What Is Balayage?
Balayage is a French word meaning “to sweep away.”
In hair styling terms, it describes a technique used to create natural-looking highlights that can be customized to fit any face shape and skin tone.
The Balayage Technique
Balayage uses a free hand hair dying technique similar to painting, to gradually lighten the ends of your hair in subtle sections, resulting in a sun-kissed look.
Balayage Maintenance
Because balayage looks natural and isn’t as harsh as traditional highlights, there’s no need for regular touch ups – just occasional trims and gloss treatments will keep your locks looking salon fresh all year long!
That’s why so many people consider the balayage their perfect style.
Can You Balayage At Home?
The great thing about balayage is that you don’t need any special tools or equipment to do it yourself at home.
The bad thing about balayage is that it really is an art, and not something you should do if you don’t have a good amount of experience. Being brutally honest, you’ll probably just end up going to a salon to get it fixed if that’s the case!
My recommendation is to leave this higher skilled job up to the professionals if possible.
How to Do Balayage At Home
Okay, now that you’ve been warned, let’s get into the details.
Here’s how to do your own Balayage at home in 5 basic steps:
- Section off your hair into four parts (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right).
- Pull each section outwards from the scalp and use a comb to pick up small pieces of hair from underneath each section.
- Once you’ve picked up the pieces of hair that you want highlighted, spray them with hairspray before applying the dye directly on top.
- Be sure not to saturate your entire strand with dye; instead apply it lightly on just the tips for an Ombre look.
- Leave the dye on for 20 minutes (check your dye instructions to be sure) before rinsing it out with cool water and using shampoo & conditioner as usual.
For a video example of a Balayage being done, check out this one on YouTube.
Voila – beautiful balayaged hair!
Professional or DIY?
No matter what you choose, if your Balayage is done right, you’ll be loving the way you look.
Getting those gorgeous beachy waves without committing to an intense coloring process every few months make the Balayage a great style to try out.
With its low maintenance upkeep and natural-looking results it’s easy to see why more and more women are turning towards this versatile style for their everyday look.
Looking for a Hair Stylist in the Chicago suburbs?
Depending on my schedule, I’m taking on new clients! If not, I really love connecting people with their perfect hair stylist that can create the style they’re looking for.
Feel free to send me a message or book a service with me by clicking here.
