Balayage is a popular hair coloring technique that involves hand-painting color onto hair to create a natural, sun-kissed effect. While it’s a low-maintenance way to add dimension and depth to your locks, it still requires proper care and maintenance to keep it looking fresh and vibrant. In this article, we’ll share some essential tips for maintaining your balayage color and keeping your hair healthy and shiny.
Understanding Balayage Hair Color
Before we dive into the maintenance tips, let’s first discuss what balayage hair color is and how it differs from other coloring techniques. Balayage is a French word that means “to sweep,” and the technique involves sweeping color onto the hair using a freehand technique. This results in a natural, sun-kissed effect with soft, blended highlights. Unlike traditional foil highlights, balayage doesn’t involve saturating the entire section of hair with color. Instead, the color is applied more lightly towards the ends and blended upwards to create a gradient effect.
Tips for Maintaining Balayage Hair Color
Here are some essential tips for maintaining your balayage color and keeping your hair healthy and shiny:
1. Do Weekly Treatments
No, we don’t mean go to a salon every week for a new treatment. Keeping your highlights maintained is something you can help do yourself at home. Performing a weekly deep moisturizing treatment will ensure your color stays vibrant and glistening. You can use a natural oil: we recommend almond oil to get great results. Start by rinsing your hair with hot water to prep the cuticle, slather on the oil, wrap your hair up in plastic wrap and wait! The longer you wait, the more moisturized your hair will become. It sounds like a very old school method, but it really works. When you’ve waited as long as you can, remove the plastic wrap and jump in the shower for a wash and condition. You may need to wash twice to make sure you remove all the oil and so that your hair doesn’t look greasy. This added moisture will keep your balayage looking right.
2. Don’t Wash your Hair Everyday
This tip really depends on your hair type and your scalp type. If you get oily very quickly and find that you NEED to wash every day, then by all means go for it. But if you can get away with it, washing a couple times a week will suffice and could help prevent damage. When you wash your hair, you’re stripping it of its natural oils and dulling the balayage color. Try reducing your washes to 2-3 times a week and use a dry shampoo in between washes if needed. This will extend the life of your color.\
3. Use Dry Shampoo Between Washings
If your hair tends to get greasy between washings, you can use a dry shampoo to refresh your locks and absorb excess oil. Dry shampoo is a powder or spray that you can apply to your roots to remove oil and add volume. It’s a quick and easy way to extend the time between washings without sacrificing your hair’s health or appearance.
4. Apply Hair Oil to the Ends of Your Hair
Balayage hair color tends to be more prone to dryness and damage than other coloring techniques, so it’s important to keep your locks hydrated and nourished. So how do you maintain balayage hair color? One way to do this is by applying a small amount of lightweight hair oil to the ends of your damp hair after washing. Argan, avocado, and macadamia oil are all good options for hydrating your locks and keeping them shiny and healthy
5. Avoid Heat Styling Too Often
Heat styling tools like flat irons and curling irons can be damaging to your hair, especially if you use them too frequently. To minimize damage and extend the life of your balayage color, try to avoid heat styling too often. If you do use heat styling tools, use a heat protectant spray to minimize damage and keep your locks looking healthy and shiny.
6. Get Regular Touch-Ups and Toners
One of the reasons people love balayage is that it grows out so naturally and doesn’t leave a big root line. However, you can still maintain balayage highlights between salon visits by giving your balayage a little love from some great products. If your balayage color is on the blonde side, use a purple shampoo to keep the color fresh and remove any brassiness. If your balayage color is more on the caramel or blonde side, use a color depositing product in the shade closest to yours. This will maintain that fresh out of the salon color for weeks to come.
How to Maintain Balayage Hair Color – Visit your Salon for a Touch Up
While there are ways to maintain color between salon visits, you’ll eventually need to get those highlights freshened up. The good news is that balayage highlights really only need to be touched up about every four months. When you go in for a touch up you have the option of moving up the highlights closer to the root where you initially started, or just placing a few baby lights around the face, or freshening up the highlights from the hairline all the way down. It’s really about what you want! Balayage is so customizable and easy to maintain and it looks great on everyone.
