You might think that blondes have more fun when it comes to hair, but you’d be wrong. You might also think that balayage wouldn’t be noticeable on brown hair, but that’s not true either. There are lots of balayage colours for brown hair to choose from, so we’ve got 6 stunning examples of how balayage can look on brown locks of all different shades.
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With the advancement of hair colouring techniques and the popularity of balayage, brown hair does not have to be boring. On the contrary, it can be really exciting. If you are a brunette, you may not realise how much of an enhancement it can be to add multi-tonal effects with balayage. Hair can look naturally sun-kissed and the addition of a 3D effect onto the hair can really spice things up. Truth is, balayage works for all hair colours, even for the darkest of browns. Balayage is certainly not reserved for lighter coloured hair.
Before and After Balayage Transformations
1. Caramel and Chocolate Brown Balayage
“Jane” came in with lifeless looking hair. Her colour had faded and she didn’t like the “brassy” red tones in her hair. It also looked as if the top portion of her hair was one colour and a different colour on the bottom. She wanted to have a more natural-looking colour with a better “marriage” between the top of her hair and the bottom half. She wanted to have a natural “sun-kissed” holiday look.
In order to achieve this, we used various highlighting techniques to bring lightness to the top and bottom, essentially “fusing” both halves together. Then with the help of caramel and chocolate-brown toners, we helped bring life back to her hair. We added caramel and chocolate-brown tones to add light and depth and even out the hair colour. The choice of colours here was very important as anything too light would have clashed with the rest of the hair. Anything too dark would have made the hair look very matte and lifeless.
For hair that’s single-toned and quite frankly, a bit boring, then caramel and chocolate brown balayage can really give your hair the oomph you are looking for.
2. Auburn Brown Hair with Caramel Balayage
“Karen” was a bit tired of her orange-red hair which was looking a bit too brassy for her liking. She really wanted to go back to her natural brown base colour and have natural blonde highlights more prevalent towards the bottom.
In order to give Karen the look she wanted, we foiled the entire hair with our balayage technique and toned the remaining hair to a dark brown colour. This helped get rid of underlying red tones. Leaving the foils on a bit longer, the colour was washed off. The roots were then toned separately to the rest of the hair to give the hair a lighter “fade” effect towards the bottom.
3. Warm Chestnut Balayage
“Elise” came in with stripy hair after having had her hair coloured with classic foils. She asked if such a stripy effect was normal or whether something had gone wrong. It simply wasn’t the look she wanted. The classic foiling technique can yield terrible results but this was the worst we had ever seen.
Using backcombing and various foiling techniques, we were able to blur the harsh lines. Then toners were used to get rid of the “start” lines and to match the existing base colour. The overall effect is a perfect blend of colours rather than the harsh “black-on-white” stripy effect that Elise had never wanted.
4. Warm Brown Balayage On Dark Brown Hair
“Phillipa” came to us after having an all-over colour at another salon and was very unhappy with the results. Her hair ended up being very different from her natural colour which made maintaining the colour very difficult. She wanted to go back to her natural base colour and she felt that her hair looked lifeless and uninteresting.
To bring life back into her hair, we added natural highlights. This is one of our favourite balayage colours for brown hair. We matched her roots which meant that she could now grow out the colour naturally or come back twice a year to add some natural lights. Either way, it’s almost maintenance and hassle-free.
5. Chocolate Balayage
“Sophie” didn’t like her reddish-brown hair that looked patchy and uneven. She felt her hair was lack-lustre and she wanted her hair to look and feel healthy again.
Using toner on the roots, balayage through the rest of the hair and a separate toner on the ends, we combed through the colour to create a blend. Sophie was thrilled with the results. Beautiful shiny and healthy-looking hair with volume, depth and interest.
6. Ash Blonde Balayage
We wanted to replace the ginger and orange hues with a nice natural ash blonde colour. “Beth” didn’t like the red and ginger colours at the top half of her head. She disliked the orange and ginger bottom half even more. While the highlights were “cooking” in the foils, the rest of the hair was toned to be more natural-looking. To “shadow” her roots, a separate toner was used to ensure that her hair would grow out without the ugly growth lines. We gave her the ash-blonde gloss she desired by toning the length and ends separately.
These are just 6 balayage colours for brown hair. Of course, there are more. Have fun with your hair and see which colour is right for you.
If you’re thinking about balayage, why not give us a call to schedule a consultation.
