A pixie cut with highlights is a short crop with streaks of colors for added dimension. Stylish and easy to wear—this hair idea is a fabulous fashion accessory that you can pull off every day!
Sylvie Prud’Homme is a skilled stylist in Toronto, Canada, who proves the pixie’s versatility. She points out, “The cut only needs to be executed with care and consideration. It can look soft and romantic, edgy and bold, and everything in between!”
Head and face shape, hairline, hair type, and texture—are the factors to take into account. Go to a short hair specialist to ensure you get a great chop and educate you on at-home styling care.
Highlights only look great in a pixie if done in very fine sections. Otherwise, they may look like the dreaded tiger stripes on a short-length chop.
If you have pre-existing highlights and want to try a pixie, get a shadow root to soften the previous color.
If you have a pixie hairstyle and want some accents, opt for a balayage to achieve a more natural effect. A full pre-lightening service is another option if going for blonde.
Pixie cuts require frequent shaping every 4-6 weeks. “In case you can’t go to the salon regularly, a longer length is more suitable,” says Prud’Homme.
Reading our expert guide will also give you all the know-how to pick the perfect pixie cut that suits you like a charm.
Find more hair inspiration from this gallery. Listed here are the hottest ideas to wear a pixie cut with highlights!
#1: Tousled Brunette Pixie with Sun-Kissed Highlights
The highlights here are barely there, and that’s the whole point. A few fine, hand-painted caramel pieces sit only at the top where the texture catches light, leaving the close-cropped sides completely natural. On fine to medium density hair like this, point cutting through the crown creates that piecey separation without bulk. If your hair is thick and coarse, this exact texture won’t happen for you. It’ll mushroom. This cut is genuinely great for oval and heart-shaped faces because the short sides expose the jawline fully, so a round face with a softer chin would lose its structure here. One thing worth noticing: the highlights are placed to work with how the hair naturally falls forward, not against it.
#2 Warm Caramel Ribbons on a Layered Brunette Crop
If your hair is fine, this won’t work. The whole shape depends on medium to thick density holding those textured layers up through the crown, and you can see how the volume across the top is doing all the heavy lifting for the silhouette. The highlights are thin, hand-painted ribbons of warm caramel placed almost exclusively on the top layers, which means the sides and nape stay dark and grounded. That restraint is what keeps it looking natural rather than stripy. Notice how the fringe is point-cut into wispy, uneven pieces that sit across the forehead at different lengths, creating softness around a round face shape without adding width. This is a great cut for round or heart-shaped faces because the height on top elongates. On a long or narrow face, it would only stretch things further. The grow-out on those highlights will be forgiving since they start a couple inches from the root, so you’re not locked into six-week touch-ups.
#3 Feathered Dark Pixie with Soft Honey Highlights
If your hair is fine, this won’t work. The whole shape depends on medium to thick density holding that volume through the crown, and the way those razor-cut layers stack and lift tells me there’s real body underneath. What caught my eye is how the highlights are concentrated only where light would naturally hit, across the top layers and along the sweep of the fringe, leaving the sides and nape untouched in the base brunette. That restraint is what makes it look like dimension instead of stripes. This is a longer pixie with a side-swept fringe that grazes the cheekbone, which does genuinely flatter rounder and oval face shapes by creating diagonal movement. The grow-out on this cut will get awkward fast, probably every five weeks in the chair.
#4 Copper Accent Pixie with Textured Crown Length
The highlights here are only on the top. That’s worth noticing because it means the sides and nape stay dark and close, while the copper pieces catch light exclusively where there’s movement and length. It’s a smart hand-painted placement on medium-density hair with a slight natural wave, and it keeps the grow-out from looking patchy the way all-over highlights on a pixie inevitably do. This cut is tapered tight around the ears with longer, piece-y layers through the crown that have real texture, not just product. If your hair is fine and flat, this specific look will not hold that tousled shape without a fight. Oval and heart face shapes wear this well because the close sides keep everything open. Worth it for the right person.
#5 Fine-Haired Dirty Blonde Pixie with Bright Face-Framing Pieces
The highlights here are doing all the heavy lifting. Without them, this cut on fine hair would read flat and thin, but the colorist placed bright blonde pieces only where the light hits first, right along the fringe and temples, leaving the darker base alone at the nape and crown. That restraint is what makes it work. The cut itself is razor-textured through the top to create the illusion of more hair, and you can see individual wispy strands separating at the forehead, which only happens with genuinely fine density. If your hair is thick or coarse, this will not look like this. It’ll pouf. Oval and heart face shapes wear this length well because the short sides expose the jawline cleanly. One thing worth noting is how little product seems to be in it, which tells me the cut was done precisely enough to fall into place on its own. That’s rare and depends entirely on the stylist.
#6 Windswept Brunette Crop with Scattered Toffee Highlights
The highlights here are so fine and sparse that most people would scroll past thinking this is a single-process color. Look closer at the crown, where a few toffee pieces catch light only at the very tips of the textured layers. That restraint is what makes it work. This is a razor-cut pixie on what looks like medium-density hair with some natural wave, kept tight at the ears and nape with all the length and movement concentrated on top. If you have an oval or heart face shape, this framing is going to be genuinely flattering. Round faces will lose definition because there’s nothing angular here to offset softness. The color placement uses a scattered balayage technique, painting just the ends of the longest pieces rather than pulling highlights from the root, which means grow-out is almost invisible. On very fine hair, this cut will go flat by noon.
#7 Curly Grown-Out Pixie with Warm Chestnut Highlights
If your hair is straight, this will not look like this on you. That needs to be said first. This is natural wave or curl doing most of the work, and the cut is shaped to let it pile up on top while staying close at the nape and sides. The highlights are few and fine, hand-painted onto pieces that catch light only when the curl opens up, which is why they read warm instead of streaky. Look at how the color barely registers in the tighter sections near the ears but glows through the looser waves on the crown. That’s the whole point. Medium to thick density is ideal here because you need enough hair to form those soft, tumbling shapes without the top going flat. Round or oval faces wear it well since the volume sits high and the tapered sides keep things narrow. One thing worth knowing: this length is the awkward stage of growing out a shorter pixie, and she’s making it look intentional because of her texture. On a day with no curl cooperation, this same cut can look shapeless.
#8 Curly Dark Pixie with Cinnamon Ribbon Highlights
If your hair is straight, this isn’t for you. The entire shape depends on natural curl or strong wave to push the volume upward and create that asymmetric fullness through the crown. What caught my eye is how the copper-cinnamon pieces are painted only on the curls that kick forward, so the highlights move when the hair moves instead of sitting in flat stripes. That takes a hand-painted balayage on individual curl clumps, not foils. The sides are tapered close while the top holds three to four inches of length, which gives an oval or heart-shaped face a lot to work with. Round faces will struggle here because all the width lives at the temples. On humid days this cut will do whatever it wants, and no amount of product will give you the same shape twice.
#9 Choppy Dark Pixie with Subtle Auburn Threads
The highlights here are so restrained you almost miss them, which is the whole point. Thin auburn pieces woven through a dark espresso base, placed mostly at the crown where light catches naturally. This reads as dimension, not color. The cut itself is razor-textured with short, piecey layers that create movement even on what looks like medium-density hair, and the ears are left partially exposed with wispy bits falling just past them. Oval and heart faces will love how the cropped sides open everything up. If your hair is thick and coarse, this exact texture won’t happen for you without serious thinning shears and constant upkeep. The fringe is barely there. It won’t hide a forehead if that’s something you’re thinking about.
#10 Flippy Layered Crop with Blonde Foil Highlights
Those flipped-out ends at the nape are doing all the work here, and they require medium density hair to hold that shape. Fine hair will just lie there. The highlights are partial foils concentrated through the crown and bang area, leaving the darker base visible underneath and along the sides, which is what keeps it from reading as a single flat color. This is a longer pixie bordering on a short shag, razor cut through the layers to get that piecey texture. If you have a round face, the long side-swept fringe and tapered sides will genuinely help. The cut needs regular trims every five weeks or those flips start looking unintentional, and the grow-out gets awkward fast once the nape loses its shape.
#11 Wavy Crown Pixie with Warm Caramel Lift
If your hair is straight, this isn’t for you. The whole thing works because natural wave and curl do the heavy lifting in the crown, creating that effortless volume and movement without any real styling. The sides are cut close and left dark while a handful of caramel balayage pieces catch light only where the texture peaks. Look closely and you’ll see the highlights aren’t foiled uniformly; they’re painted onto individual curl clusters, which is why they read warm instead of stripey. This suits oval and oblong faces well because the volume sits high and tight rather than wide. On a round face, that compact shape with no length at the temples will not help you. Medium density hair is ideal here since fine hair won’t hold those curls at this length, and thick hair will mushroom out before your next cut.
#12 Dark Textured Pixie with Golden Crown Highlights
Look at where the highlights sit. They’re concentrated strictly on the crown and the very tips of the fringe, leaving the sides and nape completely untouched in that deep espresso base. That placement is deliberate and it reads like natural sun exposure, which only works because the colorist used a freehand painting technique on dry hair to hit just those top layers. The cut itself is a close-tapered pixie with enough length on top for texture and movement, point cut through the fringe so it breaks apart instead of lying flat. Strong jawlines and oval faces wear this well. If your face is round, the short sides with no weight at the temples will not help you. This is medium density hair, and the texture you’re seeing comes almost entirely from the cut, not from product or a curling iron. If your hair is very fine or very thick, it won’t fall this way. The grow-out on this will look awkward fast, probably within five weeks.
#13 Swept Brunette Pixie with Fine Copper Foils
If your hair is fine or starting to thin, this cut will frustrate you. The volume across the crown only works because there’s genuine medium density here, and the layers are razor-cut to create that sweeping movement without losing fullness. What caught my eye is how the copper foils are concentrated almost entirely on the top layers, leaving the sides and nape a clean, deep brown, which makes the whole thing read as natural warmth rather than a highlight job. Round and heart-shaped faces do well with this length because the side-swept fringe creates diagonal lines across the forehead. It’s a short pixie, maybe two inches on top tapering to half an inch at the ears. Grows out fast and uneven.
#14 Piecey Dark Crop with Blonde Strand Highlights
The highlights here are doing almost all the work, and that’s worth noticing. Without those thin blonde pieces woven through the front and crown, this cut would read flat on camera and flatter in person. They’re placed with a fine weave technique, concentrated where light naturally hits, and left out of the underneath layers entirely so the dark base stays grounded. Smart choice. The cut itself is a layered pixie with enough length on top to sweep across the forehead and kick out at the sides, tapered close through the nape. Medium density hair is ideal for this. If your hair is very fine, these layers will separate too much and expose scalp where you don’t want it. Oval and heart face shapes wear this well because the side-swept fringe balances a narrower chin, though a rounder face would need more height at the crown than what’s shown here. One thing most people won’t catch: the pieces along her ear are cut deliberately wispy and thin to keep the silhouette from going wide at the cheekbone. That’s precision work, not accident.
#15 Messy Brunette Pixie with Sandy Lowlight Dimension
If your hair goes flat by noon, this isn’t the cut for you. The whole thing depends on medium to thick density holding that tousled crown height without product doing all the work. What caught my eye is how the highlights are placed only where the texture peaks, meaning the colorist used freehand painting on the high points rather than foiling uniformly, which keeps the sandy tones from reading as streaky. The base is a cool-toned brunette, and those lighter pieces land warm, almost ashy caramel. Short through the sides and nape, longer and heavily point-cut on top to encourage that piecey separation. Strong jawlines and oval faces wear this well. Round faces will lose definition because there’s no length pulling downward at the temples or ears to create angles.
#16 Side-Swept Tapered Pixie with Woven Wheat Blonde Highlights
Look at how the highlights are concentrated almost entirely on the top and fringe, leaving the lower layers a natural cool brunette. That’s intentional, and it’s what keeps this from reading as a full blonde job on fine hair. The cut itself is a close taper through the nape and ears with enough length on top to sweep across the forehead in one clean diagonal line. If your hair is fine to medium density and straight, this is your cut. Thick, coarse hair will fight the sleekness here and just puff out. Oval and heart face shapes wear this well because the long side fringe balances a narrower chin. The colorist used fine foils or a babylight technique, weaving thin sections so the blonde integrates without any harsh stripe. On very dark base colors, achieving this soft wheat tone takes multiple sessions and real commitment.
#17 Russet-Toned Textured Pixie with Backlit Copper Pieces
The highlights here are concentrated on the top and forward pieces, leaving the base at the nape and temples noticeably darker, which is what gives the whole thing that lit-from-within quality rather than an allover color shift. Fine to medium density works best for this. If your hair is thick, those wispy ends won’t behave the same way and the texture will read heavier than intended. The cut keeps enough length on top to show off natural wave or movement, tapered close around the ears and neck. Oval and heart face shapes wear this well. What I keep looking at is how the colorist painted warmth right where the light catches it, almost like the sun did the work, which means a balayage approach with a copper-leaning toner on a dark brunette base. On straight hair this would fall flat.
#18 Soft Copper Pieces Through a Tousled Short Crop
If your hair is fine to medium density, this will not look like this on you without product. That volume through the crown is deliberate, built with point cutting and razored layers that create lift where the hair would otherwise lie flat. The copper highlights are painted sparingly, concentrated where the light hits the top layers, which keeps the warmth from reading as uniform or heavy. What I notice is how the sides are kept close and dark while the top does all the work, and that contrast is doing more than the color itself. Oval and heart faces will love this. Round faces, less so, because there’s not enough length at the temples to offset width. This is a six-week cut, no stretching it.
#19: Stylish Pixie Cut with Subtle Highlights
This chic pixie cut features a blend of short lengths and subtle highlights that add depth and dimension. Ideal for finer hair types, the cut frames the face beautifully, making it suitable for various face shapes, especially oval and heart. The layered texture allows for easy styling, giving a tousled look with minimal effort. Consider this style if you’re looking for a low-maintenance yet trendy option that highlights your features and adds a fresh touch to your appearance.
#20: Layered Pixie with Highlights
A layered pixie with highlights is a perfect hair style for women wanting dimensional color without maintenance. Pixies are an excellent way to show color while also giving a shapely haircut.
#21: Tapered Short Pixie with Soft Highlights
A short pixie with a tapered shape around the ears and nape gives your profile a lovely shape. This also enhances your high cheekbones. To add a feminine touch, keep the top part of your hair longer. This style is also versatile. You can also add soft, subtle highlights to this hairstyle.
#22: Stylish Loose Curly Pixie Hair
If you prefer to keep your hair natural, a loose style is a great choice. It’s especially suitable for naturally wavy hair. You can enhance this style by adding curls with an iron. I recommend applying a soft paste to the loose pixie to define the added curls.
#23: Chic Pixie Cut with Partial Highlights
A chic and modern hairstyle for older women with short hair is a chic pixie cut with partial highlights. This cut is ideal for those who want to maintain a chic look without sacrificing style. Partial highlights add dimension and depth to the overall look.
#24: Soft Pixie with Natural Color
Try this soft pixie with natural color! This look is trendy and great for any age! Remember that if you want this cut, you must book regular haircut appointments at the salon.
#25: Brunette Sweeping Pixie with Blonde Highlights
Highlighted pixies are best for women who want to show off depth and dimension in their haircut. A partial highlight that follows the crown, sides, and fringe is a gorgeous design. Keeping the nape area darker creates depth. And it steers away from a striped look with highlights going lower on short hair.
#26: Dimensional Pixie with Light Brown Highlights
Try a dimensional pixie with light brown highlights if you want more contrast in your hair. I highly recommend having your stylist add some texture to your hair. It’s better if your hair is texturized because it will be easier to style.
#27: Cute Lixie Cut with Blonde Highlights
Look super cute with a lixie cut with blonde highlights. If you’re going to test out the waters of a shorter cut, try a medium-length pixie first. Taking length off your locks will make your hair look fuller and healthier. A shorter cut is more maintenance, so you must get it cut every 4-6 weeks to keep its shape and style.
#28: Brunette Long Pixie with Blonde Highlights
Get a long pixie with blonde highlights if you like your hair short and dark and dimensional. Ask for your colorist to add highlights rather than balayage to give you a better lift on your dark base. Balayage will also help you avoid any blonde at the back, the shortest part because it will look spotty.
#29 Glamorous Pixie with Silver Streaks
Embrace a modern twist on classic elegance with this textured pixie cut, adorned with silver streaks that enhance a voluminous look. Tailored for a mature woman’s oval face, the cool tones bring freshness to the complexion. A medium-density hair benefits from the strategic layering, offering a sculpted silhouette that frames the face effortlessly. While chic, the silver streaks may require professional toning to maintain their luster, and the textured layers will need regular salon visits to keep their refined edge.
#30: Feathered Bixie with Highlights and Lowlights
Feathered bixies with highlights and lowlights are dynamic, dimensional, and daring. Add character, dimension, and movement to a pixie cut with highlights and lowlights. Brighten up a pixie cut with platinum highlights and see the extra tones work together to compliment your skin tone better. There is so much versatility with a bixie cut, it can be customized to almost any texture, type, color, style, or goal.
#31: Short Pixie with Ombre Highlights
A short pixie with ombré highlights can add a bit of texture and contrast to the ends of textured layers. Short pixie haircuts are great when there are color contrasts because the color does all the work when building texture for styling.
#32: Soft Pixie with Side-Swept Bangs and Balayage
A soft pixie with bangs and balayage is the perfect combo for a classic cut with a modern twist. Try this length to open up your face and bring focus to your eyes. Ask your stylist to do a few balayage pieces if you want to add a dimensional pop. Don’t forget your 4-6 week maintenance appointment to keep your haircut looking fab.
#33: Highlights on a Messy Mixie Cut
Highlights on a messy mixie cut can bring women over 40 a brand new youthfulness. The texture of a mullet pixie is a funky and sassy combination of layering techniques that make it easy to care for and style. Wavy hair thrives with cuts that need texture.
Related: Short hairstyles with highlights.
#34: Asymmetrical Pixie with Highlights
An asymmetrical pixie with highlights is a great way to utilize a short hairstyle to bring attention and balance to the face. Pixies with highlights frame the face beautifully while adding depth and dimension to the hairstyle. By studying each individual face, an asymmetrical haircut can work to create the illusion of more balanced facial features.
#35: Curly Pixie Crop with Blonde Accents
A curly pixie crop with blonde accents is a great way to bring a bright pop of contrast and interest. Pixies and highlights can be easily customizable based on how much light and dark contrast works well with each skin tone and hair type.
#36: Undercut Pixie with Highlights
An undercut pixie is often best achieved with a technique called hair painting. Hairstyles with 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.
#37: Brunette Pixie with Lavender Highlights
A brunette pixie with 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.
#38: Ash Blonde Tousled Pixie for Fine Hair
Utilize an ash blonde tousled pixie for fine hair to really increase the volume and texture. Fine hair is known to fall limp, so by combining an excellent ash blonde tone to brighten and expand, combined with a tousled style to keep it loose and volumized, you can keep your fine hair looking fluffy, light, and voluminous. A light brown pixie cut with highlights is a very natural and subtle way to accentuate the pixie haircut.
#39: Layered Pixie with Highlights for Black Women
A layered pixie with highlights, for black women, has been a staple 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.
#40: Edgy Pixie with Balayage Highlights
Nothing beats an edgy pixie with balayage highlights 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.
#41: Pixie Bob with Highlights for Thin Hair
Try a pixie bob with highlights for thin hair that needs a bit of a boost. A bixie is a style that can complement many hair types. Fine or thin hair can fall flat with a straight pixie, so the extra length of a bixie can give more texture and volume.
#42: Grey Highlights on Choppy Pixie Hair
Show off your grey highlights on choppy hair when you are ready to embrace the tinsel. A pixie cut with grey highlights is a great way to embrace the changes in hair color and texture.
#43: Partial Highlights on Tousled Pixie Hair
Try partial highlights on tousled pixie hair to brighten up and add interest to a short haircut. Pixie-style hair leans more on color to emphasize movement and texture because shorter hair cannot have as dramatic length differences. To combat a boring pixie cut haircut, and make styling easier, simply add some dimensional highlights around the face.
#44: Blonde Pixie with Dark Roots
A blonde pixie with dark roots is a staple color combo to compliment a short cut. Blonde hair expands light, giving the illusion of more volume and the dark root allows for less maintenance with color growing out. Add beachy waves for a perfect sun-kissed pixie hairstyle.
#45: Highlighted Long Pixie with Choppy Layers
A highlighted long pixie with choppy layers can be customized to frame any face. A dark brown pixie cut with blonde highlights can be combined with long choppy layers to create any shape or frame that works with each individual face.
#46: Spiky Pixie with Painted Highlights
Brighten up a spiky pixie with painted highlights to customize the exact placement and desired effect. Women over 60 who want to add brightness to their faces should try a few painted highlights near their faces. Something as simple as updating a brown pixie with caramel highlights can drastically lift the overall appearance and expand the volume. Painted highlights are a key way to look 10 years younger without any work.
#47: Two-Tone Pixie Undercut
Freshen up your locks with a two-tone pixie undercut. Highlights are a great way to add dimension, complement skin tones or eye color, and even switch up the overall look of a haircut.
#48: Short Textured Pixie with Highlights
A short textured pixie with highlights is an easy way for women over 50 to freshen up their style and take 10 years off their look. Highlighted pixies give a youthful lift to facial features and can help bring a lifted new dimension to the style.
Related: Short pixie haircuts for women over 50.
#49: Black Pixie with Muted Pink Highlights
Try muted pink highlights to bring some subtle edginess to a flat hairstyle. A pixie cut with pink highlights is a great way to try out a fashion color without committing. By using a muted pink, it remains subtle enough to look natural in some light while still bright enough to give that flair of color.
Related: Black hair with highlights ideas.
#50: Pixie with Golden Copper Highlights
A pixie with golden copper highlights compliments 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.
#51: Tapered Pixie Cut with Babylights
A tapered pixie cut with babylights is a perfect way to brighten up a short hairstyle. Pixie cuts are a low-maintenance hairstyle for those who like to wear their hair naturally. Add babylights for a sunkissed, beachy style.
#52: Highlighted Pixie on Wavy Hair
A highlighted pixie on wavy hair is the perfect short beachy style. A wavy pixie is a more modern adaptation to a very short inverted bob. Bringing the graduation up higher brings the hair off the nape for a lighter and more airy volume. By adding natural volume at the crown and tight graduation at the nape, you can achieve the appearance of a more elongated neck.
#53: Blonde Highlights on a Razor-Cut Pixie
Blonde highlights pop on a razor-cut pixie with side-swept bangs. Haircuts with highlights have an extra level of dimension and movement, and when combined with a great razor cut, the hair can seem to just naturally fall into perfect place with little to no styling effort. Side-swept bangs are a great way to frame the face without needing to put work into regular styling.
#54: Pixie with Bangs and Subtle Highlights
A pixie with bangs is a great way to transition into lighter styles. Volume at the crown of a pixie helps hold the style and gives the desired shape of the haircut. Adding graduation at the nape works well to accentuate volume in the crown as well.
#55: Short Dark Hair with Blonde Bangs
The combination of short dark hair with blonde bangs is absolutely stunning on almost any hair type. A dark pixie cut with highlights added in creates a bold color contrast that can really make eyes pop no matter what color.
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