Balay…What? (Balayage, Defined)

What is Balayage, anyway?

Balayage is a french color technique that comes out of the 70’s. Balayage means to sweep or to paint. The technique is created by hand painting decolorizer or color into the hair. This can be done on all lengths of hair, but it looks best on styles that fall below the shoulders. This technique can look soft and natural.  The draw to this color is that it is low maintenance. In this current day and time women are busy and want gorgeous hair that still looks good when they return to the salon. The goal is to keep the root/base deep and rich with color or come close to the natural color. The highlights should be randomly places into the color design so the grow out is subtle.

Below is a gallery of images from Tasha Torres and Jacquetta Sorensen, stylists at The Hive Style Collective in Exeter Ca.

Although the next image technically isn’t  Balayage, there was a bit of hand painting in this color process. The model already had a beautiful rich color. She only wanted to add a touch of radiant dimensional bronze tones for the summer. This technique only requires 12 color packets. I use TIGI Color Meches so I can paint the color where I want it in the packet. In the application I used lightener and color in the same packet of highlights to create a very random and soft effect. There was very little done to the hair but it created a high impact.

A lot of women want some change in their hair for the spring/summer. Let this be inspiration to try something subtle and beautiful during these sunny and shiny months, and enjoy a little sparkle in your life.