3 Reasons Balayage Will Make You Happy

Balayage has become a popular hair service in recent years. In French, the term means to "paint" or "sweep." We tend to refer to balayage as a look, but technically it's a technique in which lightener is painted onto the surface of the hair and left to process open-air.

Balayage is meant to give you a sun-kissed, natural look. Whereas with highlights, your hair is put in foils from roots to ends to lighten hair rapidly and achieve maximum brightness.

If you don't love committing to highlights or sitting at the salon for a few hours, then balayage may be for you!

photo by Katie McCluskey

Balayage is easy maintenance

One of the beauties of balayage is that you don't need to touch it up every 4-8 weeks, like you would a root retouch or highlights! If done correctly, balayage will grow out naturally without showing any lines. It does not require a lot of upkeep.

This can buy you up to 6 months between services (I'm not joking!!), which is great for women who are on the go, busy professionals, or women who like to try new things without committment.

BUT...if you love your newly balayaged hair, I do recommend minimal maintenance. The tone you walk away from your salon visit with will most likely fade in about 6 weeks, so a gloss is highly recommended around that time. And if you're not ready to commit to another full session, you can ask your stylist to do a "mini balayage," which brightens around your face.

Are you looking for a little something different?

Balayage can be an add-on to a color service, or it can be a complete transformation. It's quite a versatile service. It can add brightness to existing color, enhance tones, or give overall lightness. It's also a great way to experiment with dimension in your hair. Dimension adds contrast. Instead of adding lowlights (depth), balayage can add brightness and shine.

If you're looking for a slight change with high impact, talk to your stylist about ways to change up your routine color service.

Balayage is suitable for all hair lengths and types!

Whether your hair is dark, light, curly, straight - balayage does not discriminate! A consultation with your stylist will be so helpful in determining what is realistic, and what tones will look beautiful for you.

Just remember: balayage is intended to look natural.