That's actually one I could see as being a problem. If you're creating highlights through editing, that could be DQ'able as under the "creating a new area" but if you're just enhancing or changing the colour, I imagine that would be ok.
I'm sure that will be fine - Viveza pretty much does just that job and I've had loads of work validated that has has that sort of technique applied.
However make sure you do a good job of it if doing it manually, do a colour change that strays beyond the natural boundaries of any image area and you will be DQ'd if asked to validate.
is there anyone on sc who could chime in? is it legal if i mask out the highlights in my models hair and use a color fill layer to change the color?
You are not removing the highlights, but just shifting the color of the rest of the hair? That should be alright under Advanced. If you have time, you can submit a ticket with a before/after version attached, and get a somewhat more informed opinion, though not an official ruling.
Shifting colors is allowed, as long as you don't create any new shapes or features by doing so.
Bottom line, if you don't create highlights that weren't there, or remove ones that were to an extent that is significant, you are fine. Heck, it's even legal in Basic if you can zero in on the highlight color without affecting the remainder of the image.
