* Bleaching: This is a process that lightens all of the hair. Bleaching is typically used to go from a darker shade to a much lighter shade, such as from dark brown to blonde.
* Highlights: Highlights involve lightening only certain strands or sections of the hair. This creates dimension and contrast within the hair, rather than a uniform color change. Bleach is often used to lift the color in the highlighted strands, but it's applied selectively.
In summary, bleaching is a full-head color lightening process, while highlights are a partial color lightening technique to add dimension.