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What Is Balayage Hair And What’s The Hype All About?

A hair technique that sun-kissed lovers swear by, balayage gives you a multi-dimensional hair colour that brightens the face and catches the light. Somewhere between French girl polish and easy-breezy surfer chick, it’s a technique we use at Strut Hair & Beauty to achieve soft and gradual colour.

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What is balayage?

Balayage (pronounced bah-lee-ahge) comes from the French word ‘balayer’, which means ‘to sweep’. Using the balayage technique, our expert stylists hand paint colour onto the surface of your hair in vertical sweeps. The result is effortless lightening that mimics the look of having just spent a month on the French Riviera. Working with your base shade, colour painting typically starts midway down the hair and blends out to beautiful lighter ends. This soft transition means balayage is a low maintenance technique and one that is universally flattering. Blonde, caramel, mocha or red, balayage can be used on all shades to create a soft and lighter look that’s multi-tonal and voluminous.
brunette to blonde balayage hair

How is balayage different from ombre hair?

Balayage is a freehand painting technique whilst ombre is a bold gradient look. With balayage, you’ll get natural sun-kissed sweeps of colour. With ombre, you’ll achieve a more solid two-tone look with a much more obvious colour contrast between roots and ends. Want that luxury lived-in look? Choose balayage. Want a more dramatic graduated look? Go for ombre.

How does balayage differ from highlights?

Highlights begin much closer to the roots than balayage and are usually woven in from roots to ends using foils. With balayage, colour is painted on freehand without the need for foils. Highlights have a very distinct sectioning pattern whereas balayage gives our stylists the freedom to paint on colour in places that naturally catch the light. The result is multi-tonal colour that blends beautifully into thicker and lighter sections at the ends. Unlike highlights, balayage won’t need a root touch up every 4-6 weeks.

How long does balayage take?

A partial balayage can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes. A full balayage can take up to 3 hours. Since our stylists are painting on colour by hand, the length of your appointment will depend on the thickness and length of your hair. The amount of time required will also depend on whether you want sweeps of colour painted onto the top layer of your hair, or if you want all-over colour.

How long does balayage last?

Looking for natural highlights without the problem of regrowth? Balayage is the answer. There won’t be any noticeable regrowth since there is a smooth transition in colour from midway to end. Balayage can last up to 4 months without a touch-up. Between appointments, you can come in for a gloss refresh, but thanks to the lighter strokes of this seamless technique, your ‘vacation ready’ hair won’t show any harsh regrowth lines.

woman with curly balayage colour

Beautifully blended colour

Want radiant and graduated natural-looking lift that’s beautifully blended and bespoke? With balayage, you get customised placement of colour and pretty pops of light that mimic where the sun hits. From smokey golds to Bondi beach blondes and rich reds to mellow mochas, balayage gives you carefree and low maintenance colour that’s completely tailored to you.

Looking to add dimension and depth to your hair with balayage? Get in touch with our expert team at Strut Hair & Beauty on the Sunshine Coast. You can call us on (07) 5443 5605, drop us an email at strut@devstruthair.wpengine.com or make an appointment online.

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