Call today! 813.949.3300
Call today! 813.949.3300
Nu Image Medspa is where to get highlights in Lutz, FL woven by a licensed colorist. Highlights are sections of hair lightened in foils — root to tip — for a brighter, more uniform and dimensional result than freehand painting, which makes them the go-to for bold blonde, babylights and blending gray. Partial highlights start at $100 and a full foil at $150; gloss and toner refreshes are $30. Find us at 3939 Cheval Blvd, just off N Dale Mabry Hwy near Cheval, Steinbrenner High School and Gaither High School.
The catch in Florida: The lightest foiled pieces are the most porous, so sun, pool chlorine and hard water pull them brassy or green faster than any other color. So every highlight here is bond-protected through the lift, toned and glossed to start true, and kept up with a gloss between visits. Prefer a softer, lower-maintenance grow-out? That’s balayage. It’s the only salon in the area inside a medical spa. Serving Lutz, Cheval, Carrollwood, Northdale, Odessa, Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel. Call 813.949.3300.
Most people who book highlights in Lutz aren’t after subtle. They want to read brighter — lighter around the face, more blonde overall, or gray woven away into dimension — the kind of lift you can actually see across a sunny patio. That’s exactly what foils are built to deliver, and it’s a different job than the soft, grown-in look of hand-painting. The trade is that this brightness asks more of the hair, and a lot more of the climate it lives in.
Foils wrap each woven section so the lightener can work harder and cleaner than paint left open on the surface. That’s why highlights get you to a genuinely bright blonde, lay down crisp blonde on brown or dark hair, and blend gray evenly across the whole head — results balayage only hints at. If your goal is impact and precision rather than a barely-there glow, foils are the right call.
Here’s the part that decides whether your color still looks good in week four. The highlighted pieces are the lightest, most-lifted strands on your head, which also makes them the most porous — and porous hair drinks in whatever it touches. Around here that means pool chlorine and hard water depositing copper and minerals that flip blonde brassy or green, plus relentless UV oxidizing the tone warm. It’s why “my highlights went brassy” is the most common color complaint in this market. The answer isn’t lighter color — it’s bond protection during the lift, a proper toner and gloss to start cool, and a gloss kept up between visits — with a deep conditioning treatment to keep high-porosity lifted hair strong.
The honest part: Because foils lift from the root, highlights grow out with a line — a full head usually wants refreshing every couple of months, though partials and face-framing pieces stretch further. In a packed boat-pool-and-school calendar, the move that keeps you out of the chair is a quick gloss or toner between full appointments, not constant re-lightening. And if you’d rather skip the regrowth line entirely, that’s the case for balayage — we’ll tell you honestly which suits your hair and your schedule.
| Best for | Bright blonde, blonde on brown or dark hair, even gray blending, dimensional color, precise placement |
|---|---|
| How it’s done | Sections woven into foils and lifted root-to-tip, then toned & glossed (vs hand-painted balayage) |
| Options | Partial & full foil, babylights, lowlights, money piece, chunky & peekaboo, gray blending |
| Starting prices (Lutz) | Partial foil $100+ · full foil $150+ · gloss / toner $30+ · see specials |
| Appointment time | About 1.5–3.5 hours, depending on partial vs full & lift |
| How often | Full every 8–12 weeks · partials stretch longer · a gloss between to fight Florida brass |
| Colored by | A master colorist, decades behind the chair · meet the team |
Pricing is approximate and confirmed at your complimentary consultation. Final price varies with hair length, density and goals. Ask about current specials and flexible payment plans.
Highlights are a technique, not one shade — woven and placed to your base, your goals and how bright you want to read. Common looks:
Foils all the way around, including underneath, for all-over brightness and the most dramatic, even lift.
$150+
The top, crown and face-framing pieces the light catches first — a lighter, lower-cost brighten that grows out kindly.
$100+
The most-requested look — clean blonde dimension woven through brunette and dark bases, toned so it never turns orange.
By consult
Warm caramel brightness plus woven lowlights for depth, so color reads rich and dimensional instead of flat or striped.
By consult
Woven highlights and lowlights melt gray into dimension for a natural, low-maintenance grow-out — no hard root line.
By consult
Ultra-fine babylights, a brightened money piece, or bolder chunky and hidden peekaboo placement — customized to you.
Add-on / by consult
Not sure whether you need a partial or full foil — or whether balayage would suit you better? A quick consultation maps it out, with pricing confirmed up front.
It’s the question everyone asks — and they do different jobs. Highlights are foiled for a brighter, more uniform lift that’s ideal for bold blonde and gray blending; balayage is hand-painted for a soft, low-maintenance, sun-kissed grow-out. Here’s the side-by-side.
| Highlights (foils) | Balayage | |
|---|---|---|
| Technique | Woven into foils | Hand-painted, freehand |
| Look | Bright, uniform, dimensional | Soft, blended, sun-kissed |
| Lift | More — reaches true blonde | Gentler, subtler |
| Gray blending | Excellent, even | Softer, partial |
| Grow-out | Visible regrowth line | No harsh line |
| Maintenance | Every 8–12 weeks | Lower — a gloss between |
Foils look mechanical — weave, paint, fold, repeat — but the result lives in judgment the technique can’t teach: which sections to weave and how fine, what strength to mix for hair the sun has already lightened, and exactly when to pull each foil. Push the lift a few minutes too far and clean, bright blonde turns brassy or fried. The craft is the weave and the watching — protecting the hair while taking it lighter — and Karen has refined it over decades, inside Nu Image, a Lutz practice trusted for 20+ years with a 4.7-star reputation, where your color is balanced to flatter you in real Florida light.
Master Stylist · Licensed Board of Cosmetology · Foiling & Lift · NYC Hair Show Veteran
Karen’s highlighting work — from fine babylights to bold full foils — is grounded in decades of NYC hair shows, seminars and in-house training. She weaves to your face shape and reads the porosity before mixing, so the lift lands bright and even without scorching ends the sun has already stressed.
Every highlight starts with the all-important consultation — the hallmark of her work — so the brightness and upkeep match your real routine. Clients love her sunny, upbeat chair-side energy.
We read your base, gray and goals and decide partial or full, placement and target shade.
Sections are woven into foils with bond protection and watched closely as they lift.
A custom toner and gloss set the exact shade cool and true, sealed against Florida brass.
A finished style, plus a simple gloss and care plan to hold your brightness for months.
We’re centrally located on Cheval Blvd, an easy drive from the golf communities of Cheval and Northdale, family Carrollwood, the new builds of Wesley Chapel, and the open lake roads of Land O’ Lakes and Odessa. Tap your neighborhood for directions and local details.
Directions from Cheval →
Directions from Northdale →
Directions from Odessa →
Directions from Carrollwood →
Directions from Land O’ Lakes →
Drive times are approximate — check live directions for your exact route. Free on-site parking at 3939 Cheval Blvd, Lutz, FL 33558.
Partial highlights (a partial foil) start at $100 and full highlights (a full foil) start at $150. A gloss or toner refresh is $30. Because price depends on length, density and how much lift you want, your exact plan is confirmed at your complimentary consultation, and we run new salon specials every month.
A partial highlight foils the top, crown and pieces around your face — the sections most visible when your hair is down or parted — for a lighter, lower-cost result. A full highlight foils all the way around, including underneath, for all-over brightness and the most dramatic lift. A good rule: Partial to brighten and frame, full to genuinely change how blonde you read. Your colorist recommends which fits at the consultation.
Highlights are woven into foils and lifted root to tip for a brighter, more uniform, dimensional result — the better tool for bold blonde, even gray blending and precise placement. Balayage is hand-painted on the surface for a softer, sun-kissed look that grows out with no harsh line. The trade-off: Highlights deliver more lift and structure but leave a regrowth line and need more upkeep; balayage is lower-maintenance but more subtle. Many clients combine the two.
Babylights are ultra-fine, delicate highlights that mimic natural childhood brightness for a very soft result. Lowlights are the opposite — slightly darker pieces woven in to add depth, which keeps highlighted hair from looking flat or striped. Chunky highlights are bolder, wider pieces for high contrast, and peekaboo highlights are placed underneath so color peeks through when hair moves. All are foil techniques we customize to you.
Yes — and for many people highlights are the most natural way to handle gray. Instead of one flat color needing a root touch-up every few weeks, woven highlights and lowlights blend gray into dimension so it grows out softly and low-maintenance. It works best for partial gray; heavy gray may be better with all-over color or a combination, which we’ll assess at your consultation.
Because foils lift from the root, highlights leave a regrowth line, so a full highlight is typically refreshed every 8–12 weeks, while partials and face-framing pieces stretch longer. In Lutz, the smart in-between step is a gloss or toner rather than re-lightening — it refreshes tone, fights brass and protects the hair.
Highlighted pieces are the lightest, most-lifted and therefore most porous part of your hair, so they grab everything Florida throws at them: UV oxidizes the tone, and pool chlorine and the area’s hard water deposit copper and minerals that turn blonde brassy or even green. We bond-protect during the lift, tone and gloss to start cool and true, and send you home with care guidance — including a gloss cadence and the right purple shampoo — to hold it longer. If it’s gone too far, that’s a color correction.
We’re at 3939 Cheval Blvd, Lutz, FL 33558, just off N Dale Mabry Hwy near Cheval, Steinbrenner High School and Gaither High School — serving Lutz, Carrollwood, Northdale, Cheval, Odessa, Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel. Free on-site parking. Call 813.949.3300 to book.