Color, Highlight and Balayage

This is something I talk about with clients often to help clarify what kind of color they want. Ombre is a color pattern, meaning the color blends from one shade into another—most often brown to blonde, but it can be any colors. Highlights and balayage are techniques. Highlights usually use foils and create a brighter look all the way to the roots. Balayage, which comes from the French word meaning “to sweep,” is painted on without foils and typically leaves the roots darker for a softer grow-out. We also have foilyage, which gives the blended look of balayage with the extra brightness that foils allow.

It depends on the color. My highlight and balayage clients typically come in every 3–6 months, depending on the type of highlights we’ve done. If you come for gray coverage and prefer not to see any pesky grays, then you’ll usually want to come in every 4–6 weeks, depending on how fast your hair grows.

That depends on a lot of factors, but I always do a thorough evaluation and consultation so we can talk it through together.

Hair color is so amazing these days! I find that most people’s hair feels healthier after coloring. The one exception is when we’re going lighter, but I use the latest products to protect your hair from lightening damage. During your appointment I’ll also recommend great at-home products to help reverse any dryness and protect your hair from everyday styling.

Item descriptionThis one is very important. Please come in with relatively clean, dry hair. Color behaves differently on wet hair, so dry hair is a must. If you are going lighter, please come with hair that has not been washed for 1 to 2 days, and it can be longer if needed. If you are covering gray or doing a single process color, you can wash your hair closer to your appointment if you prefer, but it is not required.

In all cases, please make sure your hair is not full of heavy products such as waxes or layers of dry shampoo, since those can affect how the color processes. Leave-in conditioners or one round of curl products are perfectly fine. It is the heavier products or those applied repeatedly over several days that tend to cause issues.

You should always use a color-safe shampoo and conditioner. We use Kevin Murphy at the salon, but any higher-end salon brand works well. If you prefer something other than Kevin Murphy, you could use a brand at a similar level such as Davines, Pureology, or Kerastase. You can actually perm hair with some of the shampoos you find at grocery stores, health food stores, or drugstores, so it is best to avoid those. Your best styling product is a good shampoo and conditioner.

Other products like bond builders, masks, heat protectants, and UV protectants can also be very helpful, depending on the type of color service we did. I will make personalized recommendations for your hair at the salon.

It can vary quite a bit depending on the service, but most appointments are around 2 to 3 hours.

A root color and a single process color are most often the same thing. It is one single color applied to the hair without using foils, which means it can be done in one process instead of several. This is most commonly used to cover gray hair. Because these terms are usually synonymous, a hairstylist would never say “root touch up” for highlights, even if we are only doing the roots, or for a full head of blue hair, even if we are just touching up the roots.

Only if your hair has a lot of product, chemicals such as pool water, or if you have not washed it in a while, usually more than four days. Otherwise, it is better not to wash it first. Your natural oils help protect your hair during the coloring process.

Typically it is best to get a haircut after your color service, unless you are doing balayage and planning a major change in length.