Balayage

The hair color technique that I’ve been doing since the start of coloring my hair is called balayage. I was drawn to this look from the moment I saw it as it looked effortless, beachy and more subtle than regular highlights or ombre. With this method, it also allows me to keep my natural root color, have a gorgeous grow out in between appointments, and ultimately allows me to go longer between each appointment as opposed to highlights or full all over color. 

Appointment Cadence + Color Placement

A huge positive in my opinion, of being able to go longer in between appointments and the natural looking grow out is that it’s “lower maintenance.” I get my hair done every 12 weeks and alternate between a full and partial balayage. I love having contrast, depth and dimension throughout my hair which is why this technique has worked so well for me over the past ten years. I personally am a fan of the “rooty” look, and with balayage we can adjust the height of my color – meaning we never bring it all the way up to my root, but depending on what I’m feeling we’re able to go higher up (blonder) with the foils or allow a heavier shadow root (a little more grown out from the start). Switching between a full and partial helps with achieving this look and ensuring my hair doesn’t look or feel one dimensional. 

I typically love being brighter around my face, so we tend to go a little heavier at times to keep things blonde and fresh but I still like it to feel blended. Because of this, I usually stay away from a true “money piece” as it’s just not my preference currently. Something else to consider is what your hair looks like when you go to pull it back and put it up. The alternating between a full and partial balayage also helps to ensure my hair never gets too blonde underneath or too dark. If you haven’t caught on yet, it essentially helps to keep things in balance and stay consistent. I feel like this leans in to the low maintenance piece I mentioned earlier. 

Color + Tone

As far as the tone goes, this is a huge component and nailing this is always a crucial step. I go for vanilla, beige, sandy tones and prefer to stay on the cooler side of things than to be warm. We always tone my hair as well which is a must. I don’t have a single formula to share with you all, as we have a few that we’ve played around with and tweaked as needed. But, if you like the tone of my hair I would definitely suggest sharing the descriptive words I used with your hairdresser, along with some inspo pics, and letting them work their magic from there. 

Hair Cut

As far as my hair cut goes, I keep it pretty simple. 1). Because I prefer more of a “dusting” than full blown cut and 2). I like it to be easy to style and easy to maintain. Essentially what I get is long layers with face framing pieces in the front. I never go past my chin for the shortest face framing layer – just my personal preference and what I’ve found works best for how I style it. I do have extensions, which you can read more about here but we’ve played around with a few different cuts for my ends over the years. I usually will either have her layer/cut so that it is more V shaped in the back or I prefer a blunt cut, which keeps things looking full and cohesive. I usually lean more towards the second, but we adjust as needed and I always trust Katia’s suggestions on what she thinks is best. 

If you’re local to the Richmond VA area I go to Alana Kai Salon in Short Pump, where my talented friend Katia is the owner. She has a full team of hair experts who specialize in extensions, balayage and more! Cannot recommend them enough if you’re looking for a luxury salon in the area. 

As always, please reach out with any additional questions you may have about my hair! I love chatting with you all and hope this was helpful.