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Balayage: The Hot Highlighting Trend

by Jennifer Stepp, Color Director, Azur West

Celebrities are wearing it. You can’t be a Victoria’s Secret model without it. And now, women in Houston are asking for it by name. What is it? Balayage! The Balayage (pronounced bah-lee-AHZGE) technique of highlighting hair has been around since the 1980's, but it went underground for quite awhile. But as the old saying goes, “what goes around comes around” and Balayage is back as strong as ever. 


Supermodel Gisele shows how Balayage Highlights Balayage is a hair coloring technique designed to create natural-looking highlights with a soft grow out. A French word meaning "to sweep", Balayage involves custom hand-painting the highlights to your hair by individually selecting each strand and then softly "sweeping" with a special hair color brush to give a perfectly natural sun-kissed look. The highlights are concentrated primarily on the mid-section and ends of the hair. However, unlike the Ombré technique, the color is also swept up to the roots in a soft, dissipated fashion. This creates a darker root area, but a very beautiful and natural grow out. Balayage is certainly an art form and takes a lot of practice. Unless you are with the right stylist, it can be a very difficult look to achieve.

I like to compare the Balayage look to the way a child has that natural, gorgeous blonde color they achieve so easily by playing in the sun. So many of my clients tell me they wish they could return to that "natural" blonde of their youth. Unfortunately, time takes its toll on us in many ways and hair color is one as it grows darker with age.  With Balayage, it looks like you spent the summer at the beach or as if you just came back from a really great vacation.  Also, Balayage clients won’t get noticeable and obvious roots (or "new growth" as we prefer to call it at Azur West!), meaning they get more wear out of their highlights investment. It’s a great alternative to regular foil highlights.

My fellow hair stylists at Azur West and I are experts at the Balayage techniques, and we are ready to consult with you to see if Balayage highlights are the right choice for the look you are trying to achieve. Want to experience Balayage for yourself? Call Azur West at 713.400.2987 for a complimentary hair color consultation with me or any of my fellow stylists to learn more!

(Remember to mention you are a reader of Dish Houston when booking any color, cutting or styling appointment at Azur West and receive a complimentary Shu Uemura Art of Hair treatment ceremony, a $45 value

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