Be a Balayage Babe

My hair has been almost every color under the sun and back and forth to those colors many times, to the point where I define a chapter of my life by my hair color. For example: Me-"Oh yeah I remember that trip... it was in 2004 because I had blonde hair then." It's a little pathetic. I always desired my hair to either be super dark or super light, which neither one of those options is my natural hair color, light brown. You always want what you don't have, right? I never had a problem with my hair color in the summer, since the boring brown hair became highlighted with golds and bronzes. It looked beachy and sun-kissed. Yet in the fall I hated the growth and by the time winter hit, I had dull mousy brown hair. With so much drastic dying, my hair became course and fried, and the high price tag for the blonde bleached locks was definitely making a dent in my bank account.

I wanted to enhance and embrace my natural hair color but I didn't know how.

When explaining this hair headache with my most recent hair stylist in Seattle, she told me about a new hair procedure that will give me that natural sun-kissed look. It's a process that originated in France during the 1970's called "balayage." The technique, that consists of hand painting hair with singles, slants and V-like strokes, gradually highlights the hair from root to tip, thinner at the root and chunkier toward the tip. The french word balayage literally means "to sweep."The sweeping motion used creates a natural look without the uniformity of foils. It has little maintenance and more contrast in the hair. It not only eliminates the lines from using foils but eliminates the damage of hair that foils can create under heat. I was all about this idea. Even though the price tag is a bit higher than a weave, one can go as long as 5-6 months without upkeep. AND instead of looking like you just came out of a salon, you like you just came from the beach! Blondes or brunettes can take advantage of this fascinating process to create natural highlights. You can ask your hairstylist how intense you want the highlights and the placement (front, ends, middle). The placement can be key according to your haircut, style, or face shape.

I was very nervous about dying my hair since I spent the last couple of years growing it out to it's natural hair color to gain control on the health that deteriorated from all the damage from dyes. Low and behold the hairstylist did an incredible job and now I'm sold. I can have my beachy golden strands all year round with limited maintenance. Some examples of balayage fans: Jennifer Aniston and Gisele Bündchen