Did you know that the word Foil means “to prevent”? Check it out for yourself.
When used as a hair coloring technique, foil is used to isolate select strands of hair with color or bleach and separate them from the rest of the hair. In this way it “prevents” the hair color applied to these select strands from touching the rest of the hair, also controlling the color process of the hair within the foil. It keeps the heat within; processes bleach faster and when closed tight pushes pigment deeper into the hair.
Foils allow a colorist to apply and isolate multiple hair colors on the same client for a distinct colorful look without the fear of colors running into one another and mudding out the finished look.
A lot of different materials have been used to isolate hair color such as plastic sheets, mess, cotton, cellophane, etc, but foils remain the most popular, and reliable.
Foils have been used in salons over the years for their durability, flexibility, and disposability. They come in different colors for easy identification when doing highlights and lowlights, and sizes so they can be used with short or long hair.
Foils cut up in smaller pieces can be placed around clients’ glasses’ ear piece to avoid staining during the color process.
Next time you are at the salon ask your colorist “what does Foil mean?”… J