All About Balayage
Today we are going to highlight (pun completely intended) for you the currently trending hair coloring technique called Balayage. Many hot celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Mila Kunis, Jessica Biel, and Drew Barrymore are seen out and about with this great look that creates the impression of natural sun-kissed highlights.
Balayage means “to sweep” in French and was originally developed in Paris in the ‘70s known as “Balayage a Coton” due to the strips of cotton used to separate the colored hair apart from the untouched strands. It was considered a very innovative technique when at that time the industry standard for highlighting was using a frosting cap. (Nooooo, not the cap again!). However, the 80’s saw foiling as the new highlighting practice, so Balayage didn’t really take off until the 90’s in the U.S. when made popular by early trend setting celebrities.
Many salons today offer Balayage, but be forewarned, your colorist must be well trained and really understand the movement and texture to your hair so as to make strategic placement to attain natural looking results. And we all know your gals at Pinup with their magic color wands are just the well trained professionals that you are looking for.
The Balayage process is when color is hand swept onto the hair using a paddle or brush. The sweeping motion applies the lightener going from thinner sections at the root to thicker sections as your colorist proceeds towards the ends. This technique results in a unique look and can be either very subtle or very dramatic and anything in between. Your colorist has more freedom to place the color as she pleases, rather than the standard, more precise results from using foils.
Because the color is more easily and precisely applied, this makes the grow out process more blended and natural than with foiling or other highlight methods. For the same reason, root touch ups are more effective.
Balayage is not just for blondes and looks stunning for all hair colors, including dark browns as seen on Jennifer Garner’s recent new look. It also works wonders on coloring grays due to the ability to apply to select specific gray hairs rather than coloring all hairs as with all over color with one shade.
Brunettes, redheads, even those with black hair can all take advantage of adding dimension with Balayage hair painting. The results will be subtle, yet can create lovely swirls of deep cinnamon, warm chocolate, or lighter chestnut.
What type of a client could be a good candidate for Balayage instead of traditional foiling you ask?
- Some of you have always previously been foiled and have gone too blonde and want easier maintenance.
- Clients with very short hair who have ended up with stripes of bleached hair and upon seeing this you have a deep sense of horror. Balayage can correct this situation will have the most natural results.
- Clients who, although are quite angelic, keep ending up with the halo effect at the root line and it is only a couple of weeks since the most recent foiling. At times, it can be difficult to get to the finer hairs at the scalp line with traditional foiling and your color-istas at Pinup work their magic when applying the product to the hairline only.
There are those of you who have played it safe and have always done all over color and are ready for a change, Balayage is a great option for you to punch the edges of your personal beauty envelope!