Ultimate Guide to Balayage 2023
Popular with celebrities, such as J-Lo and Chrissy Teigen, balayage has become incredibly popular over the last few years and our Belle Ame hairdressers in Lancaster are complete fans!
In fact, we’ve even created some very special, bespoke packages for our clients, highlighted later on in the post.
If you’d like to try this hair colouring technique out for yourself, it’s important for you to understand the process and maintenance, to keep your colour looking gorgeous for longer. This Belle Ame hair guide aims to provide you with all the information you need to achieve those show stopping looks.
What Is Balayage?
Derived from the French verb “to sweep”, it is a hair colouring service that involves the use of different techniques, including foils and hand-painting highlights, to achieve a more natural look. By using various tones of light and dark, hairdressers can achieve a perfectly blended hair colour, with no obvious or harsh lines. Many people love how it can give a very natural, sun-kissed effect.
What makes this type of hair colouring special is that it is completely customisable and made unique to the skin tone, hair colour and maintenance expectations of individual clients. If clients are happy with a higher level of maintenance, panel work can be included, for instance – or for lower maintenance looks, the stylist can aim for a softer blend.
Balayage vs Highlights
Standard highlights involve the systemized use of foils and a focus on the roots. It is a relatively simple and straightforward process. Balayage offers a much greater level of bespoke hairdressing. The service is tailored to the person’s needs, involving foils and freehand painting across the hair, to achieve the specific look they want. You can create a variety of looks with this technique, from subtle highlights to bold, dramatic colour changes.
Brunette Balayage – is this possible?
Whether your hair is brown, blonde, black, copper or red, balayage can be done! It suits any hair colour and any hair type (straight, curly, long or short).
For brunettes we recommend the milk_shake colour care shampoo and the cold brunette conditioner. The cold brunette range contains a blue pigment, which counteracts any brassy/orangey tones.
Molly from our team says “It’s never too late to jump on this trend and as a hair stylist, it’s definitely one of my favourite techniques. If you’re on the fence, why not just pop in for a chat.”
Whichever style you go for, we always encourage you to bring your photo inspiration into the salon. The three clear advantages of doing this are:
• Your hair stylist will know exactly what your dream hair looks like (and there is no room for confusion)
• We can offer advice on what we think might best suit your face shape and complexion
• Details, such as a money piece, can be seen and taken into account. A money piece is a face-framing technique.
Balayage Maintenance
In order to keep that beautiful hair colour lasting as long as it can, using a colour safe shampoo will make your colour go for that little bit longer. The milk_shake sweet camomile shampoo and conditioner is brilliant for all the blondies. The perfect combo is to also use a purple shampoo alongside once a week.
For brunettes, as previously mentioned, you’ll need the milk_shake colour care shampoo and cold brunette conditioner.
Heat protection is a huge yes!! If you’re not using heat protection, please do. The ghd Bodyguard range is great as it’s lightweight. Not using any heat protection can actually strip the colour out of your hair.
If you’re struggling to find the right products for you, feel free to ask us and we can put together a tailored bundle to suit just you.
Balayage Price List
How much does balayage cost? You can refer to our hair colour prices here. Our Belle Ame bespoke packages can be seen below.
For your first appointment we’d recommend booking in for a “transformation”. This is for clients who have never had a balayage before or haven’t had it done within 6 months.
TRANSFORMATION package includes:
• Use of a range of techniques involving foliage and colour all over
• Blondorplex, which protects hair against damage
• Long hair toner
• Cut & Blow dry
Price: £156
For the client that wants slightly less than the full works, but a little bit more than a freshen up… our classic package is the one for you.
CLASSIC package includes:
• Refreshing the previous balayage and foilage maintenance
• Blondorplex, which protects hair against damage
• Long hair toner
• Cut & Blow dry
Price: £132
Feeling like your balayage just needs a little spruce, then this is the one for you:
REFRESH package includes:
• Money piece top-up / parting foils
• Long hair toner
• Cut & Blow dry
Price: £89
Book today, safe in the knowledge that our Belle Ame team of Lancaster hairdressers will create that dream look for you. Every stylist within our talented team is passionate about creating stunning looks that compliment your features and make you feel incredible. That’s how Belle Ame has become one of the best hair salons in Lancaster.
