Balayage to contouring: the colour techniques you need to know

Clients continue to look beyond one dimensional blondes for more personalised fusions, but do you know what you are offering them? From Balayage to Contouring, we look at the techniques you should be offering your clients. Balayage – the masterly mash up of blonde and brunette tones may have been around for a while, but continues to wow clients. Whether it’s a whisper or something wilder, the freehand painterly effects are uni- versally flattering and the last word in low maintenance luxe. Coloured balayage has enjoyed catwalk kudos for several seasons and has now hit the high street hard. Colour contouring aka ‘contourage’ – high-lights specific sections of hair to accentuate and flatter facial features. “Think of it as make-up for hair; wear it where it matters – use the head shape, face shape and colour choice as your guides," explains Tracey Devine-Smith. "For best results mix a traditional highlight with a hand-painted balayage technique within the head. I like to choose shades at least two apart; it gives results more impact.” Colour melt – the technique of melting colour down the hair shaft with no visible break or change. “Perfect for slightly changing tones and adding shine lines on natural looks, and fab for rainbow hair to really melt blonde with, for instance, different pastel shades applied in a patch work pattern,” says Christel Lundqvist. Root stretch – the roots are coloured slightly lower than the re-growth to give the illusion of a heavier root area. Smudging – two or three colours of similar tone are applied and smudged together to create softer versions of the original shade. The colour can vary from darker to up to three shades lighter when smudging. Generally, this would be from root to mid-band and achieves very subtle results. Strobing – areas of colour are hand-picked and bleached in a pattern, then colour is reapplied to certain pieces in many tones to create a strobing effect. This technique is particularly nice when the hair is moving and a summer breeze hits it. Tie dye – produces slight changes in tone using the same colour. “Twisting the colour in to the hair using different levels of tension creates pockets of depth and tone. This works best on clean bleached hair using bright pastelised tones, giving a smoky undone result. For me it’s one of this year’s top ways to colour.” Tracey Devine-Smith   Photograph: Headmasters