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Since the bleach is handpainted on your strands there is not a visible pattern and the resulting color is different along the strands.įor more lift, you can also hand paint balayage to strands inside foils, but it’s a technique that can be difficult to master. Using balayage instead of foil highlights is best if you want to lighten your hair but want more of an organic, sun-kissed look with darker roots and lighter ends. Upkeep involves only lightening the roots and possibly toning the highlights themselves, so it’s not so damaging to the hair (always good to avoid bleach on bleach unless your hair is very strong).
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If you want all-over blonde, or all-over highlights, foil is the way to go but keep in mind you will need to visit the salon every 4 to 6 weeks for retouches, unless you are happy with the dark roots look. At the same time, they give you a more consistent and formal look than free-hand painting techniques. Also, the foil makes bleach more effective as it keeps the heat in, which means it allows you to go lighter and get higher contrast.įoil highlights lighten the hair from the root to the ends, which means the highlights can be more visible as stripes (so, choose a good colorist if you are keen to avoid the zebra look). They allow the colorist more control over the highlight placement and thickness. If you are after an overall lighter look, and your natural hair is dark, highlights often give more lift. The difference between ombre and balayage is that ombre usually involves the ends of the hair having an all-over color different from the roots, whereas with balayage your natural color will peek through and there won’t be a demarcation line. Ombre is generally more striking, whereas sombre only goes a level or two lighter so the effect is more “hair after a lovely holiday on the beach”. Perfect for low-maintenance girls, as it only needs to be updated every few months and you can just cut the lightened ends if you want to go back to all-over color. The effect is similar to having several months’ worth of regrowth, but in a face-framing, enhancing way. Ombre and somber (short for subtle ombre) are highlighting techniques that use balayage or highlight foils to lighten the hair starting mid-head, instead of at the roots.
#Highlight vs balayage how to#
Balayage, on the other hand, involves painting the bleach straight on your hair, using a freehand technique that gives a more organic and lighter result.īoth techniques involve lighting the hair using bleach or a high lift tint, so they will damage your hair a bit and have the same maintenance issues (namely, making sure you know how to fix yellow hair after bleaching and keeping it from going green or brassy).Īlso, both techniques will show root regrowth, but it will be less obvious with balayage as the highlights generally don’t go as light and the pattern isn’t so clear. Highlights are done with foil, which keeps the bleach or lightener heated and allows for much more intense lightening.