Balayage Highlights

What's The Difference Between Balayage And Ombré?

Elba Rodriguez: Balayage is a French word that means to sweep or paint; it's a highlighting technique. Ombré means to shadow, and it's a seamless gradiation from darker to lighter. People do get confused by the two but you can also combine them in a merged technique which can be very pretty.

Sombré is a much softer version of ombré and is still popular, especially with the charcoal grey trend.

What's The Difference Between Balayage And Highlights?

Elba Rodriguez: Balayage has softer, less noticeable regrowth lines than traditional highlights – the principal idea being less is more when creating soft, natural looks. There's no stripy look like you can get with foil highlights, Balayage emulates the parts of your hair that would naturally lighten in the sun.

Also, Balayage is a freehand technique as no foil or meche are used to create the highlights.

Why Is Balayage Better?

Elba Rodriguez: Since 2010 I’ve been saying that foil highlights are dying out – it’s such an 80’s look and certainly not something the modern woman wants. Look at most A-list celebs and you rarely see a classic foil highlight, you see Balayage and merged techniques like ombre and Balayage, or Babylights and balayage.

These techniques work with the individual’s haircut and natural hair growth patterns as well as the variance of tones in the hair, for a totally bespoke finish. Because it’s handpainted, your colourist can choose the placements to best complement your haircut, skin and features so it looks really natural rather than actually coloured.It’s also super speedy, meaning you don’t have to sit so long in the chair, and it grows out beautifully meaning less maintenance, so less frequent appointments.

Does Balayage Work On Natural Textured Hair?

Elba Rodriguez: Balayage works on all textures, and in some ways curly hair is easier because you can pick out each curl you want to apply colour to. The pre-lightener (bleach) or colour choice is dependent on the finished look you want to achieve, not the texture.

Are There Any Hair Colours That Don't Work With Balayage?

Elba Rodriguez: Balayage is a highlighting technique and can be used on any hair colour.

Can You Get Balayage If You Have Short Hair?

Elba Rodriguez: Absolutely – with short hair it's just the same principles, application is dictated by the haircut and should always flow naturally.