What is Balayage and How Can It Help Your Hair?

Balayage is a technique for colouring hair without using foils. The word Balayage is derived from the French word ‘balayer’ meaning to sweep, and involves hand painting the hair with colour so that the shading looks very natural.

A professional cut prior to Balayage highlights provides the perfect base for this technique. This results in soft colour graduation from the roots to the ends of the hair, and it looks like it’s been naturally sun-kissed.

Your stylist has control over where the colour is placed, and the technique can be used for bolder colours too. Whether you want the sun-kissed look or you’d like to create a more dramatic effect, Balayage provides beautiful shading and colour.

Additionally, you don’t need to grow out any existing colour. You can have Balayage highlights even if your hair is already coloured. The stylist will work with your hair as it is right now, and can add shading to your roots and the tops of the hair shafts as necessary.

What’s the difference between Balayage and traditional highlights?

Traditional highlighting involves the use of foils to place the colour throughout the hair. Sections of hair are wrapped from root to tip in the foil, and the colour develops more quickly compared with Balayage.

Ombre is another form of highlighting. Compared with the results of Balayage the shading is more noticeable as the colour typically begins further down each shaft of hair. Ombre looks less blended than Balayage, and has a more defined change of shading.

One of the biggest benefits of Balayage is that re-growth is much less noticeable. The balance of colour throughout your hair, and the carefully graduated shading, means there are no obvious re-growth lines.

The multi-dimensional finish creates very subtle shading rather than defined lines. The colour is professionally applied and blended through the hair to provide a completely natural look.

Subtle highlighting tailored to you

Balayage can be tailored to the length of your hair, its texture, and existing colour, and you can even personalise the colour placement so that it flatters your face shape, features, and skin tone.

Professional hairdressers can provide a consultation before a Balayage appointment so it’s a good idea to think about the final look you’d like to achieve. Start by considering the colours and shades you might like to use, whether you want to accentuate any facial features, and how you want to style your hair.

Balayage is a form of highlighting that provides results individual to you. These treatments shouldn’t be exactly the same for everyone as the placement of colour will be specific to each person.

Balayage highlights should be applied by a professional, as it’s vital to place the colour correctly throughout the hair. This allows for the multi-tonal colour that’s characteristic of Balayage, resulting in natural, beautiful hair.

To find out more about Balayage highlights or to book an appointment with us, call one of the team at Brown’s of Shrewsbury on 01743 246606.