Highlights for Summer: Balayage vs Ombre

Achieving a sun-kissed summer look can be hard if you spend most of your sunny summer days inside an office. Thousands of women have been trying balayage and ombre for natural-looking highlights, but how can you tell the difference? When you go to ask your hair colorist for the look you visualize, you should know which treatment you want to obtain those perfect highlighted ends. Don’t be thrown off if they start suggesting “sombre” and “tiger eye”.

Ombre
Meaning “shadow” in French, this trend is what kicked off the revolution to get rid of harsh, striped highlights in exchange for fresh, blended ones. Ombre hair is perfect for women who want to keep their naturally dark roots, but slowly transition to a lighter shade toward the ends. Often hair stylists will bleach your ends and blend the colors together in the middle. Anytime bleach is applied to your hair, make sure your hair stylist is experienced, as the hues can easily become color blocked, or the bleach can cause lasting damage.

Sombre
If the idea of bleaching your ends sounds too risky for you, sombre might be the better option. Sombre is a softer looking ombre. It requires less upkeep than ombre because the transition from root to tip is more subtle.

Balayage
This technique has a far more natural look to it. Meaning “sweep” in French, your hairstylist will add a lighter shade to the parts of your hair that would be naturally touched by the sun, while leaving your ends dark. Typically, no foils are used during the treatment to help maintain a more organic feel. Balayage is just hair painting; the technique that is used to create the ombre look as well.

Flamboyage
Think balayage pumped up to the next level. This type of technique uses transparent adhesive strips to lock in color during the treatment. The result is that each strand of hair has enhanced, reflective color.

Tiger Eye
If you want to pump up your flat brown tone, this trend is right for so many brunettes. Dark browns are accented with rich chocolate, golden caramel, and honey tones to create a multidimensional warm color. Tiger eye is a great way to phase out the sunny ombre or balayage treatment from earlier in the summer.

Whenever you get your hair treated, it’s important to remember each time that chemicals are applied to your hair and can create lasting damage. Keep the coloring to a minimum and rock your natural beauty.