A few weeks ago, five fearless Cole’s Salon designers traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to attend a two-day class at the Jamison Shaw Academy to learn all-things balayage. Desi, Ariel, Jennessa, Bri and I had a blast, but we also learned a lot about this one technique (and about ourselves!).
Here are our takeaways:
1. The difference between balayage and ombre can sometimes be confusing to our clients, and now we have the perfect explanation—straight from the experts! The main difference between the two is that balayage is a technique, and ombre is a style.
Balayage is a fancy French word that translates to “sweep.” In the hair world, it’s a technique that will give you more seamless, blended and natural-looking color. Instead of using foils for highlights, your stylist will actually “sweep” paint onto your strands, resulting in a shiny color that will leave you feeling gorgeously sun-kissed.
Ombre is the style where the color is darkest at your roots, and gets progressively lighter toward your ends. You and your stylist should choose shades that work well with your natural color to achieve the full effect. Even going just a few shades lighter will give you that multi-tone look you’re after.
2. Personalize, personalize, personalize. As stylists, we should always work to personalize every customer experience. Our goals should be to make our guests look their best by personalizing your service and experience.
3. Show up and be ready to work. We have one job, and that is to make you happy.
At the end of the day, my number one takeaway from the class was this question: “Do you charge what you’re worth and are you worth what you charge?” The class had a lot of tactical tips and we’re ready to balayage-it-up, but it was also the perfect opportunity to reflect on our work and our intentions.
Interested in some balayage for yourself? Give us a call to schedule a consultation or appointment today!
