This article was originally published in American Spa.
Balayage was first recorded in 1975-1980 from the French; it was a look of coloring the hair in a way that was sweeping from dark to light.
This could be a high contrast or a soft contrast with dark and light colors. Your decision on the contrast is determined from the client’s hair density and their personality.
By focusing on the shape of the face, you can really customize your balayage to each client. We have learned the oval face shape is "ideal," due to the visual balance. The question is always: where do we start the lightness, where do we leave the darkness, how much lightness do we create, how much darkness do we leave? These are all important points when creating balayage for visual balance.
When adding lightness to the shape of the face, you expand the visual area. When leaving the hair darker, it minimizes the visual area. You can visually enlarge or reduce a space just by adding lightness or darkness.
If you are not wanting to draw attention to an area, color it darker or leave it in the shadow. If you want to accent an area, color it lighter with reflection in that area.
Here are a few examples:
*If your client has a large forehead, leave them with a dark root. Start the lightness between 3-5 inches from the root, past the visual area of the forehead, around the area of brow to nose.
*If your client’s cheeks and nose are the largest part of their face, keep the hairline dark around her ears and to the temple area. Do not add lightness to that area on the hairline.
*If your client has a pronounced jawline, keep the darkness on their hairline in front and slightly above the ears, as well as the hair that falls underneath and behind the ears. You will then be placing a shadow which will create the depth needed to minimize the area of concern.
When you are analyzing your client's face, distinguish if it is longer in length or wider in width. This is where the lines of design come in for balance, to once again create the illusion of an oval face shape. Horizontal, vertical, and diagonal.
When adding lightness to a horizontal line, you are creating a strong visual starting point. Balayage is sweeping from dark to light, so horizontal is not the ideal line to work with when creating your balayage.
*If your client’s face is longer than it is wider, begin your lightness 1-3 inches out from the scalp on their front hairline, keeping the depth of the darker natural color at the scalp area. This will diminish the visual appearance of the length of her face.
*If your client's face is wider than it is longer, place vertical lines closest to their face to create the illusion of length. Only do this around the face, not within the balayage painting throughout the head.
The fun begins when you start to create your balayage throughout the head. These lines should only be diagonal, as this will create the perfect balayage that sweeps from dark to light, color dancing within each other.
Sherry Ratay is an award-winning hair color educator, celebrity colorist, and owner of Salon Ratay in Lake Mary, FL.
