What is Balayage?

Balayage is a hair coloring method, which looks natural, as the color grows stronger towards the end of the hair. This is the reason why most models, celebrities, and other famous personalities prefer balayage. Many urban salons have started offering this service, to cater to the increasing demand.

Balayage is a French term that means sweep. This method was first started in France, in which the hairdressers colored the hair through sweeping movements, creating stronger and richer color shade towards the end of the strands. This trend, which was once popular in France in 1970s, soon become the an extremely popular trend in the US in 1990s. In this part of the world, it is spelled as ‘balliage’.

During the hair coloring process, very light color is applied to the base of the hair, and it grows stronger towards the end. This gives a natural flow of shade on the hair. So, when the hair grows, the natural color blends with the artificial so well that it becomes very difficult to distinguish. This type of hair coloring is very different from foil coloring, in which the color is standard throughout the hair making it look unnatural.

Due to the effort required in performing balayage, it is more time consuming and expensive than other forms of coloring. There is a general belief that balayage is for blonde hair. However, it goes with any color that is lighter than your hair.