How To Add The Trending Peekaboo Highlights To Your Clients’ Look This Summer
Published date 31 July 2025
Everything you need to know about the trending Peekaboo Highlights using Magi:tone by Quif Professional
Peekaboo Highlights are officially the trend of the summer, and it’s easy to see why. Being a bold, playful, and surprisingly low-maintenance hairstyle, Peekaboo Highlights are the perfect way for your clients to add a pop of colour to their look, without going all in. Strategically placed beneath the top layer of the hair, Peekaboo Highlights reveal a flash of colour only when styled in a certain way, whether tucked behind the ear, up in a ponytail, or gently waved for subtle movement.
For this trending look, we’re using the newly launched Magi:tone Intelligent Lightening System from Quif to deliver vibrant results in just one step. Let’s dive into how to create this trending look in salon, including sectioning techniques and a colour formula, as well as how to tailor the placement based on your client's preferences.
What Are Peekaboo Highlights?
Peekaboo Highlights is a highlighting technique that involves the hidden placement of colour. Instead of a traditional highlighting technique, this is applied to the underlayers of the hair, which are mainly hidden when the hair is down, and only subtly revealed with movement or styling. Where a traditional highlight is woven and blended throughout the head, Peekaboo Highlights are created using slices or panels of colour in targeted areas. They can be either bold and blocky or delicate, with face-framing elements, but this depends on your client’s preferences and desired result.
Depending on whether you opt for baby-fine strands or stronger colour panels, the goal to create Peekaboo Highlights is the same: creating a personalised pop of colour that enhances the client’s natural base while remaining completely wearable.
Why Are Peekaboo Highlights Trending This Summer?
Customisable for every client
If your clients prefer subtlety or boldness, warmer tones or cooler tones, the colour creativity is endless.
Perfect addition to summer styling
The hint of colour that pops in ponytails, half-up styles or waves makes a stunning addition to your client's look.
The ultimate low-maintenance hairdo
Perfect for clients who prefer a low-maintenance look, Peekaboo Highlights ensure root growth is nothing to worry about, due to the colour being mostly hidden.
Radiates cool-girl energy
A look that gives ‘Business on the top, party in the back’, have your clients embrace their cool-girl energy this summer by adding a pop of their favourite colour to their overall look that expresses their individuality.
How To Apply Peekaboo Highlights with Magi:tone
We teamed up with our Alan Howard Educator, Sara Simpson, to achieve the Peekaboo Highlights trends, with a rich, ‘summer sunset’ pink tone that adds a hint of copper and violet that our level 3 model desired, and of course, using Magi:tone. Here’s how we did it...
Mix together:
- 30g Magi:tone 7+ Bond Protect Lightener
- 60g Magi:Tone Accelerator 28 vol 8.5%
- 50 drops Magi:Tone Red Tone Drops
- 20 drops Magi:Tone Violet Tone Drops
Using Magi:tone, this one-step lightning and toning system lifts and deposits the tone simultaneously, making it an ideal choice for Peekaboo Highlights where precision and vibrancy matter.
Sara’s Top Tip: The number and combination of drops you use should always reflect the lift level you’re working with, making this shade a truly customisable yet personalised colour for the client.
How To Apply Peekaboo Highlights
1. Sectioning
To start the Peekaboo Highlights, we used a hot cross bun sectioning method to ensure precise placement and balance on both sides of the head.
- Firstly, find the crown using the natural crown growth pattern.
- Place a point just below the crown, as this will become the peak of the section. From the point under the crown, draw two diagonal lines downwards.
- Each line should angle towards the top of the ears, stopping just above the occipital bone. This will create two mirror-image triangles on either side.
- Next, you want to define the base of the triangles. The base of each triangle sits horizontally just above the occipital bone.
- These triangle shapes will form a ‘V’ pointing upwards towards the crown.
Sara’s Top Tip: Remember, placement in everything! Because the colour is hidden beneath, how and where you place it determines how it shows up. Always take into account your client’s preferred parting, go-to styles, and comfort with the colour visibility before deciding on the sectioning.
2. Framing the Face
Let’s dive into how we section when framing the face.
- Firstly, start at the forehead, take a 1-inch wide vertical section from the forehead to just in front of the ear.
- Leave about a 1-inch wide behind the hairline untouched to avoid any harsh lines.
- Create a triangle section by forming a small triangle that’s approximately 2 inches long on each side.
- Keep the base of the triangle angled at 45°. This allows the hair to fall diagonally across the face to enhance the facial features.
- Using a slicing technique, start to apply the colour mix, slightly by fanning the product near the roots for a soft, diffused blend. This technique ensures a gentle gradient and avoids any harsh regrowth or weight lines.
3. Balance the Placement
When sectioning the sides, you essentially want to mirror the opposite side.
- Repeat the triangle section and slicing method on the other side of your client's head.
- Ensure symmetry in triangle size, being 2 inches per side, and the base angle maintained at a 45° tilt
Now we’ll be sectioning behind the hairline.
- Taken an upside-down triangle section, with the point toward the ear and the base near the parting.
- The triangle should be about 2 inches deep from the front hairline.
- Repeat the same slicing technique here for colour consistency.
4. Process, Wash, and Style
Let the Magi:tone mix develop and process for 45 minutes, and remove the foils. Rinse thoroughly, and style as your clients desire!
The Final Look
Revealing bold pops of pink and copper tones, the Peekaboo placement allowed just the right amount of vibrancy for the summer, adding bright, warm and completely fun pops of colour to the client's look. Peekaboo Highlights are the ideal service for clients who want something playful, and when paired with Magi:tone, you can achieve a beautiful tone, lift and condition in one seamless step.
This summer, give your clients something new and daring, without the high-maintenance upkeep and commitment to a full head of colour. With Magi:tone, achieve salon-worthy results in less time, with more creativity and control.
Want to learn more about Magi:tone? Head to our free education platform, Alan Howard Connect, to see Quif’s Magi:tone in action.
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