Don”t darken: how the balayage technique transforms dark hair

It’s simple to understand why badass hair coloring has grown in popularity in recent years. This technique for applying color to hair by hand produces a subtle, organic transition that adds depth and dimension. For people with dark hair, it can bring out lovely highlights without harsh lines, making it especially transformative.

In case you’ve been considering giving your dark hair a new look, balayage could be the ideal option. It maintains a low-maintenance style while enhancing your natural shade. Furthermore, you can alter the highlights’ positioning to accentuate your best features and reflect your unique style.

This method improves your overall appearance rather than just your hair color. Dark hair is given a new lease on life with balayage, becoming more vibrant and dynamic. The possibilities for balayage are endless, whether you’re going for a subtle or dramatic change.

Balayage on dark hair: advantages and disadvantages

It has long been known by stylists that dark hair looks great with balayage.

In salons, brunettes are frequently offered multi-hued complex coloring.

This highlighting technique can be precisely and succinctly described as coloring, in which the lower portion of the hair is dyed a different color, typically two or three tones lighter.

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For a more natural effect, distribute the paint so that the colored strands also have different tones from one another. In order to accomplish this, the paint is applied slightly closer to the roots on some strands and slightly farther on others.

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For brunettes, the balayage technique has a lot of benefits.

• Properly thought-out coloring can add visual volume to the hair.
• The result looks beautiful on both straight and curly hair.
• When dyeing, the hair roots are not affected.
• A repeat procedure does not need to be carried out after 3-4 weeks – the result, as a rule, looks decent even 2 months later.

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"Is balayage a healthy look for everyone with dark hair?" Skeptics will inquire. Of course, there are drawbacks as well.

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• Complexity in execution.
• The need for additional care for colored hair.
• High cost compared to single-color coloring in a salon.

Who suits balayage?

Any length or shade of dark hair will look great with Balayage coloring. Everyone will be happy, brunettes with brown hair. But for those who are unhappy with the curls’ quality, this method is highly advised.

Complexly colored hair makes split ends and porous structure less obvious.

Regarding hues, the variety of colors available in stores ensures that any girl, with dark or fair hair, can find something to fit her taste.

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Types of balayage on dark hair

2021 balayage is not the same as 2021 balayage. Colorists keep surprising us by becoming experts in an increasing number of new trends. Up to six conditional subtypes of balayage were identified. Let’s examine each with some visual examples.

Full balayage

Full balayage is typically applied to medium-length, dark hair. It differs from other techniques in that the masters literally pull away from the roots by two to three centimeters when coloring a portion of the strands.

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Medium

A traditional balayage style in which the hair is randomly dyed.

Typically, colored strands are 3 to 7 cm away from the roots.

The best starting data for this method are people with bob haircuts and dark hair.

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At the tips

This kind of balayage typically forms on its own when the strands start to grow visibly after dyeing. You can make this effect "ahead of schedule" if you like. Use the lower third of the hair to apply the dye during the process in order to achieve this.

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Balayage near the face

Contrary to popular belief, this kind of balayage technique does not allow you to save money on dye. All around the head, you must dye the strands in the same way—in a disorganized fashion. With one exception, though: the paint should be a lighter shade that is more saturated on the strands that surround the face.

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Bright

In this instance, stylists refer to "colored" balayage as "bright." Multicolored paint, which is currently very popular, looks great on dark hair.

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Shades for balayage coloring on dark hair

Ash

Dark hair and ash balayage rhyme wonderfully and receive a lot of likes on social media.

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For girls with cold black hair that is straight, ash-colored paint will work well.

Red

Another hue that’s well-liked by girls with dark hair. Paints with a strong red color scheme make it impossible to achieve a subtle balayage on black hair. But you can’t hide in the shadows all the time! Do you want the image to be even more vivid?

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Curl your hair up in big relief. Even so, examples with straight hair were found.

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It’s evident that red goes nicely with dark, straight hair when done in the balayage style.

Caramel

"Caramel balayage" has the sound of a dessert’s name. However, we’ll add even more sweetness by stating that warm honey-colored strands dilute dark hair.

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Any length of hair looks stunning with this coloring when worn naturally and carefree.

Check out the shade’s appearance on your hair.

Chestnut

Using chestnut dye, balayage is possible with chestnut hair. This process is referred to as "pumping up" your natural hair color.

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You can see in the picture that there is not much of a contrast between the base shade and the shades that were used during the procedure.

By the way, using brown-toned makeup, like in the video below, can monotone the look:

How to do balayage on dark hair: step-by-step technique

I get a lot of inquiries on the Internet about whether balayage on dark hair can be done at home. If you possess both the will and the ability, that is! Our guidance might also be helpful.

1. 1 If you plan to completely lighten your hair by several shades, then first you need to bleach the strands. To do this, carefully apply the lightening paint to the areas that will be toned (it is important to test for a possible allergic reaction 48 hours before the procedure). To prevent the paint from affecting adjacent strands, the curls with the dye are wrapped in foil.
2. 2 After the bleaching procedure, the hair is washed and the paint chosen for coloring using the balayage technique is applied to the clean strands.

Over the pre-lighted sections of the strands, disperse the product haphazardly.

The balayage technique adds subtle highlights that blend in seamlessly with the base color of dark hair, giving it a beautiful, sun-kissed look. By adding depth and dimension without the harsh lines of conventional highlights, this technique makes dark hair appear more dynamic and vibrant without sacrificing its smooth, carefree appearance.

Balayage on short dark hair

It’s rare to try badass hair coloring on short, dark hair. Nevertheless, some haircuts lend themselves well to coloristic experiments using this method.

Bob

Balayage coloring can be helpful if you wear a bob with bangs and have dark hair because it will ensure that your style is full enough. As you can see in the picture, this combination gives the hair more visual volume.

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Bob

Classic highlights are typically offered by stylists in a set featuring this haircut. It is a little dated, in our opinion, so opt for balayage instead, like the full look in the picture. The haircut will look more textured with this coloring.

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Balayage coloring on dark hair of medium length

With bangs

We propose appropriating and "licking" the iconic picture of Dakota Johnson. Isn’t the subtle highlight of her eyes provided by her dark caramel hair exactly what we want from coloring? You can leave the bangs in their natural shade in this situation, by the way. It’s important to style it to blend in with the rest of your hair.

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On curly hair

You can be certain that balayage and dark, medium-length hair will look fantastic together if your locks are naturally curly. The curls will appear more textured and textured even if you choose an end shade that is similar to the main color, which will bring some playfulness to the picture.

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Balayage coloring options for dark long hair

Moving on to the timeless look, let’s apply balayage to long, dark hair.

Cascade haircut

On the one hand, cascade has been absent from the top spots in the list of the hottest haircuts for quite some time. However, this is a great alternative that lets you visually add the volume that thin hair lacks. This haircut will look chic and contemporary with beadwork coloring. It fits long dark haired people just right.

Hair of one length

If you prefer your ends cropped like a ruler, add some contrast to your hairstyle by using different blond shades. When applied to one length of dark, straight hair, balayage always looks fantastic.

How balayage differs from other coloring techniques?

A pressing question with frequently conflicting responses. Let me try to explain.

How balayage differs from shatush?

A picture is the most straightforward way to illustrate the distinctions between balayage and shatush techniques. Brown hair usually looks more complete with balayage. The masters of the shatush technique achieve this effect by combing the strands beforehand, which results in a pronounced chaotic distribution of shades.

How balayage differs from ombre?

The noticeable and consistent horizontal change in hair color from dark to light makes ombre calculations simple. When using the balayage technique, colorists apply paint in a more haphazard way.

What is the difference between balayage and highlighting?

While some stylists divide these techniques into distinct categories, others refer to balayage as a subtype of highlighting. However, when it comes to traditional highlighting, colorists follow the same guidelines for spacing out color accents. Colorists feel more liberated when using the balayage technique because there are no rigid interval restrictions.

What is the difference between balayage and air touch?

Air touch is more difficult by a factor of at least several. And what can we conceal that is more costly? Selecting the air touch technique releases shorter hair by pulling out the captured strands and pre-blowing them with a hairdryer. Then, the color is applied solely to the remaining taut hair. No additional tools are needed for beading dark hair with balayage.

Aspect	Description
Natural Look	Balayage adds subtle highlights that blend with the natural dark tones, creating a soft, sun-kissed effect.
Low Maintenance	Since the color transition is gradual, regrowth looks natural, reducing the need for frequent touch-ups.
Customizable	This technique can be adapted to suit any hair length, texture, or personal style.
Volume Boost	Balayage can create an illusion of depth and dimension, making dark hair appear fuller and more voluminous.

Balayage is a potent method for giving dark hair a new and stylish look without the harshness of conventional coloring techniques. The freehand application of lighter shades produces a sun-kissed, more natural look that accentuates the inherent beauty of your hair.

For people with dark hair, this method is particularly appealing because it produces a subtle transition from darker roots to lighter ends, adding depth and dimension without creating an obvious contrast. The outcome is a more polished, carefree look that is softer and more blended.

Balayage has many benefits, one of which is its low maintenance requirements. Regrowth is less obvious because the highlights are more dispersed and realistic-looking, allowing you to go longer between touch-ups. It is therefore a sensible option for people who desire a lovely appearance without ongoing maintenance.

Video on the topic

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balayage on dark hair

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