Remember when “ombre” was only a word utilized in salons among professionals? It quickly became a word that was picked up by magazines and trend-setting celebrities, after which it transitioned right into a household word to explain the dark-to-light or light-to-dark color trend seen in both fashion and hair (and nails and accessories!).

Soon, many top colorists predict, an analogous will happen with “balayage.” Though the hair-painting technique certainly isn’t new, the ombre color trend put an in depth eye on lighteners, showing clients they are able to add lightness without the upkeep traditional foiling requires.

MODERN Facebook fan David Allen, of David Allen Salon in Oakdale, California, calls this colour melting technique “balayombre” because he combines balayage with ombre.

BASE COLOR
This client is a natural Level 4 and he used Pravana 6N and 7G mixture for her base color. At the scalp, he used 10-volume developer, and at the mid shafts to about 4 inches down he used 30-volume developer.

BLONDE APPLICATION
“Starting on the nape I painted on ISO Lightener using a weave technique, balayaging the lighter,” he says. “Then, using V-sectioning with lightener, I painted on ‘peaks and valleys’ to create a continuing finish.” (LEARN MORE IN REGARDS TO THE V-SECTIONING HERE!) Repeat your entire way up the top!

PROCESSING
“I processed for roughly 20-25 minutes maintaining a tally of her ends and base color ensuring here was no breakage or hot roots,” he says.

STYLING
“I used a 2″ barrel marcel and wrapped her hair round the barrel using one-inch sections,” he says. To get the perimeter flip, just wrap the curl far from the face.

 

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WE DESIRE TO SEE YOUR WORK! Want to be modernsalon.com’s next featured artist? Send your work, and info on the way you did it (color formulas, steps on styling or cutting method, etc) to MODERN’s Alison Shipley ashipley@vancepublishing.com.