Balayage can create a more natural and soft look than traditional foil highlights and doesn’t leave harsh lines of regrowth, meaning longer between salon visits. Other lightening methods may include ombre or babylights which use very thin sections of hair to produce subtle sun-kissed highlights.
Find an experienced balayage provider – not someone merely calling themselves one on Instagram. Here are the characteristics you should search for when choosing one:
Qualifications
Balayage highlighting is an artful technique used by professional stylists to use their artistic talent and creativity in designing customized highlights to meet each person’s specific needs. Your stylist can use balayage to contour your face shape, enhance your cut/style and provide vibrant highlights that perfectly blend in.
Balayage highlights are popular due to their natural look; there are no visible demarcation lines at the roots or harsh demarcations lines at their ends. Maintenance requirements depend on your starting color and desired level of lightening, with less touchups typically necessary than other highlighting techniques.
To achieve optimal results from balayage, it is imperative that you find a stylist with extensive experience with this technique. In addition, regular maintenance appointments should be scheduled so as to maintain an even transition between tones and prevent any unintended muddy colors from appearing.
Knowledge
A balayage expert understands the relationships among hair length, texture and natural color – this allows them to create custom-blend colors that complement and enhance your complexion and features. They can also advise you as to the frequency of touch up visits based on your individual goals and lifestyle needs.
Balayage is an adaptable technique that can be applied to virtually all hair types and styles. However, long or medium length hair styles tend to show the most movement or dimension from this technique. Shorter styles like bobs or straight locks may not produce as dramatic an effect.
The top balayage stylists are constantly pushing the limits with their technique, possessing extensive knowledge about creating babylights and maintaining the integrity of a balayage color by using sulfate-free shampoos as needed and purple toning shampoos to prevent brassiness and preserve its brightness. These steps are essential to keep balayage vibrant while preventing brassiness.
Creativity
Balayage hair coloring technique recreates the effects of sunlight upon strands, creating natural-looking highlights that frame and illuminate your face with effortless grace. Your stylist will carefully hand-paint each strand until an effortlessly blended look emerges that leaves observers guessing whether its hue came naturally from nature or was created artificially by skilled colorists.
Contrast with foil highlighting, which uses a pattern-based approach to lighten hair, which creates harsher-looking highlights, balayage is a freehand style that creates natural-looking highlights in an organic manner. Plus, as less color fades harshly over time.
An inclusive cosmetology program will equip you with all of the skills required to become a master balayage artist, such as how to blend and customize balayage shades that fit each client’s specific hair needs and preferences. With proper training, your clients could achieve their dream hair without frequent salon visits; as a result, you could become a highly sought-after hair colorist who builds trusting clientele who rely on your skills.
Experience
Balayage is a professional hair coloring technique used to achieve subtle yet natural-looking highlights, whether for summery look or more dramatic ombre style.
For optimal balayage results, it is crucial that you find a stylist with experience using this technique. Get referrals from friends or read online reviews when selecting your stylist; someone knowledgeable can ensure the desired look without leaving behind harsh lines or overlapped colors.
Florida Technical College’s Cosmetology program can teach you some of the most popular hair coloring techniques such as balayage and ombre. Our graduates are highly skilled and possess an eye for creating stunning looks; get started today by requesting more information from us!