creating a brunette CARAMEL BALAYAGE

June 26, 2017

today we’re transforming marissa’s hair from a darker auburn color to a dynamic 3 toned CARAMEL BALAYAGE. for the root, we’re going to apply a darker violet auburn color and keep the middle tone the same as her current color. the last tone will be the lighter balayage created throughout her hair by highlights.

styles like this CARAMEL BALAYAGE are the perfect way to have a dynamic, head-turning color without sitting in a salon chair every couple of weeks. though this low-maintenance style may take awhile to complete, it’s well worth the extra bit of love.

watch the video, read the blog, and let us know what you think in the comments :)

COLORING the REGROWTH

to begin, we’re going to section the hair into 4 even quadrants and start by covering her REGROWTH.

the mixture itself will be 40 grams of color and 60 grams of 10 vol. throughout our application, we’re going to work down the hair to bring it a little lower. remember to turn your brush vertically to make sure the color feathers evenly.

once you’ve got the REGROWTH covered, you can begin adding HIGHLIGHTS throughout the hair. marissa doesn’t want a whole lot of blonde, so we’re going to use an ashy 7 to make sure the red we reveal through lightening is NEUTRALIZED.

creating the HIGHLIGHTS

when it comes to deciding the width of your HIGHLIGHTS, you need to take the client’s personal style preferences. in marissa’s case, she wears her hair with her natural wave almost every day. for that reason, i’ll want to use a little bit thicker highlights to make sure they show evenly throughout the hair. for clients who straighten their hair every day, you’ll want to make sure that you’re using very thin sections for the highlight (less than ½ an inch).

we’re using:

Schwarzkopf BlondeMe Premium + 7 vol

to create the highlights, we’re going to WEAVE the hair randomly and BACKCOMB the hair we’ve separated with the weave. apply the foil underneath the hair, and begin applying the lightener at a 45-degree angle. be careful to not create your weaves exactly the same overtop the last section and remember to STAGGER your painting pattern for a NATURAL look.

towards the top of her hair, we’re going to use 20 vol, we’re going to go smaller weaves with less density. we want to break up the color without adding too much blonde. after we’ve continued the process across the entire head, we’re going to let the lightener sit on for 20 MINUTES.

TONING the HAIR

we didn’t dry the hair entirely, because just like a sponge - you want the hair to be a little bit damp. for our toner, we’re using

j beverly hills 7.2 which is a blue-based 7 + 5 vol

we apply the toner over the highlights and allow it to sit on the hair for a full 20 minutes before washing the color out and preparing the hair for styling.

STYLING the HAIR

now that we’ve washed the toner out, it’s time to dry and style the hair. but before we apply the heat, we’re going to apply nvenn’s REPLENISH throughout her hair. not only will this help provide her freshly dyed hair with the nutrients and it needs to repair, it will also create a layer of MOISTURE for the hair.

after that, we’re going to use some PROTECT to make sure that the blow dryer doesn’t damage her hair and adds a layer of protection. to lock in the style, we're using FIX flexible hairspray which is the ultimate style primer - volume, light hold, and smoothness.