Blog/Color
Balayage
How balayage differs from foil highlighting—softer regrowth, painted placement, ombre options, and when foils still matter for darker hair.
Balayage
If you're looking to brighten up your hair with some highlights, make sure you know the difference between the increasingly popular balayage highlight technique and the traditional foil highlighting technique. In big cities, balayage highlights are becoming just as popular as foil highlights. For instance, the majority of the colors I see in magazines lately were done with a painting technique as well. Balayage used to be considered a specialty technique, but celebrity hair stylists have made a demand for it by painting many movie stars' hair with natural-looking balayage highlights.
Balayage, which is also called hair painting, creates natural-looking results because the color is painted on the hair and can be placed throughout in a more natural, artistic pattern. Therefore, each application is unique. When using foils, you work in a very linear fashion, with the same amount of light from scalp to ends. With balayage, you have less color near the scalp, increasing as it goes toward the ends. Because of this, the highlights look very natural. As a result, the color is beautiful with a softer regrowth.
Balayage is also the technique used to create the grown-out ombre highlight effect. Ombre looks can fade softly into the ends or be very bold and dramatic. Since the grow-out at the roots isn't as obvious, you can wait longer before getting a touch-up. Foils usually require a visit every six weeks, but with balayage, a client can often go eight to ten weeks.
Balayage is not always the best option for women with dark brown or black hair, unless you're going for a light brown, caramel, or red result. To get very dark hair blonde, you need the heat from the foils. To overcome this, sometimes we can use both techniques to create a mix of bold and natural-looking highlights. For this reason, both techniques are important. They are different, and it's about choosing which one will give you the results you want.
No matter which technique you get, find a colorist who is well trained and experienced in both. There is a lot of poor-quality balayage being done, so ask a lot of questions. We can help you find the color you've been seeking.