35 Adorable Ideas for a Pixie Cut with Highlights for a Dimensional Style

A pixie cut with highlights is a short crop featuring streaks of color for enhanced dimension. Stylish and effortless—this hairstyle is a fabulous fashion accessory that you can rock every day!

Sylvie Prud’Homme is a talented stylist in Toronto, Canada, who showcases the pixie’s versatility. She emphasizes, “The cut only needs to be performed with care and thoughtfulness. It can appear soft and romantic, edgy and bold, and everything in between!”

Head and face shape, hairline, hair type, and texture—are important factors to consider. Visit a short hair specialist to ensure you receive a fantastic chop and guidance on at-home styling techniques.

Highlights look best in a pixie when applied in very fine sections. Otherwise, they may resemble the dreaded tiger stripes on short hair.

If you have pre-existing highlights and wish to transition to a pixie, consider a shadow root to soften the former color.

For those with a pixie hairstyle seeking some accents, opt for a balayage to achieve a more natural look. A complete pre-lightening service is another option if aiming for blonde.

Pixie cuts necessitate regular shaping every 4-6 weeks. “If you can’t visit the salon frequently, a longer length is advisable,” says Prud’Homme.

Consulting our expert guide will provide you with all the insights needed to select the perfect pixie cut that flatters you beautifully.

Discover more hair inspiration from this gallery. Here are the trendiest ideas to style a pixie cut with highlights!

Stylish Two-Tone Pixie Undercut

Stylish Two-Tone Pixie Undercut
Instagram @bormannjr

Revitalize your hairstyle with a chic two-tone pixie undercut. Highlights are an excellent choice to enhance depth, match skin tones or eye color, and even transform the overall appearance of a haircut.

Stylish Pixie with Bangs and Soft Highlights

Stylish Pixie with Bangs and Soft Highlights
Instagram @kyyhowhair

A pixie with bangs is an excellent choice for transitioning into lighter styles. Volume at the crown of a pixie enhances the shape and maintains the intended look of the haircut. Incorporating graduation at the nape effectively highlights volume in the crown as well.

Textured Pixie Cut with Highlights for Women of Color

Textured Pixie Cut with Highlights for Women of Color
Instagram @thastylist18

A textured pixie cut with highlights, for women of color, has been a go-to short hairstyle when considering the longevity of styling after a visit to the salon. Often, a style is created at the salon appointment, and the longer the hairstyle lasts, the better.

Brunette Long Pixie with Subtle Blonde Highlights

Brunette Long Pixie with Subtle Blonde Highlights
Instagram @giboazhair

Consider a long pixie with subtle blonde highlights if you prefer your hair short, dark, and full of dimension. Request your colorist to incorporate highlights instead of balayage for enhanced lift on your dark base. Balayage can also help you prevent any blonde showing at the back, which is the shortest section, as it might appear uneven.

Chic Pixie with Balayage Accents

Nothing beats an chic pixie with balayage accents and shaved sides. Balayage pixie hair is a great way to achieve natural-looking highlights that have a low-maintenance grow-out and great style longevity. Fine hair can be volumized and look thicker with textured layering.

Dark Pixie with Soft Pink Highlights

Experiment with soft pink highlights to add a hint of edge to a streamlined hairstyle. A pixie cut featuring pink highlights is an excellent way to explore a trendy color without full commitment. By opting for a soft pink, it stays subtle enough to appear natural in certain lighting while still providing a touch of vibrant color.

Related: Ideas for black hair with highlights.

Asymmetrical Pixie Featuring Highlights

An asymmetrical pixie with highlights is an excellent way to make use of a short hairstyle to draw attention and create balance in the face. Pixies enhanced with highlights frame the face beautifully while introducing depth and dimension to the hairstyle. By analyzing each unique face, an asymmetrical haircut can help create the illusion of more balanced facial features.

Chic Short Dark Hair with Blonde Bangs

The blend of chic short dark hair paired with blonde bangs is truly eye-catching for nearly any hair type. A dark pixie cut featuring highlights adds a striking color contrast that can enhance the eyes, regardless of their hue.

Textured Pixie with Colorful Highlights

Textured Pixie with Colorful Highlights
Instagram @hildebrandhair

Enhance a textured pixie with colorful highlights to tailor the exact placement and desired effect. Women over 60 aiming to brighten their faces should consider a few colorful highlights near their features. A simple update such as a brown pixie with caramel highlights can significantly enhance the overall look and increase volume. Colorful highlights are an essential way to appear a decade younger without any effort.

Gentle Pixie with Organic Hues

Explore this gentle pixie with organic hues! This style is fashionable and suitable for all ages! Keep in mind that maintaining this cut requires regular salon appointments for upkeep.

Delicate Pixie Cut with Side-Swept Bangs and Balayage

Delicate Pixie Cut with Side-Swept Bangs and Blonde Highlights
Instagram @joahhmendes

A delicate pixie with bangs and balayage is the perfect combo for a classic cut with a contemporary twist. Try this length to open up your face and draw attention to your eyes. Ask your stylist to do a few balayage pieces if you want to enhance the dimensional look. Don’t forget your 4-6 week maintenance appointment to keep your haircut looking fabulous.

Chic Pixie Cut with Ombre Accents

A chic pixie cut with ombré accents can introduce a touch of texture and contrast to the ends of layered styles. Pixie haircuts shine when complemented by color contrasts, as the hues effectively enhance texture for styling.

Chic Loose Curly Pixie Hairstyle

If you prefer to keep your hair looking natural, a loose style is an excellent choice. It’s particularly well-suited for hair with natural waves. You can elevate this style by introducing curls with a curling iron. I suggest using a light paste to emphasize the loose pixie and define the added curls.

Pixie Bob with Accentuating Highlights for Fine Hair

Explore a pixie bob with accentuating highlights for fine hair that craves a little uplift. A bixie is a style that suits various hair types. Fine or thin hair can appear lackluster with a standard pixie, so the added length of a bixie can provide enhanced texture and volume.

Ash Blonde Tousled Pixie Cut for Fine Hair

Try an ash blonde tousled pixie cut for fine hair to effectively enhance volume and texture. Fine hair tends to fall flat, so by incorporating a beautiful ash blonde shade to brighten and widen your look, paired with a tousled appearance for a loose and voluminous finish, you can ensure your fine hair appears fluffy, airy, and full of life. A light brown pixie cut with highlights serves as a very natural and understated method to emphasize the pixie style.

Sleek Tapered Pixie with Gentle Highlights

Sleek Tapered Pixie with Gentle Highlights
Instagram @baborelli

A short pixie with a tapered shape around the ears and nape provides your profile with a graceful outline. This also highlights your high cheekbones. To infuse a more feminine essence, maintain the top section of your hair a bit longer. This style is equally adaptable. You can also incorporate soft, gentle highlights into this hairstyle.

Feathered Bixie Featuring Highlights and Lowlights

Feathered bixies adorned with highlights and lowlights are vibrant, multi-dimensional, and bold. Infuse character, depth, and movement into a pixie cut with highlights and lowlights. Illuminate a pixie cut with platinum highlights and observe how the additional tones harmonize to enhance your skin tone. The bixie cut offers remarkable versatility, capable of adapting to nearly any texture, type, color, style, or objective.

Stylish Pixie Cut with Subtle Highlights

Stylish Pixie Cut with Subtle Highlights for older women with short hair
Instagram @sash.hair

A stylish and contemporary hairstyle for older women with short hair is a stylish pixie cut with subtle highlights. This cut is ideal for those who want to maintain a fashionable look without sacrificing elegance. Subtle highlights add dimension and depth to the overall appearance.

Textured Pixie Cut featuring Warm Brown Highlights

Try a textured pixie cut with warm brown highlights if you desire more depth in your hair. I highly recommend having your stylist add some dimension to your hair. It’s better if your hair is dimensional because it will be easier to manage.

Stylish Pixie on Wavy Locks

A stylish pixie on wavy locks is the ideal short beachy look. A wavy pixie offers a contemporary twist on a very short inverted bob. Raising the graduation higher lifts the hair off the nape, creating a lighter and more airy volume. By incorporating natural volume at the crown and tight graduation at the nape, you can achieve the look of a more elongated neck.

Adorable Lixie Cut with Blonde Accents

Look incredibly charming with a lixie cut featuring blonde accents. If you’re considering a shorter style, test the waters with a medium-length pixie first. Reducing length will enhance your hair’s fullness and health. A shorter style requires more upkeep, so plan on trimming it every 4-6 weeks to maintain its shape and look.

Textured Pixie with Luminous Highlights

A textured pixie with luminous highlights is an ideal hair style for women seeking dimensional color with effortless upkeep. Pixies are a fantastic way to showcase color while also providing a stylish haircut.

Choppy Pixie Hair with Striking Grey Highlights

Show off your stylish grey highlights on textured hair when you are ready to embrace the shine. A pixie cut featuring grey highlights is an excellent choice for celebrating the evolution of hair color and texture.

Chic Brunette Pixie with Luminous Blonde Highlights

Highlighted pixies are ideal for women who wish to showcase depth and dimension in their haircut. A partial highlight that follows the crown, sides, and fringe is a beautiful design. Keeping the nape area darker adds richness. And it avoids a striped look with highlights going lower on short hair.

Highlighted Undercut Pixie

An highlighted undercut pixie is often best achieved with a technique called hair painting. Hairstyles featuring highlights can be done in many different ways, but ultimately hand painting on short hair gives control of placement as the hair naturally lays, rather than directing the strand to a foil.

Showcasing a Trendy Messy Mixie Cut

Enhancements to a messy mixie cut can offer women over 40 a refreshing touch of youthfulness. The texture of a mullet pixie is a playful and vibrant mix of layering techniques that simplify styling and maintenance. Wavy hair flourishes with cuts that embrace texture.

Related: Short hairstyles with highlights.

Customized Long Pixie with Textured Layers

A customized long pixie with textured layers can be tailored to frame any face. A dark brown pixie cut with blonde highlights can be paired with long textured layers to create any shape or frame that complements each individual face.

Chic Textured Pixie with Luminous Highlights

A chic textured pixie with luminous highlights is an effortless way for women over 50 to rejuvenate their style and subtract 10 years from their appearance. Highlighted pixies provide a youthful boost to facial features and can introduce a fresh new layer to the look.

Related: Trendy pixie haircuts for women over 50.

Brunette Pixie Cut Featuring Lavender Highlights

A brunette pixie cut featuring lavender highlights works great for cooling down overly warm skin tones. Combining a pixie cut with purple highlights can really brighten the tone and keep it cool-toned. Often, a brunette pixie cut with highlights can start to pull warm tones due to the natural color pigments in brunettes, so violet tones can keep that warmth intentional and at bay.

Pixie Cut with Radiant Copper Highlights

A pixie cut with radiant copper highlights enhances warm skin tones beautifully. Foil highlights are the most controlled technique for highlighting hair, which means that it’s the most customizable. Highlights bring brightness and can even aid in creating that ideal oval face shape. Warm-toned highlights work to brighten and warm up the facial features and overall color of the hair.

Sun-Kissed Blonde Highlights on a Razor-Cut Pixie

Blonde highlights shine on a razor-cut pixie with side-swept bangs. Haircuts with highlights offer an added dimension and movement, and when paired with a skilled razor cut, the hair can appear to effortlessly fall into place with minimal styling effort. Side-swept bangs serve as an excellent way to accentuate the face without the need for regular styling.

Subtle Highlights on Tousled Pixie Hair

Partial Highlights on Tousled Pixie Hair
Instagram @krystinahair

Experiment with subtle highlights on tousled pixie hair to brighten and enhance a short haircut. Pixie-style hair relies more on color to accentuate movement and texture because shorter hair lacks dramatic length variations. To avoid a mundane pixie cut and simplify styling, effortlessly incorporate some dimensional highlights around the face.

Textured Pixie Crop with Blonde Highlights

Textured Pixie Crop with Blonde Highlights
Instagram @lizzhouser

A textured pixie crop with blonde highlights is a fantastic way to introduce a vibrant pop of contrast and visual appeal. Pixies and highlights can be easily tailored based on how much light and dark contrast complements each skin tone and hair type.

Tapered Pixie Hairstyle Accented with Babylights

A tapered pixie hairstyle accented with babylights is an excellent way to brighten up a short hairstyle. Pixie styles are a low-maintenance option for those who prefer to wear their hair naturally. Add babylights for a sunkissed, beach-inspired look.

Stylish Pixie with Metallic Highlights

Sophisticated woman showcasing a stylish textured pixie cut featuring metallic highlights for volume and refinement.

Embrace a contemporary take on timeless sophistication with this textured pixie cut, featuring metallic highlights that elevate a voluminous appearance. Designed for a mature woman’s oval face, the cool shades bring vibrancy to the complexion. A medium-density hair is enhanced by strategic layering, creating a sculpted shape that beautifully frames the face. While trendy, the metallic highlights may require professional toning to preserve their shine, and the textured layers will need regular salon visits to maintain their polished look.