light blonde or silver shade underneath instead of another warm tone for example. 

It’s cool how it works with any color or tonality. All that matters is that there is a clear distinction between the top layer and bottom layer!

Where do you put peekaboo highlights?

Peekaboo highlights use the same section of your hair – your underneath layer – but are applied to certain strands of your hair.

This is done using foils and gives a more subtle, multidimensional look.

With underneath highlights placement, you can also color strands around your hairline the front of your hair to frame your face and bring out your eye color.

This gorgeous look is a real art and best done by a hairstylist to get it right!

An easier way to create these highlights is to use colored hair extensions.

These can clip onto the underside of your hair to give that highlighted vibe in a quick and easy way.

Is Peekaboo hair high maintenance?

Surprisingly, no! We would actually say it is easier than regular color as you do not need to worry as much about regrowth.

How long your underneath hair color will last depends on the type of color you have used to get the on trend look.

Reds and pinks will fade faster than greens or blues blacks for instance, which are stubborn colors to remove.

Red hair colors can fade quite quickly if you don’t use the right products and protection though.

But there are definitely some things you can do to help diminish the need for more touch ups.

How do you maintain peekaboo hair?

First thing first – USE THE RIGHT SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER.

A color protecting shampoo will not only keep your hair looking vibrant for longer but it will also help you cleanse any products correctly out of your hair, strengthening it in the process.

These contain no nasties like sulphates that can strip and fade your color.

When it comes to topping up your colour, again this will depend!

Because the colour is underneath the top layer of your hair, it grows out well as the roots are not so visible as when you dye the top layer of your hair.

Parting words

You now know everything you need to about the edgy hair trend and how it can be customized to suit you, your style and your personality too.

We hope this post has been helpful as a starting point for those of us who are new at experimenting with our hairstyles and color! Good luck!

Found your perfect shade? We’d love to see it! Tag us on Instagram @coloredhaircare or Facebook and share your hair color stories. Looking for more hair care tips? Check out How to Look After Colored Hair: 11 Expert Secrets For Long-Lasting Color.

Our Research & Review Process

To ensure our recommendations are as comprehensive and reliable as possible, we’ve undertaken an extensive research effort.

We cite scientific evidence and journals, collect real user reviews and gather impartial perspectives from hair stylists, users, and experts in the field.

Additionally, we conduct hands-on testing by using products and applying hair dyes not only on our own locks but also on real human hair extensions and hair pieces of different hair type, textures and lengths.

This rigorous approach allows us to provide you with insights into which products genuinely live up to their promises.

As always – please consult with a professional hair colorist or stylist for advice on how to color your own hair at home. It’s different for everyone!