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44 Peekaboo Highlights Ideas for Any Hair Color

aida turner

Published by Aida Turner

Fact checked by Annie

Key takeaways:

  • Peekaboo hair (also known as underlights or under hair dye) is a coloring technique that involves applying a contrasting color to a small section of hair, usually a few strands, to create a subtle, playful effect. The contrasting color is typically hidden under the top layer of hair, so it is only visible when it is styled or moved in a certain way.
  • Peekaboo hair is popular among those who want to add a touch of color to their hairstyle without committing to a full dye job. The technique can be used to create a range of looks, from subtle to bold, depending on the colors chosen and the amount of hair that is colored.
  • The peekaboo hair craze has been around since the 80s with Madonna and Debbie Harry and regained its popularity with Miley Cyrus’ skunk hair in 2022.
  • When picking your peekaboo dye, always consider your complexion, undertone, and natural hair color to find what suits you best. You can also match different colors as long as they complement each other.
  • To do the peekaboo hair, you only need to strategically section your hair, bleach, color, and style! You can also get it done at the hairdresser for around $100 to $200.

Your friends might think you only have plain, natural hair. But surprise, surprise! You’re actually vibing with a pop of color hiding underneath!

If you don’t know it yet, this hairstyle is called peekaboo highlights, where streaks of colors peep through the top layer of your hair.

This popular hairstyle has become the trend in 2022. It has been raiding TikTok and Instagram feeds since it was worn by Miley Cyrus.

But did you know that this two-toned look first blew up in the 1980s with Debbie Harry and Madonna?

Yup! People have been rocking this style since the 80s. It died down like other fashion trends, but it had a rebirth with international artists like Christina Aguilera, Shakira, and Avril Lavigne in the early 2000s.

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Recently, Miley’s skunk hair was all over social media, and everyone loved it! Although there are still some who continued styling their hair with peekaboo highlights, it was not until 2022 that the craze was revived.

Other artists seen with peekaboo hair color are Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and more! They totally rocked the scene with vibrant hair colors sneaking from their bottom layers.

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If you’re planning to have a new hairstyle with lesser commitments on maintenance, the peekaboo highlights are definitely the one to consider.

Grind away this article to know more about these peek-a-boo hair colorsand find out if it’s the perfect style for you!

What Is Peekaboo Hair?

While many call it peek-a-boo hair color, others refer to it as underlights, under hair dye, or hidden hair.

Peekaboo highlights is a type of hairstyle where hair dye is strategically placed underneath the top layer of your hair.

This way, you can decide whether to show off those colorful highlights for a quirky vibe or conceal them for formal occasions.

Most people usually style their hair with curls or put it in a messy bun or ponytail to exhibit their under hair dye. But, others just let them stay straight and flat and change the direction of their hair occasionally for the colorful highlights to show.

This style has become a trend, especially for people who want to commit LESS to their new hair color.

Peekaboo highlights are low maintenance. You don’t need to visit your hairdresser after a few weeks to get it fixed. Dropping by in a few months to the salon is not a problem.

It’s also the easiest way to style your hair because you don’t need to bleach your entire mane. Hence, it saves you A LOT of time from bleaching and coloring.

Peekaboo highlights also cause less damage to your hair because you’re only treating a portion of it.

44 Peekaboo Hair Color Ideas for Amazing Highlights

There are many ways to style your hair with peekaboo highlights. But it’s a good thing that you can pair this with ANY cut and length.

Here are a lot of variations depending on length, style, hair type, colors, and more! We will show cool examples of the most common types of peekaboo hair:

Blonde Peekaboo Hair

Blonde hair is a perfect blank canvas. Hence, you’re free to match it with any color you want. You can choose a dark or light contrast to pair your hair, and it will look amazing!

Blonde can also work with other hair colors as the highlight itself, especially in colorful or natural hair.

Blonde Hair With Blue Peekaboo Highlights

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Blonde hair + blue highlights can definitely give you a dramatic look with highly contrasting tones.

Blonde Peekaboo Highlights on Brown Hair

Brown hair matched with ash blonde tones is a great reminiscent of frappuccino!

Blonde Peekaboo Highlights on Dark Hair

Give that plain black hair with a lighter ash blonde contrast.

Purple Peekaboo Highlights on Blonde Hair

Purple highlights look pretty vivid with a blonde base.

Peekaboo Hair Blonde and Brown

Brown hair appears chic-er as it interchanges with luscious blonde highlights.

Blonde Mermaid Peekaboo Hair

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Your blonde hair is going to look like fantasy with mystical blue, teal, purple, and dark pink highlights.

Brown Peekaboo Hair

Despite being a dark hair color, brown is still great to work with. But, it’s best paired with vibrant and light hues for the colors to show.

Dark Brown Hair Purple Peekaboo Highlights

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Bright purple highlights are amazingly vivid in dark brown hair.

Dark Brown Hair With Peekaboo Highlights

A light shade of brown, almost blonde, is a good contrast to dark brown hair.

Pink Peekaboo Highlights Brown Hair

The neon pink highlights leave a great variance to wavy dark brown hair.

Red Peekaboo Highlights on Brown Hair

Deep red highlights greatly complement brown hair.

Dark Brown Hair With Caramel Peekaboo Highlights

You can never go wrong with brown and caramel hair streaks, as they perfectly blend on this short hair.

Brown Hair Lavender Peekaboo Highlights

Lavender gives a subtle contrast, especially to light brown hair.

Purple Peekaboo Hair

Purple highlights are to die for! They PERFECTLY match dark hair and even other vibrant hair colors.

Black and Purple Peekaboo Hair

Black and dark purple are a classic combination, and it’s a must-try for your hair!

Blue and Purple Peekaboo Hair

Purple and blue peekaboo highlights create a mystical ombre effect, from dark blue to dark and bright purple.

Pink Peekaboo Hair

Pink highlights provide a great contrast with dark hair, like brown and black. It’s also a good combo for blonde or caramel hair.

Rose Gold Pink Peekaboo Hair

Rose gold peekaboo highlights look fantastic on brown hair as they give vivid hues.

Black Hair With Pink Peekaboo Highlights

Dark pink hair, as well as light pink highlights, stands out the best with black colored hair.

Red Peekaboo Hair

Red peekaboo highlights are safe to pair with another natural hair color. But, if you’re daring enough, you can pair it with brighter hues.

Red Hair With Purple Peekaboo Highlights

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Bright neon red highlights complement dark purple hair!

Silver Peekaboo Hair

Gray and silver hair may not feel appealing to some. But, it’s a great contrasting color with light and dark hair.

Black Hair Silver Peekaboo Highlights

Black plus silver peekaboo hair is a chic combo you must try!

Silver Grey Peekaboo Hair

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Gray, silver, and platinum blonde create a gorgeous ombre on the hair.

Brown Silver Peekaboo Hair

Silver hair that’s almost close to platinum provides a wonderful contrast with brown hair, especially when interchanged.

Blue Peekaboo Hair

Different shades of blue peekaboo highlights can perfectly BRIGHTEN your dark hair. It can also give an awesome variation to light colors, specifically blonde.

Dark Blue Peekaboo Hair

Dark blue highlights on dark hair give a subtle hint of contrast that doesn’t look so dramatic.

Peekaboo Blue Highlights in Brown Hair

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Bright blue highlights are a good pair with brown shiny, healthy hair as it’s a combo inspired by nature.

Black and Blue Peekaboo Hair

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Mystical blue highlights that appear bright and vivid stand out best in black hair.

Royal Blue Peekaboo Hair

Royal blue peekaboo highlights scream punk rock as it’s vibrant enough to brighten dark hair.

Teal Peekaboo Hair

Blue with a hint of green hue is a perfect combination to create teal. This color looks refreshing to the eyes, and it seems to remind us of the sea.

Brown Hair Teal Peekaboo Highlights

Pairing dark brown hair with teal is great since teal gives a not too vibrant contrast but still refreshes the dark tone.

Blonde Hair Teal Peekaboo Highlights

Blonde and teal are a great pair, as teal brightens the light hair.

Dark Teal Peekaboo Hair

Like brown, teal gives a good contrast to black hair and blends in perfectly with its slightly dark green hue.

Black Peekaboo Hair

Black vibes the best with bright colored peekaboo highlights. This doesn’t only brighten your dark hair, but it also makes the highlight stand out.

Red and Black Peekaboo Hair

Bright neon red highlights give a bright pop of color to your black hair.

Black Hair With Green Peekaboo

These black and minimalistic green peekaboo highlights remind us of Billie Eilish-inspired styles, and they look so chic!

Rainbow Peekaboo Hair

Solid colors aren’t the only way to do your peekaboos. Combining a bunch of complementary colors will surely make it more fun and eye-catching, especially if you’re going for a cute or dramatic look.

Blonde Rainbow Peekaboo Hair

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Applying rainbow colors on blonde hair makes all the hues pop and vivid!

Pastel Rainbow Peekaboo Hair

You can also opt for a more muted peekaboo hairstyle with pastel rainbow colors.

Galaxy Rainbow Peekaboo Hair

Combining blue, teal, and purple highlights surely gives you an intergalactic vibe.

Black Hair With Rainbow Peekaboo

With thorough bleaching, you can achieve this rainbow look on black hair!

Mermaid Peekaboo Hair

Light pink highlights, plus hints of blue, purple, and other pastel colors, gives you mermaid-inspired hair.

With this style, you’ll surely look like you’re drawn from a storybook or fantasy land!

Unicorn Mermaid Peekaboo Hair

A combination of icy blue, blonde and pink highlights underneath a silver or creamy base look totally magical!

Green Peekaboo Hair

You can rock green peekaboo highlights of any shade with any base. But, we think it’s gorgeously paired with dark hues to make them stand out more.

Chestnut brown, for example, is great with mystical green highlights. Green peekaboo low lights also add a touch of radiance to dark tones.

Neon Green Peekaboo Hair

Wavy hair? Green highlights? They’re absolutely beautiful, especially if you’re going for a dramatic neon color on top of dark natural hair.

Dark Green Peekaboo Hair

Dark green highlights give a subtle vibrancy to natural brown hair.

Emerald Green Peekaboo Hair

Emerald green highlights look ashy and vibrant at the same time, especially when paired with dark hair.

Lime Green Peekaboo Hair

Lime green peekaboo highlights give a punch of color to your sleek, healthy hair, brown and black in particular.

Orange Peekaboo Hair

Bright orange is a great combo, especially with natural hair, as it can be paired with blonde highlights, dark hues, and even a fiery chestnut brown shade.

Lavender Peekaboo Hair

Like light pink highlights, lavender peekaboo hair dye stands out the best with dark hair while giving a hint of contrast in light shades.

Burgundy Peekaboo Hair

Burgundy is a great contrasting color for blonde highlights and vice versa.

Peekaboo Curly Hair

A curly and wavy hairstyle is certainly in for the game of peek-a-boo!

Peekaboo Highlights Short Hair

Short hair styles can also slay your favorite pink, blue, and blonde highlights like long hair do!

Peekaboo Hair Braids

Sectioning your hair properly for braids is a great way to style your peekaboo highlights.

How to Do Peekaboo Hair Color? (Step-by-Step Guide)

You can visit your favorite salon to get your peekaboo highlights. But you’re also free to do it yourself.

Don’t worry if you have zero knowledge of hair coloring! Aside from peek-a-boo hair ideas, we’re also teaching you how to do it like a pro at home.

Follow this step-by-step guide to perfect that peek-a-boo:

  1. Brainstorm. Before you paint your hair, you must have a blueprint in mind. First, choose the color you’ll use and which parts of the hair to dye. When choosing the hues you’ll work with, remember your natural hair color, complexion, and undertone. All these would determine the outcome of your peekaboo highlights, as it may appear to have a darker or lighter shade. You must also strategize where you’ll apply your under hair dye. You can place it at your head’s back, left, or right side. Most professionals like a triangle section at the back to have an even distribution on each side.
  2. Section hair. Once you’re done brainstorming on your blueprint, it’s time to section your hair with a rattail comb. Make sure you part it evenly on each side if you’re trying to do a triangle section. Also, ensure that it follows a straight hairline, even when doing a simple partition.
  3. Bleach. Once you’ve sectioned your hair, mix your bleaching powder by following the instructions on the package. Apply it using a brush starting from your mids to ends and roots. We suggest you purchase this hair coloring kit to make the application cleaner. Afterwhich, wrap your bleached hair with foil as you let it set. The longer you leave it on, the lighter your hair will turn out. For brunettes, it’s necessary to let the bleach develop for a long period. We also recommend using a strong bleaching powder and developer, like Clairol Professional Hair Lightener, especially if you aim to achieve vibrant hues. (PRO TIP: Apply a generous amount of Vaseline to protect the unbleached parts from getting stained.)
  4. Color. After bleaching, rinse your hair with shampoo and warm water to remove all the product. Once you’ve achieved the lightness you aim for, you can already start coloring using your favorite brands of hair color. But, if you still don’t know which ones to get, we recommend the Pravana Chromasilk Vivids. It has several color options, is easy to use, and lasts long. When coloring, ensure to start from the mids and work towards the ends and roots. If you’re using multiple colors, ensure to wrap your hair with foil like in the bleaching process. Working with multiple hues is a breeze if you’re confident in your hair coloring skills. But, if it’s your first time, it can be a bit challenging. To play safe, work with solid hair color instead. Leave the pigment to develop until you achieve the color you want before rinsing it off.
  5. Dry and style. After rinsing, grab your blow dryer before you start styling your hair. Many people prefer to leave their hair as is. But some like to play with beach waves and curls to make the highlights interchange with the base. If you’re still looking for an iron to get those waves done, we recommend the T3 – SinglePass Curl Professional Curling Iron.

Who Should Get It?

Peekaboo highlights are the style for EVERYONE! Whether you have a shaggy cut, chopped bob, blonde, or naturally dark hair, you can totally play with underlights and rock them on any occasion.

You can choose natural hair colors like different shades of brown, blonde, black, and auburn. But, you can also work with dramatic neon colors, vibrant palettes, and pastel pigments.

When getting peekaboo highlights, you’re free to mix and match any color you like. Let your creativity spark!

Where Is the Best Placement of Peekaboo Highlights?

Traditionally peekaboo highlights are placed at the bottom section of your hair at the back. It’s usually under a thick top layer of hair.

However, others like applying their highlights on the left or right side of their head.

These placements allow for a peek-a-boo moment whenever you brush up your hair or change its direction.

How to Section Hair for Peekaboo Highlights?

Using the end of a rattail comb, part the top and bottom layers of your hair depending on your desired placement. Make sure to do it EVENLY as it follows a straight line.

You can start at the bottom back part of your head. You can also include the sides of your hair as you wish.

Additionally, secure the top layer of your hair with a hair clip to keep it away from the parts you wish to color.

How to Dye Peekaboo Hair?

We already gave a detailed guide above, so when dying your hair at home, just remember to follow these tips:

  1. Don’t wash your hair 24 hours before coloring to let natural oils develop.
  2. Choose a hair color that suits your hair type, complexion, and undertone.
  3. Cover your neck and shoulders with a towel and your ears with earmuffs to avoid stains. You can also use Vaseline for added protection.
  4. Section your hair properly and dye it starting from the mids. Afterwhich, work towards the roots and ends.

How to Bleach Peekaboo Hair?

Bleaching is an optional part of the process. But, if you want to achieve brighter colors, you definitely need to do it.

DIY bleaching is not really recommended by professionals as it may damage the hair. But, you can follow these tips:

  1. Make sure that your hair is NOT chemically treated 3 months before bleaching
  2. Let your hair rest from heat styling and hair products containing sulfates and alcohol
  3. Use hair masks and conditioners to moisturize hair and restore damage

How Much Does It Cost to Get Peekaboo Highlights?

If you’re getting it done by yourself at home, the average cost you’ll spend is $70, especially if you need to buy all the materials.

Primarily, you only need bleaching agents (if you have dark hair or wish to lighten it) and hair dye. You can improvise the rest or borrow from a friend. It’s DIY, after all!

However, visiting a hairdresser is a different story as you pay for both service and materials.

Depending on how many colors your peekaboo highlights will have, the cost can range from $100 to $200.

If you’re not confident in your coloring skills and want to achieve a more complicated, dramatic look, we suggest you go to the salon.

Hairdressers are trained to style your hair, and you’ll definitely get the desired results. Just make sure to describe the color you want and where you want to place your highlights.

If you’re not so good at describing things, you can show them a photo of your pegs so they can use them as a basis.

FAQs

Final Thoughts

Peekaboo highlights are a great way to style your hair, especially if you don’t want to show your colorful hair all the time.

These also work great on anyone. Whether you have short or long hair, blonde or dark shades, peekaboo highlights will definitely make your hair stand out.

What are you waiting for? Choose the best match from these peekaboo hair color ideas to upgrade your style!

aida turner

Aida

Founder & Hair Beauty Specialist

I’m Aida and this is my blog where I write mostly about beauty and make up related stuff, but I like to spice it up a bit with lifestyle and photography posts. Or with whatever that comes to my mind. Hope you will enjoy the reading enough that we will ‘see’ each other more often!