Keeping up with highlights and grey coverage, especially in the summer, is something I’m always trying to stay ahead of. With my busy schedule, spending two or three hours getting highlights once a month is getting more and more difficult to make time for and maintain.

I took a chance and tried Balayage at Naava Salon here in Austin with Stylist Jenna Mast and boy was I hooked. NAAVA Salon and Spa was recognized this month as the second runner up in the national “salons of the year” competition by Salon Today magazine, making it one of the top three salons in the country. They have full service salons and spa locations in downtown Austin at 300 west 6th and in the Arboretum. Jenna took the time to explain what Balayage is and how it’s changing the game as far as highlights are concerned.

Balayage, or “hair painting”, is literally just that, painting hair. Differing from traditional foil highlights, balayage creates a much softer, more natural highlighted look. It requires a more artistic approach and understanding of each clients needs. It’s a great way for brunettes to get natural looking highlights. It’s also the best way for blondes to get more time between visits by creating a much softer, more blended grow-out. The reason for easy grow-out is that balayage doesn’t go completely up to the root. It’s great for girls who have never colored their hair to ease into adding dimension with natural colors, but also helpful for women with grey who need coverage. Who has time to get a full head of highlights and roots done every four weeks? With balayage, you do not need to get lightened at every visit; instead, you can just touch up your roots in between.

“Typically, a foiled blonde will make trips to the salon every 4-6 weeks. The majority of my clients get balayage every two-six months and only need to come into the salon for grey coverage or a gloss in between.

If someone is transitioning from foils to balayage, I always suggest at least an inch of regrowth before their first balayage appointment. The more you balayage, the softer and more natural the color looks, unlike foils which always end up needing low lights or you’ll look like an all over blonde. If that’s not your goal, I strongly suggest having your hair painted for a fresh, natural look.”

Balayage allows for easy to manage hair, less trips to the salon, and way less damage! For clients who have already been slaves to foils, I always recommend we treat their hair with Olaplex, a really great tool that is added to your lightener or used as a stand alone treatment. Olaplex has science that prevents the bonds in each hair strand from breaking during the lightening process and even makes hair stronger than before. The result is hair that feels better after a color service than it did before.