Hair foil glossary
This glossary defines 45 terms used in buying and specifying hair foil: the material and its thickness, the formats and finishes, the salon techniques that decide a size, and the trade terms that appear on a quotation. Each definition stands alone and links to the page that covers the subject in full.
0–9
- 8011 alloyalso: AA8011
- An aluminium alloy with small additions of iron and silicon, widely rolled into thin foil. The additions give thin foil more strength than pure aluminium of the same gauge.See: Thickness & alloy
A
- anti-dumping dutyalso: AD duty
- An extra import duty on goods from a named country that are judged to be sold below fair value. It applies to goods inside the written scope of the measure.See: EU, Trade & compliance
- AQLalso: acceptable quality limit
- Acceptable quality limit: the rule that sets how many samples are drawn from a lot and how many defects are allowed before the lot is rejected.See: Quality lab
B
- babylights
- Very fine highlights made from narrow weaves placed close together. They are usually done on narrow foil.See: Size chart, Smooth vs embossed hair foil
- balayage
- A technique in which lightener is painted freehand onto the surface of sections for a graduated result. It uses wide, long foil or film where sections are enclosed.See: Wide & extra-wide, Size chart
- bleach / lighteneralso: lightener, bleach powder
- A product that removes pigment from hair, usually a powder mixed with developer. It is the product hair foil is most often folded around.See: Printed ink bleach test, Hair foil and heat
C
- colour blockingalso: color blocking
- Placing solid areas of contrasting colour, each kept separate from the next. Wide foil keeps the areas apart during processing.See: Wide & extra-wide
- cutter box
- A carton for a foil roll with a serrated edge that tears each piece off. It lets a salon use a roll without a separate dispenser.See: Hair foil rolls, Packaging
D
- DDPalso: Delivered Duty Paid
- Delivered Duty Paid: an Incoterm under which the seller delivers the goods to the buyer's address and pays freight, customs clearance and duty.See: Landed cost
- developer (volume)also: peroxide, vol
- The hydrogen peroxide solution mixed with lightener or colour. Its strength is given in volumes; a higher volume is stronger.See: Printed ink bleach test
- diamond emboss
- An emboss pattern of repeating diamond shapes pressed into the foil.See: Emboss patterns
- dielinealso: die line, keyline
- The flat outline of a box, showing where it is cut, folded and glued. Box artwork is built on it.See: Dielines
E
- embossed foilalso: textured foil
- Foil with a pattern pressed into its surface between patterned rollers. The texture raises friction against the hair and stiffens the sheet without adding metal.See: Embossed foil, Emboss patterns
- extra-wide foilalso: wide foil
- Foil sheets and rolls wider than the standard narrow sheet, used for balayage, foilyage and long hair.See: Wide & extra-wide, Size chart
F
- FBA prepalso: Fulfilment by Amazon
- Preparing goods for a marketplace fulfilment centre: a scannable label on each unit, cartons within the set limits, and packaging that survives handling.See: Amazon FBA prep
- flexographic printingalso: flexo
- Printing from flexible relief plates. Set-up cost is lower than gravure and the method suits medium runs.See: Custom printed foil
- FOBalso: Free On Board
- Free On Board: an Incoterm under which the seller loads the goods on the vessel at the named port, and the buyer pays freight, insurance, duty and local charges from there.See: Landed cost
- foil dispenser
- A holder for a foil roll, with a spindle for the core and an edge to cut against. The core of the roll has to fit the spindle.See: Hair foil rolls
- foil rollalso: hair foil roll
- Continuous foil wound on a core and cut to length at the chair. It is specified by its width in millimetres and its length in metres.See: Hair foil rolls
- foilyage
- Balayage in which each painted section is enclosed in foil, combining a painted placement with the stronger lift of foil.See: Wide & extra-wide
G
- gaugealso: thickness
- The thickness of foil. In hair foil it is given in microns; a "heavier gauge" is a thicker foil.See: Thickness & alloy
- GPSRalso: General Product Safety Regulation
- The EU General Product Safety Regulation. It requires consumer products sold in the EU to be safe and to have a responsible economic operator established in the EU.See: EU GPSR
- gravure printingalso: rotogravure
- Printing from engraved cylinders that carry the ink. Set-up cost is high and the method suits long runs.See: Custom printed foil
H
- highlighting film
- Thin plastic film, usually transparent, used to separate lightened sections. It lets the colourist see the hair but does not hold a fold as foil does.See: Foil vs meche vs highlighting film
- honeycomb emboss
- An emboss pattern of repeating hexagonal cells pressed into the foil.See: Emboss patterns
- HS codealso: HTS code, tariff code, commodity code
- The Harmonized System code that classifies goods for customs. Hair foil falls under heading 7607, aluminium foil; countries add their own digits to it.See: HS code
I
- interfoldedalso: interfold
- Folded so that half of each sheet lies inside the fold of the next. Interfolding is what makes a stack of sheets dispense one at a time.See: Pop-up hair foil, Why pop-up foils stick, tear or arrive bent
M
- mechealso: mèche
- Highlighting strips used in place of foil, usually plastic or coated paper and often reusable. The word is French for a lock of hair; UK wholesalers list "foils & meche" together.See: Foil vs meche vs highlighting film, UK
- micron (µm)also: micrometre, µm
- One thousandth of a millimetre. Foil thickness is stated in microns, measured on the metal before embossing.See: Thickness & alloy
- MOQalso: minimum order
- Minimum order quantity: the smallest order a factory accepts for an item. It covers fixed costs such as plates and set-up, and applies to each size or design.See: MOQ & lead time
O
- O temperalso: annealed, soft temper
- The fully annealed condition of aluminium: the metal is heated after rolling so that it is soft. O-temper foil folds without springing back and holds a crease.See: Thickness & alloy
- OEM / ODM
- OEM: a factory makes a product to the buyer's specification and brand. ODM: the factory also supplies the design. Private label foil is usually OEM.See: Private label
- orange-peel emboss
- An emboss pattern with a fine, irregular pebbled texture, like the skin of an orange.See: Emboss patterns
P
- Pantone matchingalso: PMS
- Specifying a printed colour by a Pantone reference and adjusting the ink to match it. On foil the match is judged on a printed sample, because aluminium changes how ink looks.See: Custom printed foil
- perforated base
- A box base cut with a line of perforations so that part of it can be pushed in. On a foil box it forms the push-up base.See: Packaging
- pop-up foilalso: pop-up sheets, pop-ups
- Pre-cut foil sheets that are interfolded, so that pulling one sheet from the box brings up the next. It is taken with one hand.See: Pop-up hair foil
- pre-cut foilalso: pre-cut sheets, strips
- Foil cut to a fixed size and stacked flat, without interfolding. It is lifted from the stack by hand and comes in the longest and widest sizes.See: Pre-cut sheets
- pre-folded edgealso: pre-fold, folded edge
- A narrow fold made along one short end of a sheet during production. It gives a doubled, stiffer edge to place at the root.See: Pop-up hair foil, Pre-cut sheets
- private labelalso: own brand, white label
- A product made by a manufacturer and sold under the buyer's own brand, in the buyer's packaging.See: Private label, Private label brands
- processing time
- The time lightener or colour is left on the hair. Foil stays closed around the section for the whole of it.See: Hair foil and heat
- push-up base
- A panel in the bottom of a pop-up foil box that can be pressed up from underneath, lifting the remaining sheets towards the opening as the stack gets low.See: Packaging
R
- root touch-upalso: regrowth
- Colour or lightener applied only to the regrowth at the root.See: Size chart
S
- smooth foilalso: plain foil
- Foil with a flat, unembossed surface. It lies close to a fine section and gives the sharpest print; it is the baseline in a grip test.See: Smooth vs embossed hair foil, Emboss patterns
T
- teasylights
- Highlights made by backcombing a section before lightening the ends, which softens the line at the root. The lightened part is usually enclosed in foil.See: Size chart
- toner
- A colour applied after lightening to adjust the shade of the lightened hair.
Written by Joyce Zhou, Founder · 16+ years in packagingLast updated