Ombre, Sombre, Balayage & Baby Highlights?

We all know how trends come and go, yet despite the variety of haircolor styles we see now days, many of us are stumped when it comes to understanding what look/technique it is that we want to achieve when visiting our favorite Boise hair salon. Ombré? Sombré? Balayage? Baby highlights? What’s the difference? Below is a basic list of haircolor style definitions for you to understand before making a date with your Boise hair salon stylist:

Foils vs. Balayage
Foils and Balayage are both highlighting techniques that create their own subtle look. Traditional foils for example are known for creating highlights that are uniform and defined. However, Balayage (taken from the French word meaning “to sweep”), is a freehand technique used by your Boise hair salon stylist where swatches of hair are sectioned and hand painted against a backboard with a lightening agent. After the painting is complete, each swatch of hair is then covered in cellophane. The result? Fatter, less symmetrical, random highlights that finish in a casual, beachy look.

Ombré vs. Sombré
Since the demand for dark roots and lighter ends started a few years back, Ombré helps to feature a stark dark-to-light fade. In contrast however, Sombré haircolor features lighter sections up higher while the lower lengths have ribbons of dark for a more gradual transition. The nice thing about both is that each look is perfectly low-maintenance that don’t harbor the need for constant Boise hair salon touch-ups since there is no clear demarcation line or regrowth.

Highlights vs. Baby Highlights
Now that we have a better understanding of foils and balayage, do you know that there are also different degrees of highlighting? As opposed to splashlights – that feature sharp flashes of blonde on dark tresses – baby highlights are much finer.

With baby highlights, your Boise hair salon stylist will separate your hair into tiny little sections before haircolor is applied to each group of strands and left for approximately one hour. While baby highlights are a bit more expensive, and time-consuming, you are however left with a more multidimensional, radiant, natural-looking haircolor. Basically, baby highlights help to recreate the look you had when you were just a precious wee-one. Keep in mind however, this technique really only works on blonde hair…

 

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