A short history of balayage
Balayage hair can last up to 4 months with proper care. It seems like all the best things in fashion and beauty come from France, and balayage is no exception. Developed in the 1970s by French hair colourists, balayage is a highlighting technique that involves the freehand “sweeping” of colours down the hair (“balayer” is the French verb for “to sweep”, hence the name). No foils involved.
The aim is to create a natural, sunkissed effect, and it can be produced on any length of hair, from long waves to short pixie haircuts, as well as onto colour. The most common balayage is multi-tonal blonde highlights, but balayage can be achieved with any colour combination. This means that balayage offers an extra subtle way to give your natural hair colour a boost of radiance. Balayage on dark hair.
How long does balayage hair last?
Balayage hair can last up to 4 months with proper care and the correct hair products used.
The benefit of balayage is that you aren’t left with visible roots once your natural colour starts to grow through, in fact that’s the whole point. Balayage was designed to seamlessly blend into your hair so that it looks utterly natural. That said, it’ll grow out just as quickly as any other colour would – at the same rate as your hair. Balayage hair 101
Because a balayage involves lightening certain sections of your hair, the effect is permanent, although the colour might fade slightly after a few months if not looked after properly (see further down for how to get long-lasting bright colour). If you have naturally light hair, and the balayage involves darker tones, you can opt for semi-permanent colour.
How long does balayage take to do?
A full Balayage takes between 3 – 5 hours on average to finish. Since the technique is applied by hand and no two Balayages are the same, the amount of time can vary greatly. Longer and thicker hair will take longer. As well as the previous color you had can add to the total timer a Balayage can take.
How long does Balayage last in your hair?
One of the greatest advantages of the Balayage technique is how long it lasts. Traditional foil highlights require touch ups every few weeks, whereas Balayage will last 3-4 months on average, depending on how you care for your balayage.
Traditional highlights are done using foils, which create sharp changes in hair color. This also means that as your hair grows out, highlights need to be touched up to keep their appearance. Balayage is done without foil using a free-hand painting technique, which creates a very natural and soft transition between your hair color and the highlights. Balayage highlights last longer and grow out more naturally, so its more low matiance.
Is there a difference between Balayage and Ombre?
Yes there is! Balayage is a completely free-hand technique of highlighting individual strands in your hair. Ombre is more of a two-tone style with a clearer transition. It involves bleaching the entire bottom of your hair, and then gradually fading a lightener upward to blend the two sections together. Balayage vs Ombre
A full Balayage means using the natural lightening technique on all of your hair. A full Balayage will also take longer. A partial Balayage applies to just the top / outer layer of your hair, so the underneath layers remain one solid color.
Can you do Balayage with extensions?
Yes! Hair extensions can also be used to achieve the balayage look. The use of slightly darker roots in Balayage extensions allows for a seamless blend with natural hair and faded hairlines.
Other brightening hair dye techniques
Before you jump to booking yourself a balayage, make sure you know what other options are out there.
For a more distinctive colour evolution, for example, an ombre (dark hair turning light) or sombre (light hair darkening down the lengths) could be good options. Or, for really demarcated colours (where you can see where one ends and the other begins), there’s no better technique than dip-dye.
Recently, there has been a wave of new colouring techniques. Here are our favourites…
1. Contouring
Involves your stylist using foils, like traditional highlights, but placing them carefully around the face to bring luminosity and flatter your particular face shape, drawing attention to your best features.
2. Strandlighting
Another new technique, is when – instead of colouring inch-wide sections of hair – your stylist uses foils to colour just a handful of hairs at a time.
3. Strobing
Focuses on applying colour strategically around the mid-section to give volume and accentuate cheekbones.
4. Foilyage
Where foils meet balayage. Foils are applied towards the front of the hair, where the sun would naturally hit, to create sun-kissed highlights and depth.
How Much Does Balayage Cost at Lush Hair Folk?
At our hair salon we offer the luxury experience with luxury products used for all balayages. We customize every service so it is unique for all our clients. You can view our pricing page.
With the right products and a healthy dose of TLC, you’ll enjoy luxurious and luscious locks, regardless your hair type.
If this question still revolves in your head, don’t stress to much! the best thing to do is book an appointment. We are inside Eden Salon Suites (Located at 255 Assay St Suite 100, Houston, TX 77044), and we will guide you!