In your hairstyling career, you will likely encounter questions about balayage and ombré hair. Both are hair coloring techniques, and in some cases, the differences can be subtle. Balayage has been popular for the last decade and ombré has become increasingly popular in the last five years.
The techniques can be confused easily, but we’re here to describe and show the differences between the two hair coloring processes. This will help you describe balayage and ombré to your clients (or your hair stylist).
Balayage vs Ombré: How are They Different?
Balayage is a hair highlighting technique where the coloring is freehand painted on the client’s hair, creating a natural look that resembles sun-lightened hair.
Ombré is a hair coloring technique that colors hair in a gradient pattern, usually with the lightened or colored hair at the tips, gradually blending into the darker natural roots closer to the top of the head.
What is Balayage?
Balayage is a hair highlighting technique that creates a subtle, natural looking effect that emulates sun lightening, In balayage, the hair stylist paints the color or lightener directly on the hair – they do not use foils to separate the treated hair from the untouched hair.
The term balayage come from the French word “balayer” which means “sweeping”. This refers to the way the color is applied to the hair, and not the color itself. By hand-painting the highlights into the hair, the result is a blended, natural-looking gradation of lightening that tapers near the end of the hair. The balayage technique creates a graduated, natural effect reminiscent of highlights created by long hours in the sun during summer. Cosmetologists can create lowlights that add dimension, and subtle transitions using balayage. This technique works effectively on all hair colors and hair types.
What is Ombré?
Ombré is a dramatic gradient hair color effect where a dark color is blended into a lighter color. The word ombré means “to shade” in French, and this gradient color pattern was originally used to refer to textile coloring patterns around 1840. In hairstyling, ombré coloring is usually done on long or medium length hair, with the dark roots blending into a lighter color, sometimes a vivid color.
Some clients opt for the lighter hair on the top of the head, leading to the darker color at the ends of the hair. This is known as a reverse ombré.
Ombré can be done in any colors: natural colors such as blonde, brown, black, red, or silver, as well as brighter colors like pink, teal, purple, maroon, or green.
What is Sombré?
Sombré is a subtle, softer version of ombré—the color contrast between the tones in the gradient is much softer. This technique is ideal for low maintenance clients that only go to the salon a few times a year.
One variation of sombré is called color melting, where two or three hair color tones are used on each hair strand. This is a more gradual gradient that blends the natural color of the roots with highlights and some balayage tones.
Characteristics of Balayage and Ombré Hair
The main difference between balayage and ombré is balayage is a color highlighting technique focused on vertical placement, and ombré is a horizontal gradient hair-coloring technique. Balayage has a blended, sweeping effect; ombré has a more gradual, consistent color changing effect.
These are some additional characteristics of each hair technique.
Balayage Characteristics
- Balayage works well on all hair types: straight, wavy, curly, coily.
- The outer layers of hair usually have lighter colors, and the underlayers are darker, creating a sense of depth.
- Your stylist can use deep highlights and more subtle highlights for a natural looking effect.
Ombré Characteristics
- The hair is colored from the outer layers to inner layers, to create a full effect. Unlike balayage, which often has lowlights, ombré coloring has depth.
- You can create a look with bold vivid colors, you aren’t limited to natural shades.
- Using more subtle shading to create a seamless milder ombré aka ‘sombré’
- The gradients work best with straight hair, the subtlety of the ombré transitions work better with type 1 or type 2 hair.
Types of Balayage
Balayage relies on hand-painting the coloring onto the hair, so the artistry of the hairstylist will be a big factor. This technique allows for a lot of variations and creativity. Hair stylists may even combine several shades to create unique effects.
Traditional Balayage
The original balayage where sections of hair are painted with lightener, creating an organic sunkissed look.
Foil Balayage (Foilyage)
Usually used on darker hair, the balayage highlights are wrapped in foil after the lightener is applied, to amplify the lightening process.
Reverse Balayage
Instead of painting hair to lighten it at the mid-points and tips, a reverse balayage extends the darker root color down the length of the hair. This creates a subtle but effective look.
Partial Balayage
Sometimes the client wants to add highlights to one specific area of hair (such as around the face). A partial balayage puts the spotlight on specific sections of hair, calling attention to specific areas.
Chunky Balayage
This is when balayage is applied to wavy, curly or coily hair, creating thick highlights on the ringlets of hair, or when there are thick highlights on straight hair. The highlights can be lightened or colored, creating an impressive style.
Types of Ombré
There are many ways to utilize ombré to create beautiful hairstyles.
Traditional Ombré
Many people use colors like blonde, brown, red, purple, or deep greenish-blue for ombré coloring. It looks very striking when used on darker hair.
Short Hair Ombré
Though ombré is typically used on longer hair, it can also create a remarkable look on shorter hair.
Subtle Ombré
The sombré is a softer, more subtle ombré that lends itself to more nuances.
Reverse Ombré
This is when the lighter color is near the roots of the hair, and the darker color is blended gradually from the tips upward. It can create a rather striking effect.
Ombré Braids
This style is ombré but with braids.
Is Ombré Harmful to Your Hair?
Ombré is less damaging to hair than a complete coloring job, and the hair dye is typically applied to the ends of the hair, leaving the top of the hair untreated. This allows the ends to take on any potential chemical processing damage.
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