BALAYAGE, THE SOFTER OMBRE
by Kristen Parks
in 2013, the ombre trend hit the ground running... fast. The stark contrast between light and dark, red and blonde, dark colors and bright fashion colors quickly took over the trendy world with combinations perfect for every season! While we still see plenty of BEAUTIFUL ombres out there, we are now seeing more of the "balayage" trend.
this trend has several names... balayage, sombre, tortoise shell, hair painting, etc. I can best describe it to you as a very natural colored base, with a very subtle, painted on high light. The high lights, have the blended, ombre look, but the amount of high light is very small and focused around the face. This application gives the appearance of a more natural, sunkissed looked.
balayage is perfect for any low maintance clients who are looking for a little pick me up for their spring and summer hair color! I get to do this process often, but I took some time to do the application on a model, so I could take pictures throughout and show you before, during and after!
my model, Amber, came to STLooks with long hair and grown out color and layers. To add to the look, I gave Amber a super cute and trendy shoulder length, layered cut. This cut is super popular this year, especially for the ladies with balayage! Layers love to play in colors. The first cut, removed the bulk of unwanted hair, followed by color, then a final, precise cut.
for the balayage process, foils really are not nessesary! I LOVE this. This means that no two balayage will look the same! On top of the individuality, we also save a TON of time! Depending on the look I'm going for, I use a board to paint the hair. For a more bold look, I typically do not use the board. For this subtle look, I used Redken Flash Lift lightener and a board! Her natural hair color is such a rich, gorgeous brown that I decided to work with that and not hit her base with any extra color!
After letting the lightener process, I rinsed Amber's hair and decided to use a toner. Toners are used to either neutralize or enhance colors! I wanted to enhance Ambers highlights with a really pretty warm, gold violet! So after rinsing, we did one more cut to make sure all cuts were clean, and her layers were perfect! I styled Amber with my 1 1/4 inch Hot Tools curing iron. This size iron produces perfectly sized large curls or brushed-through perfect summer waves! I went ahead and brushed through the curls to really show off Amber's new color!
There are so many beautiful variations of this trend. For some people, less is more and , for others, more is more! For Amber, this subtle version is perfect! Just enough to liven up her locks and give her a fresh new look for these warmer months! And as she starts getting out in the sun, her hair will naturally lighten up, giving her a little boost to her subtle high lights.
what do you think of this new trend? have you asked your stylist to try it out on you? send us your balayage pics (stylists, too) to tothemoon@geminijunemoon.com to be featured on an upcoming blog post...