Which hair coloring technique involves lightening sections of hair?

The technique that involves lightening sections of hair is highlighting. This process specifically targets certain sections of the hair and lifts the color to a lighter shade. The goal is to create dimension and contrast in the hair by allowing lighter pieces to stand out against the natural or base color.

Highlighting can be performed using various methods including foils or balayage, but the key aspect is that it specifically focuses on lightening selected strands or sections, which can add vibrancy and brightness to the overall hairstyle. This is different from other techniques like ombre, which typically involves a gradient effect from dark to light, or color melting, which blends different hues for a seamless look rather than specifically lightening sections. Balayage, while it does involve lightening, applies a more freehand approach to creating softly highlighted sections throughout the hair rather than targeting specific segments in the same structured way as traditional highlighting.