What's the Difference Between Highlights and Balayage?

Summertime brings thoughts of tanner skin and lighter hair, but with so many options to give you a sun-kissed look, it can be hard to choose one. While almost all methods involve adding bleach to hair and then toning the strands, there are some distinct differences between the most popular hair coloring methods.

Full Color:

If you're looking to drastically change your look, full hair color in Austin is the way to go. In your first visit, a bleaching agent (if you're going lighter) or dye (if you're going darker) will be applied to your whole head of hair. Then your stylist might choose to tone your hair to achieve the look you're going for.

Once it's time to to touchup your color, your stylist will apply the bleach or color directly to your roots, blending the color from the previous dye.

This is typically a less expensive method of hair coloring, although the maintenance of coloring your entire head is often pretty high.

Highlights:

A classic option to add a pop of color or give you a brand new look, highlights in Austin have been used for decades to give women, and men, that sun-kissed glow. Highlights offer a more natural look as opposed to dying your whole head of hair and you can choose how much color you want added. Your hairdresser will section off your hair and use a bleaching agent and foils to achieve the highlighted look. You can choose a full head of highlights or a partial set for lower maintenance.

Highlights can be used to add dimension, movement and body to hair, and they are often complemented with lowlights to create a multi-tonal look. Lowlights are created by dying pieces of hair a shade darker than your natural hair. This combination gives hair a natural finish and will help maintain your look as your highlights grow out.

Highlights can be used on any hair type or texture. With curly hair, highlights give the look of more depth, and with straight hair, highlights give the look of volume.

Balayage:

Newer to the hair scene, Bee Cave balayage promises lighter, sun-kissed hair, without the maintenance. Balayage involves hand-painting a bleaching agent onto hair, in light, feathery strokes. Unlike with highlights, the color is not taken all the way to the roots when it's applied, so there's hardly any maintenance involved. More color can be added later on for an intense look, or you can keep it minimal with just a few strokes of color.

Balayage is the perfect way to add subtle color and dimension to your locks and you can choose to add as little or as much color as you would like! Popular among both young and older women, balayage gives hair a youthful, healthy look.

Maintenance:

To keep your summer locks perfect throughout the winter, make sure you're following these steps and tips:

• Use a color-safe shampoo and conditioner.

• If you've added blonde, silver or ashy pieces, make sure to wash your hair once a week with a good purple shampoo to combat brassiness.

• As your hair grows out, consider adding curls or waves to your hair with a curling iron to help the colors blend.