You may remember that chunky highlights ruled the ’90s, but now it’s all about subtle, “are-they-real?” streaks. Reese Witherspoon and Ashley Greene show how to do it right.

What we love: Highlights add dimension to your hair, making it look brighter, shinier, even thicker. By keeping it subtle — meaning you don’t stray more than a couple shades from your base color and keep the highlighted strands thin and scattered — you have the illusion that it just might be natural. Also, it means that people are noticing the overall prettiness of your hair, rather than staring at your skunk-like streaks.

Try it at home: You could try a boxed highlighting kit, but for the best results head to a salon. If you’re trying to find a great colorist, just look at the heads of the people around you. If you notice anyone with steal-worthy color, ask her who her hairstylist is. Sure, it’s a little awkward, but no one said having beautiful hair color was easy.