BALAYAGE vs. HIGHLIGHTS
BALAYAGE
In French means, the act of sweeping, and this type of colouring involves dye being swept onto the surface of random sections of hair to add lighter tones. Whether brown or blonde, balayage creates a natural-look, with the gradient becoming softer towards the ends, almost as though it’s been coloured by the sun itself.
As we segue into autumn, the transition between seasons always signals one thing: a fresh new look. Thing is, if you don’t want to commit to block-dying all of your hair into a completely new colour, there are techniques to give your hair a variety of hues.
Balayge or highlights are methods to secure two subtly different looks. Usually, both processes make your hair lighter, but even this can be played around with.
Don’t worry, we’re on hand to tell all about the difference between balayage and highlights.
What is balayage?
So get this, people often talk about balayage as if it’s ‘the look’, but it’s actually the technique and not the end result.
In French, balayage means the act of sweeping, and this type of colouring involves dye being swept onto the surface of random sections of hair to add lighter tones. Whether brown or blonde, balayage creates a natural-look, with the gradient becoming softer towards the ends, almost as though it’s been coloured by the sun itself.
Celeb colourist April Pattara says it best, “The beauty of balayage is that it’s bespoke to the client.”
“It can be tailored to what you want and need. It should be a sweeping technique, void of that harsh, dip dye look. Lived in, and low maintenance are your buzz words.”
What are highlights?
This technique is a more ordered way of adding lighter tones to your hair. To achieve a full head of highlights, your stylist will use foil to lighten the hair by separating out smaller subsections, usually all the way from root to tip.
For a less dramatic version, half a head of highlights involves less of the hair being dyed, with the colour placed around the face for a framing impact and natural colour peeking through. Half a head of highlights is a great hack for covering grays or darker roots too.
In both, the end result is lighter, vertical, strands on a darker base colour. It’s a strong look for any hair colour – brown, blonde, or red – and also suits shorter hair, as there is less length to work with and the colour is applied to the root.
Whats the difference between balayage and highlights?
Firstly, balayage does not use tin foil as foil lightens the hair from top to bottom, whereas traditional highlights require foil.
Balayage tends to begin towards the top or midway down the hair - getting lighter as you go, but highlights always start from the root with colours remaining consistent vertically.
The results achieved vary apart too. If you’re after a more balanced, blended and subtle look, balayage gives a seemingly-natural sun-kissed warmth. The colours are more dimensional and often don’t stray too far from your base colour, which is very much part of the look. Enter, gorgeous, non-uniform chunks of colour.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for big colour shift, highlights create a more pronounced and structured impact, as there’s more of a contrast in colours from your base. It’s also ideal for shorter hair and bobs. Say hello to bold, sleek strands of colour.
In terms of up-keep, balyage is easier for the low-maintence-lovers amongst us (hiya). You can go months without needing a touch-up, as it simply appears your hair gets lighter as it gets longer. For highlights, you will need to maintain it more often, depending on how fast your hair grows, to battle the ‘bad-roots’ faux pas. Although tbh, in recent years, that’s become more of an aesthetic.
Balayage vs highlights
Balayage
No foil, freehand technique
Coloured from towards the top or mid-way down the hair until the end
Creates a more balanced, blended and subtle look
Subtle colour gradient towards ends
Lower maintenance
Adds depth to hair colour
Better for longer hair
Highlights
Foil used
Coloured vertically, all the way from root to top
Creates a more dramatic shift from your original colour
Saturated streaks of colour
Higher maintenance, as placing colour on the root is a bigger commitment
Frames face
Better for shorter hair
How to maintain healthy balayage or highlighted hair?
There’s no two ways about it – dyes can have a dramatic impact on the health and condition of your hair. Gorgeous locks come at a cost.
At Boulder Hair Collective, we want to make sure your hair is living its best life, so here’s some tricks of the trade to keep it looking A1.
Firstly, bleach is the worst culprit, as some hairdressers might enlist it to achieve the look you’re after. However this can be discussed with your hair stylist, as you might not be in favor of bleaching your hair.
For dark hair that’s been dramatically lightened - Kim K, we see you – good aftercare such as a specialist purple shampoo can eliminate brassiness or yellow tones caused by bleach.
Still, most other hair dyes contain harsh chemicals which impact the hair’s protein and lipids, cause disintegrating to the hair shaft, resulting in fragile, frizzy hair.
For this, there’s a toner – which don’t worry, sounds fancy but is essentially just a shampoo - for every hair colour to help you keep your hair refreshed at home. At Boulder Hair Collective, we take color to the next level, as each of our Color professionals understand product, application, formula and hair types at an advanced level. Book a consultation today and we can discover how to make your hair dreams come true!
