Babylights or balayage: what's the difference, and which is best for my hair?
Colour
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The Chapel, Tunbridge Wells
Babylights and balayage are two of the most trending techniques which we often hear a lot of guests ask about when coming into The Chapel. Whilst both techniques have their place in hair colouring and styling, we take a more bespoke approach, combining techniques to give you the exact results you're looking for to make you feel like your most beautiful self. Everyone deserves to be treated to the highest standard - including their colour which should be tailored exactly to you.
Here, however, we’ll give you an insight from our stylists on these two specific techniques which are in their artistic toolbox. With a better understanding of these techniques, you can understand the journey that our outstanding creatives will guide you through.
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Getting to the bottom of balayage
Balayage, meaning to sweep in French, is where your stylist will use a freehand technique to create bespoke placement of colour to the hair. Looking at the direction hair falls, the stylist will use a variety of different tools to add soft, feathered colour blending into a brighter finish on the ends of hair. Our stylists use a whole host of creative tools including palettes, brushes and even sponges to paint colour onto hair. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is an easily replicated colour service to achieve at home: time and care will be taken to ensure placement is flattering and fitting to your hair type and face shape.
At The Chapel, our expert colourists use balayage-esque techniques to add subtle depth to your hair. They will tailor it exactly to your starting shade, hair thickness and exactly how you want to feel at the end of your experience - balayage simply plays a part in this journey.
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The Chapel, Tunbridge Wells
What about babylights?
Babylights are what many guests tend to ask for when they’re looking for a toned down version of classic stripey highlights. These pretty, multi-tonal lights are placed freehand around the hairline to give a sun-kissed, soft finish. They take an expert hand and are something which our stylists might enlist to give a fantastic finishing shine to your hair.
Our expert stylists often use this technique to soften contrast after dramatic hair colouring. They may use this technique in isolation or with a combination of other skills to gradually lighten your hair and ensure that when you leave the salon you feel your very best.
How do you want your colour to make you feel?
As we’ve said before, whilst both of these techniques can be used to create great results, there is nothing quite like bespoke colouring to really leave you feeling fabulous. Hair colouring is not something which we consider can be refined simply to techniques but should be adapted exactly to suit you - whether that be using one singular technique or blending several of them.
Your initial conversation with your stylist will allow them to fully uncover how you want to feel and the desired result you’re looking to achieve. They will then design a unique way of colouring your hair to ensure that you are not left with just a technique but something which makes you feel special and that completely matches your wants and needs -
why stop at experimenting with one technique, when you can blend the benefits of multiple?
Many factors will affect which type of technique your expert stylist might choose to enlist: from the placement and density of colour to the thickness, length, and texture of your hair.
Colouring, and especially lightening, takes time and careful work from one of our expert stylists. This journey may take one appointment or several to fully achieve your desired finish but these two techniques are just some that our stylists might use to achieve your results and ensure you feel gorgeous during the transition.
It goes without saying that such techniques are best left in the hands of our trained colourists - all of which have a fantastic creative eye and listen to how you truly want to feel after leaving the salon. Tempted to take the plunge with a new bespoke colour? Get in touch and one of our guest relations team will be at your service.