Balayage – the hair technique that makes your hair look like it’s been painted on – is a beautiful and timeless way of changing up your hair and giving it something different. If you’re confused as to which color or shade you should go for, then here are some tips you should know before visiting hair salons specializing in color.

Tips For Picking The Right Balayage Shade

Your Skin Color

Firstly, some colors look great on lighter and fairer skin tones, and some look amazing on darker and deeper skin tones. So, if want to get Balayage and are confused about what shade to go for, then you need to see your skin tone first.

There are some colors that will automatically complement your skin and complexion, and you will know that those ones are what you want to opt for.

Are You Going Light Or Dark?

This is another thing that you want to figure out before you actually choose the Balayage shade. If you’re going light in color and you want to go for something that will complement your light to medium hair color, then a bunch of colors will be automatically eliminated from your options.

If you’re going dark, then there are some colors that you just can’t go for, so even considering them will be a waste of time in the end.

Do A Patch Test

If you want to know which color looks good against your hair and which color complements every single one of your features, then you can go for a patch test. This is easy and it is something that you can do with a bunch of colors to acclimate and accept the color as your own on your entire mane.

A patch or strand test will show how the color will develop on your unique hair, and you can decide from there whether you want to make the leap or not. The choice is completely up to you.

How Long Will It Last?

If you’re just changing your hair color for a brief period, then you don’t need to think too much. It is temporary anyway, so it’s not like you have to put too much thought and effort into choosing the color.

However, if you’re going for a permanent change and want the Balayage to be on the mane for a long time, then you need to do some research as to which color you want to go for. It is going to stay on your hair for an indefinite period of time, so you want to ensure that you’re choosing a color or shade that you know you will love.

Bleach Or No Bleach

The color you choose for your Balayage also depends on whether you will need to use bleach to cut down your natural hair color or not. Many times, bleach is not necessary for Balayage, but sometimes it is, especially if you’re going for a really drastic change.

Deciding whether you will go for bleach or not will automatically filter out a lot of color options for you, and you can easily make a decision. If you’re not sure about it, then just omit bleach, because the damage won’t be worth it in the end.

Understand The Undertones

The tones and undertones are really important to grasp when it comes to hair coloring and a technique like Balayage. When you see pictures of Balayage online, there is more to it than just the color. There is a whole understanding of tones in it, and you can also find your own unique undertone with a few tests, and you’ll know which color and which undertones will look good on you.

Generally, there are three types of undertones, and your job is to figure out which undertone department you belong to, because choosing the right shade for Balayage becomes that much easier with this information.

Warm Tones

If you want to figure out if you’re warm-toned or not, then look at your wrists. You want to examine them under the sunlight and see whether they’re blue or green. If they’re green, then you have a warm undertone. This means that you look good wearing gold and warm colored jewelry, and you also prefer makeup that has a yellowish or orange undertone to it.

This is basically your skin undertone, and for your Balayage, you want to choose something warm too, like honey or caramel, something that is brown and very inviting.

Cool Tones

You are cool-toned if your veins are blue or purplish. If you prefer silver or cool-toned jewelry and you like you wear brighter colors that have a pop of blue hue in them, then you are on the right path. You are cool-toned, and things with bluish undertones will make your complexion look a lot brighter.

This is great because you can choose from more trendy colors and you can go for ashy tones and very cool colors in Balayage. They will all make your hair look amazing in the end.

Neutral Tones

Lastly, if you can’t tell whether your veins are blue or green, and you don’t really have a preference when it comes to jewelry, and you look good in anything and everything, then you have a neutral undertone. This is amazing, because you can choose any color or shade of your Balayage and it will look amazing on you.

You can choose warm browns, fiery reds, ashy tones, and even whitish blonde hues, and you will look amazing. This is a very unique undertone. Whatever color you choose will be neutralized by your skin’s natural tone, which is mind-blowing.

Classic Or Trendy?

After the whole undertone test, if you’re still unsure as to which color or shade of Balayage you should go for, then you can try narrowing down some colors based on what you want. Are you going for classic colors that are wearable for everyday? Or are you going all out with trendy and different colors of the rainbow?

Now, everyone has a different preference so you need to understand yours too. Make sure to take your time with this, because this is something that you will either love or hate, so choose wisely.

Consult A Professional

Sometimes, talking to a professional who knows and deals with hair and colors on a daily basis is lifesaving. You don’t need to sit for hours and go through the entire color wheel. A color professional will take one look at your hair and can give you a couple of options to work with.

See, they see different hair every single day, so this is like counting backwards for them. They will come up with ideas that you will love and you can even go for a patch test if you want to be sure of things.

Conclusion

Choosing a shade for your Balayage can be hard, but now you know exactly what to do and how you can choose a shade that will look good on you. Getting natural-looking Balayage hair highlights Rockville is a lot about choosing the right color, but it’s also about choosing a good hair colorist. So, make sure to research before settling on one.