Balayage color technique has taken its place as the most requested hair color in most hair salons today. It is the go-to technique for modern, chic hair since it illuminates the hair while creating depth and dimension with a sun kissed finish. This specialized process will give you soft, diffused hair color and is extremely low maintenance, making you able to go longer between services. And with all of us on a constant time crunch these days, who wouldn’t love that? Here’s a little background on this stellar, personalized service and how to know if its right for you.

 Balayage is a French coloring technique that was developed in the 70’s. It is the French word for “sweeping” and is a way to create light and shade through the hair by applying color visually with a brush and a paddle. It’s freehand approach gives your color specialist the artistic flexibility to apply the color by hand and detail the color to your haircut. While it first came over to the U.S. in the 80’s, it didn’t gain popularity until the 90’s and since then, has taken the color world by storm. In more urban areas, like Manhattan and Los Angeles it has taken its place as the most sought after coloring technique. With celebrities and models alike using this method for its soft, natural highlights that grow out without developing an obvious root, it created a popular demand that brought it to salons throughout the country. Gisele Bundchen, Julia Roberts, Lily Aldridge, Sarah Jessica Parker, Erin Wasson, Jennifer Aniston, Lauren Conrad, Chloe Kardashian, Drew Barrymore, and pretty much every Victoria’s Secret Angel all use the balayage technique to get their famously gorgeous sunkissed tresses.
There are so many different effects that can be achieved with balayage, from soft, natural highlights, to something stronger and slightly more defined. The fact that it is so low maintenance is a huge draw. People want to look fashionable and feel good, but not everyone has time for frequent touch ups. Balayage is very economical, as you will never have a solid line of demarcation or regrowth, so if you can’t afford frequent touch ups, this service will allow you to go a little longer between applications without your regrowth looking atrocious. While foils will give a more defined, precise line (which also will show your regrowth much quicker) balayage is amazing for that sunkissed, tousled, beachy look. Rather than using foils to apply the hair color, individual strands are colored with a brush and a backing board. Some hair colorists will separate sections with cotton, while others will back comb first and then freehand the color on the ends. Others still will just freehand the whole piece, with the saturation of color getting stronger at the ends of the hair, and this is my favorite way of doing it. It enables me to detail the color a little better while maintaining a soft lightness at the regrowth, and a brighter effect on the ends, or to have the color be even from regrowth to ends for more definition.

Balayage is such an artistic approach to highlighting and can be tailored for your specific wants and needs, and is a great choice for so many different styles that pretty much any client can benefit from it. It is fantastic for shorter pixie cuts, since it can be detailed to the cut and will have softer transitions eliminating that terrible spotty effect foils can sometimes give on these shorter styles. Those of you with curls and wavy, tousled styles will benefit the most from this color application, as you will see its color variations ribbon through the hair, defining the curl and illuminating it softly. Strong, severe bobs with very detailed lines should shy away from balayage, as its diffused, soft focus look won’t necessarily showcase its clean lines.  It is so naturally soft and pretty, it can illuminate also the features, soften out the skin tone and minimize the amount of makeup you need to wear, all while leaving your hair looking like you have been on lounging on the beach for a few months. It’s natural look paired with the fact they can squeeze in an extra month or two between appointments with their hair still looking good makes getting balayage color technique an easy choice.

Be sure your hair colorist is very educated in this advanced specialty to ensure you get the best possible results, as balayage color technique gone wrong can be hard to fix. It can be very time consuming, and requires a good eye and a steady hand, but when done correctly can give you amazing results that will last much longer than foiled highlights. Most of our clients that try it out love it and never look back at their old foiled look. If you are unsure if it is right for you, schedule a hair color consultation here at Kosmos Hair salon in Jupiter, Florida and we would be happy to discuss your options with you. We have hair color specialists on staff who specializes in balayage color technique.