The world of hair coloring has been swept up by the elegant and understated French highlighting technique known as delicate balayage. It’s a method that creates a sun-kissed look without using strong lines or striking contrasts by blending soft, natural tones into the hair.
This method is perfect for people who want a more subtle change because it emphasizes gradual, barely noticeable transitions between shades, unlike traditional highlighting techniques. The outcome is a gorgeously blended color that accentuates the hair’s inherent beauty while giving it more depth and dimension.
This post will examine what makes delicate balayage unique, how it varies from other methods, and why it’s becoming more and more popular among those who want to update their appearance without making the commitment to regular touch-ups.
| Feature | Description |
| Technique | Balayage involves hand-painting color onto the hair for a soft, natural look. |
| Color Transition | The transition between colors is smooth and subtle, creating a delicate blend. |
| Maintenance | This style requires less frequent touch-ups due to the natural root growth look. |
| Effect | Creates a sun-kissed, multi-dimensional effect with lighter ends. |
| Hair Type | Works on various hair types and lengths, enhancing natural texture. |
- Features of French highlighting
- Who is this coloring suitable for?
- Photos with options for French highlighting on hair of different lengths
- On short hair
- On medium-length hair
- On long hair
- How to choose the right shade for French highlighting?
- For dark hair
- For light brown hair
- For light hair
- For red hair
- How to do French highlighting: coloring technique
- For dark hair
- For light hair
- Video on the topic
- COLOR STRETCHING INSTEAD OF HIGHLIGHTING \ FAST TECHNIQUE FOR COLORING BLONDE HAIR
Features of French highlighting
The coloring of individual hair strands known as "French highlighting" is typically done with a mild technique and a lighting agent free of ammonia called "Majimash" (Blond Studio Majimeshes). The unique dye formula, which was created in partnership with French stylists, works gently to lighten curls up to five tones.
The curls are dyed all the way through, just like with classic highlighting, but the lighter strands are dispersed erratically and the color transitions are seamless and undefined, allowing you to achieve a natural look. French balayage is a variation of this highlighting. Additionally, it has a mild effect and gives hair fashionable color combinations. The L’Oréal Pro Dia Light dye is used for this technique if the strands are extremely sensitive and damaged. Its palette of colors includes striking hues like trendy cold browns. And the outcome is consistently striking—before and after pictures provide as clear evidence of this!
- partial,
- full.
Partial hair lightening is similar to contouring and balayage, where specific hair strands are lightened by hand.
Complete French highlighting produces the effect of color dispersion because the curls are dyed all the way through, giving the color a massive, voluminous, yet expressively embossed appearance.
Who is this coloring suitable for?
French highlighting is perfect for girls and women who want to hide gray hair, create the illusion of naturally burned hair, and forget about what it means to regularly maintain the color of the roots because when dyeing, the curls are lightened by only a few tones.
Blondes, people with light brown hair, and women with brown hair can all use this coloring technique. In addition, the technique is less frequently applied on very dark strands up to the third tone level because adequate lightening might not happen. However, in theory, you could do French highlighting on them; all you need is a skilled colorist.
Photos with options for French highlighting on hair of different lengths
Every hair length responds differently to French highlights. We include several examples with photos for clarification. The ideal look is ready if you pay attention to the desired styling: a little texture, a steep curl, or a very light wave.
On short hair
French highlighting gives short hair the volume and texture that they frequently lack because of the iridescent color.
The method works particularly well on short hairstyles with elongated front strands, such as the long bob, which is one of the most popular cuts.
Inspired by SalonSecret’s styling. Give your hair a subtle curl while leaving the ends straight to accentuate the delicate nature of the highlights. Paste Redken Rewind will give the picture a stylish, textured carelessness.
On medium-length hair
Highlighting makes it possible to put together a polished and comprehensive look, particularly when combined with medium-length hair. The shades ought to blend together seamlessly and be quite near to one another.
Inspired by SalonSecret’s styling. On days when you need to look like a street style queen, this hairstyle is ideal. First, protect yourself from heat (use cream Matrix Brass Off, for example). Dry spray L’Oréal Pro Savage Panache is the second step. Step three involves using a large curling iron to curl the strands in opposite directions, one pointing toward and one away from the face. Step three: use L’Oréal Pro Ring Light spray to add a little shine. You should post this look to your social media accounts! Additionally, it will excellently showcase the benefits of French highlights.
On long hair
Long hair can look incredibly opulent when styled with French highlights. Every hair is essentially highlighted from the inside out by the interplay of multiple colors at the ends of the strands.
Inspired by SalonSecret’s styling. We assure you that such beauty can be curled, but not before you perfectly straighten your hair. To achieve this, take some Kérastase Elixir Ultime oil (pink works great on colored hair), warm up two sections in your hands, and apply a tiny indentation from the scalp to the entire head of hair. After using a flat iron to finish your hair, stand by for compliments.
French highlighting served as the inspiration for the delicate balayage hair coloring technique, which blends soft, natural tones to produce a smooth, sun-kissed look. This technique is ideal for people looking for a natural yet elegant style because it gives hair a chic, low-maintenance look that subtly changes colors.
How to choose the right shade for French highlighting?
A French highlighting cream without ammonia lightens hair strands by up to five tones. Toning then becomes important, allowing you to create a range of color transitions on your hair. We examine the newest choices.
For dark hair
If dark hair has previously undergone lightening or bleaching, you can achieve an extremely captivating color shift effect on it. "Dirty" blondes or coffee-colored hair will appear the most authentic.
Additionally, cool light shades look great with a chestnut base. As a result, the most expressive color is achieved by adding milk to the coffee tone.
When applied partially, French highlighting looks particularly striking on dark hair with red strands mixed in. This prevents the bright red color from taking center stage.
For light brown hair
Light brown hair that is toned up to the sixth level is naturally fairly light and frequently burns in the sun. Hence, you can carry out the "natural" bleaching process once more and apply color to individual hair strands that are one or two tones lighter than the hair’s natural shade.
Light brown hair looks great with wheat or sand shades when highlighted with French technique.
Pink hues are an additional pertinent choice. They enhance the image’s gentleness and elegance while also softening the color of the light brown hair.
For light hair
An iridescent pearl color will help the blonde look brighter. It complements fair skin tone and revitalizes the base tone.
Warm honey shades are another win-win choice. Platinum or milky blonde hair will not look good in every photo; instead, you should consider your skin tone and color type.
For red hair
Create the appearance of fiery red hair; this can be achieved by slightly lightening the base color. At the same time, a few complementary hues start to show off in the hairstyle.
Warm blond and wheat tones are good options for the highlighting color for red hair that is more subdued in tone.
How to do French highlighting: coloring technique
The method is customized and is based on the base shade, which includes the hair’s structure, past coloring history, and current color. It’s also important to remember that while full highlighting uses foil to help, partial highlighting frequently results in the strands being dyed randomly.
For dark hair
- Initially, they are lightened with a mixture of bleaching powder (or lightening cream) and an oxidizer. For a more gentle effect, a mixture of cream and oxidizer cream 6 or 9% is suitable. Such are at L’Oréal Professionnel in the Blond Studio line.
- Then the hair is washed and dried.
- In the final hair, tint to achieve the desired shade.
For light hair
French express highlighting is what the colorist does if there is no need to alter the base hair color.
- The master applies the highlighting cream L’Oréal Blond Studio Majimeches №1.
- The lightening cream is kept for about 50 minutes – the time depends on the structure of the hair and its quality.
- The strands are washed and dried.
- After this comes the toning stage.
Because of its delicate, natural finish, delicate balayage is ideal for people who prefer a subtle transformation over a striking contrast. Its French roots highlight grace and carefree beauty, resulting in a style that is adaptable and low-maintenance.
Highlights and base color can be blended together seamlessly with this technique, which works well on a variety of hair types and lengths. It maintains the overall style’s modesty while adding depth and dimension.
To achieve the ideal delicate balayage, which calls for careful application to create the desired balance between light and dark tones, selecting a skilled stylist is essential. When done correctly, it can wonderfully accentuate your inherent beauty and go well with your particular style.
