What is Balayage?

First of all the word balayage is derived from a French word *sweep/paint*. A stylist literally paints on your hair. This makes balayage a very versatile technique. Keep this in mind when coming for a balayage appointment. It is best to bring some pictures with you so a stylist knows what balayage pattern appeals to you.

Please do not confuse balayage with simply grown out roots (see the photo). Although some clients may like this grown out roots type of balayage and some ask for this type of look.

Many clients ask about the difference of balayage and ombré. Balayage IS ombré. Ombre is a hair coloring technique where color is applied towards the ends of the hair most of the times not touching the roots at all. the statement feature of balayage is face framing highlights which we don’t see in the old fashioned traditional ombré. see photos below.

BENEFITS:

* Versatile

* Low maintenance. Unless you go for ultra fashion hair colors balayage (see photos below). In this case you would have to enhance the color pretty often, about every 4 weeks.

* low to none risk of scalp irritation (for those with very sensitive scalp).

* sun kissed natural looking highlights

* perfect with curls and straight hair.

Fashion Color Balayage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ombre

We get a client once in a while who is confused about what “exactly” balayage is. What is the difference between balayage and ombre?..” “Will I be blonde?..” “Will it take care of grey hair?..” There is no dumb question when it concerns balayage.. Balayage technique has come to be SO versatile. Short historical info: balayage comes from a French word, means “paint”. the classic balayage mimics a sun kissed look: very subtle lighter shades primarily up front and ends.

However as everything else in the beauty world Balayage evolved a lot.

I categorize the types of Balayage in the photo table below!

 

 

 

1) Classic balayage. The so called sun kissed effect, a couple of shades lighter than your natural hair color

 2) Heavy classic balayage. The most popular. Again here we a se a distinct face framing area and lighter shades along the “kissing sun” route 🙂

 3) Feather balayage. It is pretty much the single process all over color. However the dye at the roots is applied using a feathering technique to eliminate a prominent grown out line.

 4) Ombre balayage. As you read in other blog posts, balayage IS ombre. Ombre is a style (color on the ends). Balayage is a technique of creating ombre. Therefore we called this particular version “ombre balayage”: heavy lighter color towards the ends.

 5) California balayage.

 6) Halo balayage. Only face framing highlights are created the back and ends stay dark.

 7) Fashion balayage. So called fashion hair colors (red, coral, pink etc.) are used to create a look. As you can already tell any type of balayage can be a fashion balayage.

PS: There is NO best/correct/true balayage really. You are free to create your own look/image/style!

LET’S TALK SAFE HAIR COLORING?

Are you overwhelmed by all these *PPD, **ammonia free, all natural talks? I truly understand.

First of all there is no healthy 100% safe commercial hair dye. It is ALL CHEMICALS. I do not mean to scare you away from hair coloring, we need your business, don’t get me wrong:) I simply ask you to think critically, TALK OPENLY to your stylist, and listen to your body.

There are brands that market as ammonia free which they are. However they use TWICE AS MUCH PPD as other traditional brands. Or there are LOW AMMONIA hair color lines that do contain ammonia however they have no PPD.

So it is really your call. If you have recently or currently experience health issues, or you are simply concerned about chemicals and your reaction to them, maybe it is a good idea to do an ALLERGY TEST at your doctor’s office.

Here at DH Estetica among other brands we use:

OYA permanent hair dye:
=low ammonia
=no PPD

L’Oreal INOA:

=NO ammonia

*Paraphenylenediamine (PPD) is a chemical substance that is widely used as a permanent hair dye. PPD is the most effective known method of covering grey hair.

*Permanent hair color generally contains ammonia and must be mixed with a developer or oxidizing agent in order to permanently change hair color. Ammonia, in permanent hair color is used to open the cuticle layer so that the developer and color molecules together penetrate into the cortex.

 Dying hair The Right Way

I may have told many of you numerous times: do not wash your hair before you come to get your hair dyed, remember? it is still a good thing to do..but not THE BEST one. Now when we have Coiffance System available in the US you can safely immerse yourself into a beautiful world of European style hair dying…

 1) We treat your hair with the NUTRI oil first to:

a) nourish the hair

b) create a protective barrier to decrease the potential hair color damage.

Leave it on for 5 minutes.

2) We WASH your hair. The oil is pretty heavy and  stays on the hair, however the water/products buildup is washed off leaving the hair ready for coloring (similar to steaming the skin before scrubbing/massaging etc.)

3) When mixing the hair color formula we add different oils (see photo) to the formula. We do assess your hair and together with you determine what needs to be addressed.

4) Processing for 35-40 min

5) Here comes the Secret Repair!!!!!! We leave it on the hair after washing for about 5 minutes for INSTANT detangling effect that will surprise you as it did extremely surprise me the first time I used.

Follow with one of the Coiffance shine oils and… VOILA!!!!

 

Gentle Hair Coloring? It is in your own hands

We live in the era of advanced technology complicated chemical compounds… while striving so hard for “all natural” and chemicals free. Is it possible? In terms of hair coloring..hardly. Unless you go for Henna dye. Looking for PPD and Ammonia free hair dyes is wise and reasonable. However often we forget to take the simplest and easily available measures to safer, less damaging hair coloring . What are those measures?

1) Come for a hair coloring appointment with UNWASHED hair. Don’t be embarrassed about sweaty after gym hair. Your stylist DOESN’T care. She /he is putting gloves on anyway. natural oils help protect scalp and hair shaft from chemical damage

2) If you are up to highlighting (balayage, foil, bleach double process etc) please perform deep conditioning treatments at least 3 times prior to your appointment. Do your hair a favor and replenish moisture before coloring

3) For God’s sake do a trim please. Remember the rule? Long hair is beautiful only if it is well taken care of. Not trimming will not make your hair better/healthier/prettier. A SPLIT END tends to crawl up the shaft if not cut off. Please anticipate a little trim after hair coloring.

Prevent Hair Damage during Coloring with Olaplex

OLAPLEX is a so called “bond multiplier” that REconnects broken disulfide sulfate bonds in your hair. This decreases damage to hair during AND after coloring.

How OLAPLEX WILL make YOUR life easier and your hair healthier?..

1. Healthy ends.

Long hair is in fashion, and one of the most popular concerns we hear is “I am trying to grow out my hair. Please trim as little as possible”. The longer the hair is the less nutrients its shaft and ends get. Add coloring to the above and you get a classic “cut it off” case. With OLAPLEX you can skip a trim or two allowing hair grow longer.

2) Fewer salon visits. How?..

First of all, there is a take home #3 OLAPLEX product that will let you maintain the health of your hair in between visits. Second of all, many highlighting patterns require 2,3, sometimes 4 visits to reach the result you desire. With OLAPLEX you can achieve more dramatic results in one session. Why? Usually you would have to wait a week or two and restore hair after the first round of highlighting. now as the process has become much gentler we can lift the color more (make you blonder) in one visit.
NOTE: the dye processing time using Olaplex is 10-30 min longer than usual

3) OLAPLEX will save you some $$$.  Read  2)

4) Hesitant about another fancy treatment that may not work? With Olaplex you see the results instantly, no distant effects.

Hair Color Corrections

Rule #1. Hair is not the same as an artist’s canvas! Which means that not always you can just “repaint” the hair easily by means of simply adding colors to it.

Rule #2. Commercial hair colors are not the same. Box hair colors are not the same as professional salon colors. Box colors contain a strong metallic dye that goes into reaction with many other elements in your hair. Simply saying it adds another full layer of color onto your hair every time you dye your hair.

Rule #3. The more metallic dye you put on your hair the faster you sign yourself up to a status of a “color correction client”. It gets extremely difficult to battle several layers of color(vs one layer when you use a softer formula professional color).

Rule#4. One color doesn’t lift another. For example if you have dark brown COLORED hair and looking to go several layers lighter we must “strip” the color off your hair first by means of applying a special color correction moisture up to several times. Quality color correction takes 3-5 hours and costs around $300 in most cases. We do offer a free color correction consultation.

Hair color corrections is a complicated process involving multiple steps and a great deal of knowledge.

When is hair color correction performed? the most common reason to do color correction is when box hair color was used previously and/or multiple colors are visible due to different color application techniques. Also color correction is needed when you want to lift (lighten ) your hair significantly after using dark (box or salon) dye.

What to expect? The stylist will use a special wash solution up to several times to strip off the old hair color. Expect to be in the salon for up to 5 hours. Then if hair condition permits new color will be applied. Otherwise your stylist will recommend doing in salon or at home  deep conditioning treatment to restore your hair condition. Then an appointment will be made to color.

Blondes go purple!

Want to keep it blonde? Use the right shampoo and conditioner.

Blondes and highlights purple shampoo from Goldwell is one of the good brands out there.

TIP from a client: you may apply the conditioner on  towel,  dry hair and leave it overnight to battle the nasty brassiness that sometimes goes along with highlighting hair. (Thank you, Tiffany C.)

However keep it in mind: the lighter your highlights are the more purple they will take on! Be careful and find your own optimal purple conditioner processing time.

How to fix Hair Color quickly without damage with TONING/GLAZE

Ladies, please, do not get upset over the color that is either “not quite what you expected” or “just bad”.

Fortunately for us and you hair color manufacturers came up with demi permanent hair dye.

So called toning or glazing usually takes 15-20 minutes and costs approx. $25-$40. Because it is a demi permanent color it may not last as long as permanent hair dye. It will usually give you good 4-6 weeks of desired tone.

Toning is usually performed for 2 reasons:

1) the main color is not even

2) the color is even but a client wants to get a cooler or warmer tone.

cool vs warm browns

cool vs warm blondes