Not sure where to start with colouring your hair? We take a look at the most popular hair colouring techniques in salons today.

Babylights

Babylights are very delicate highlights that mimic natural hair by creating very subtle colour changes to your natural or base colour. Babylights are finer than regular highlights, spaced closer together, and much more delicate.

Key difference – This technique is so subtle that roots are barely visible when colour grows out.

Balayage

Balayage is graduated natural-looking highlights. This technique is applied by hand in a freestyle manner.

As with any highlights, balayage involves the use of bleach, however with a balayage, highlights start away from the scalp, preserving your natural roots whilst getting lighter toward the ends. This means there are no blunt roots, so you can go longer between salon visits and touch-ups.

Key Difference – Tends to look more natural and requires less maintenance than traditional foil highlights.

Ecaille

Ecaille is pronounced e-kay and is French for tortoiseshell which is the effect the technique creates. The soft caramel tones, golden blondes, honey blondes, and chestnut browns melt into each other creating a natural tortoiseshell effect. Ecaille is such a natural look and grows our similar to an ombre so you don’t get any unsightly roots.

Highlights

Highlights are subtle hints of colour that are lighter shades than your natural colour. Darker hair wanting lighter highlights will be achieved using bleach.

There are different techniques to apply highlights. The most common method is foiling, which involves sectioning out pieces of the hair with a comb before using a lightener.

Lowlights

Lowlights are subtle hints of colour darker than your base colour and are designed to emulate the different natural tones in your hair. This technique creates a perception of depth in the hair making it look thicker.  This technique is normally applied with foils or freehand.

Ombre

Ombre is when a stylist uses balayage to create seamless graduations of colour from dark to light, creating a dramatic, graduated effect. Ombre is a low level maintenance hair colour and as such a very popular choice. The most popular colour combination is a medium brown that graduates into golden tips, but the colour combination can be something more dramatic.

Key Difference: A dramatic, gradated look, which can be created using a balayage technique.

Reverse Balayage

A reverse balayage is the effect of adding darker tones to the hair as opposed to the balayage which is lighter tones. brown highlights contrast and add depth to the root of lighter hair, perfect for an autumn style.

Sombre

Sombre is a darker version of an ombre, it has the same effect of a colour transition gradually from the root to the tip, however it creates a softer, less contrasting shade for a more natural look.

WetLights

Wetlights is a new technique and trend taking salons by storm. Wetlights is a freehand technique designed to break up a harsh headline. The technique is applied freehand when the hair is wet. Wetlights are very gentle of the hair and the application is usually very quick.

Key difference: The dye is applied to wet hair.

If you feel like you a a new look get in touch with the team to make an appointment.