One of the most requested services at XEX is balayage. A popular hair coloring technique, hand-painted by your stylist, delivers a natural sun-kissed look to any hair color. Even more trendy due to its low maintenance, grow-out, balayage only has to be done a few times a year to keep it looking fresh.
Balayage is for those who want effortless color with various highlights and lowlights. While this look is low maintenance, it’s not without maintenance. If you want your color to stay vibrant and glossy between salon visits, you need to follow a few key steps.
A simple part of keeping up with your balayage is getting regular haircuts. This ensures you can get rid of all the dead ends that are preventing life from returning to your hair, and helps them grow healthily by refreshing your hair. Getting a haircut every few months promotes growth and helps maintain the distribution of your balayage so it can continue to grow out naturally and beautifully.
Helping to restore moisture, investing in a good deep conditioning treatment every so often can help upkeep the color and texture of your hair. Deep conditioners penetrate your hair from the inside out and are particularly useful for those with dry, damaged, or chemically treated hair. This ensures your hair is healthy and strong, especially after going through dye treatment, toner, or bleach that helped achieve your balayage look.
You can purchase deep conditioning treatments in the form of hair masks or leave-in conditioners. To use them, apply the treatment to your hair, cover it with a shower cap, and leave it for at least 20 minutes before rinsing. Your salon also provides excellent treatment options; make sure to ask your stylist while visiting!
We know that it seems insane to take anything but a warm shower, but water is incredibly important to the health of your hair. Cold water has many benefits, such as keeping your hair healthy and maintaining your balayage. Hot water can easily strip away the colors used in the salon, while cold water cannot penetrate as deeply, leaving the color as fresh as the day you got it done.
Using the right products might be the key to flawlessly upkeeping your balayage. Most importantly, start by investing in a good shampoo and conditioner. Buying a shampoo and conditioner specifically made to wash and condition colored hair will be protective and nourishing. Make sure you check out the bottle to ensure that there are no sulfates and that all ingredients react safely with your hair. You can also invest in protectant sprays, color-enhancing products, and just general deep conditioner and moisturizing treatments.
Are you not sure what to choose? Talk to your stylist and ask what they recommend. They will be happy to help!
If you have a balayage with lighter tones, blondes, silvers, or whites, toning occasionally with purple shampoo can help keep that color crispy and cool. This shampoo helps neutralize brassy tones like yellow and gold and can elevate your balayage by keeping it looking fresh for a long time. However, overusing purple shampoo can leave a purple tint or dry you out. Just make sure to keep an eye on how often you’re using it and what your hair looks and feels like.
Heat changes your hair. From UV rays to styling products, avoiding these things is pivotal if you want to keep your hair shiny and new. According to robertgoldsalon.com, UV rays “break down the chemical bonds that are present in dyes, which causes the dyes to fade. That’s why if you have color-treated hair, your color will fade more quickly the more it’s exposed to sunlight.” To avoid this, use a UV-protecting balm or wear a hat on super sunny days.
As for avoiding styling products like curling irons and straighteners, this is important because it minimizes color loss and maintains the health of your hair. Look into heatless options to do your hair like rollers, braiding, and letting your hair air dry.
The best person to help you understand how to maintain your hair is your stylist. They are your hair care partner and are investing as much in the health and color of your hair as you are. If your balayage starts to look faded or dull, or brassy colors are peaking through, don’t hesitate to let them know, and they can assess whether you might need a refresh, a toner, a gloss, or some kind of other service to help brighten it up and bring it back to its full potential.
