22 Feb Highlights vs. Balayage- What’s the Difference?
Highlights, balayage, foils, ombre, oh my! With all these different phrases floating around, it can be hard to know what you want or how to describe it to your stylist. Balayage has become incredibly popular from red carpets to Pinterest. So how can you identify the difference between each and decide which is for you? Read on to find out.
image via pinterest.com
Highlights, balayage, foils, ombre, oh my! With all these different phrases floating around, it can be hard to know what you want or how to describe it to your stylist. Balayage has become incredibly popular from red carpets to Pinterest. So how can you identify the difference between each and decide which is for you? Read on to find out.
First off, what is balayage?
Balayage is a technique of hand-painting color or lightener on the hair. The name comes from the French word “to sweep”, as the colorist selects pieces of hair to lighten in order to create a very natural, graduated look. Pieces of hair are painted free-hand with a brush and can be lightened more or less for a varied, organic look. This can be done without or without foils. Usually, your roots are left your natural tone, and your hair becomes lighter as it reaches your ends. How much contrast, how close to the roots, how much depth is left at your ends is all based on your consultation.
Because balayage is a versatile technique, it can be used to create many different, custom looks. The balayage method can be used to create an ombre look, which is a gradient color in the hair, gradually fading from a darker color at the root to a solid lighter color at the ends. Balayage can also be used to disperse natural, sun-kissed highlights throughout the head. So that brings us to our next question…
An example of an ombre ; an example of balayage highlights
image via hairstylesweekly.com, image via Instagram.com/styledbycarolyn
An example of an ombre ; an example of balayage highlights
What is a traditional highlight?
A traditional highlight involves your stylist weaving or slicing small sections of hair, placing them in foil, and applying the lightener or color as close to the root as possible. These sections of hair can be made thicker or thinner depending on how clearly defined you’d like them to be, but traditional foils tend to be more uniform in appearance.
An example of a traditional highlight
An example of a traditional highlight
image via ManeInterest.com
Now that we know what’s what, how do you decide which option is for you?
It depends what you want your end result to look like. If you like a uniform distribution of light and dark through your hair, you might want to stick with traditional highlights. If you’re sporting a shorter hairstyle or get a root color touchup and you’re coming into the salon every 4-6 weeks already, highlights are easy to maintain.
One major benefit of balayage is that the effect grows out incredibly naturally, making it low-maintenance. As the roots are traditionally left your natural hair color, you can push it to 2-4 months between appointments. Balayage is also a great option if you’re looking to transition away from the upkeep of a traditional foil and allow your roots to grow in naturally without giving up on those lighter ends.
Bottom line, both of these techniques have the potential to produce beautiful results. So if you’re feeling inspired with your new knowledge, or still aren’t sure which is best for you, your stylist at Socias would be more than happy to book you a consultation + appointment to discuss the possibilities.