Balayage refers to the process of "sweeping" color onto hair using a paddle. Balayage gives the colorist more freedom to place color where they choose, unlike foils which can be much more precise but leaves a visible outgrowth.

Doyle Sims of Doyle Designed Salon in Flossmoor IL believes that Balayage is not just for blondes. It is great for first time coloring, and for blending gray strands so you do not have to color the entire head. It is also great on brunettes and redheads.

Doyle believes being more artistic with hair coloring allows him to take a color and create two or three shades rather than just one shade. It is a softer color result because you sweep the color onto the hair. So rather than taking a section of hair and putting it into a square foil, on a round head we can take select pieces of hair from the head. It can be a few strands or a much more dramatic change.

So why choose Balayage over traditional foil highlights?

It is great on first time clients for natural subtle highlights on any shade. Short hair will be given a more natural look with no stripes. People that feel that they are too blonde can low light or darken some pieces with Balayage techniques.

Balayage is more tedious that foiling, but the artistry of coloring is well represented with a Balayage Color Service. Pricing varies because the typical half head, full head foil structure does not apply. Also the color of your hair prior to Balayage may need to be corrected. You may need to build up the base color then go in with Balayage.

Either way Hair Color is evolving and it is more refined than it used to be!