How to: Maintain your balayage highlights for summer!

It’s easy to see how the balayage look became so popular. Relatively low maintenance, it allows you to have highlights, while remaining natural. So you get the best of both worlds - a fresh look without having to head to the salon every 6-8 weeks! (In fact, balayage can last anywhere between three to six months).  

But, just like every hairstyle and colour, there is still a tiny bit of upkeep required to keep it in tip-top condition for as long as possible. Your hair will love you for it and because your hair is happy, you will be too! So really, it’s a win-win to make sure you maintain your balayage highlights this summer.

What is balayage?

Balayage is a beautiful French word that means ‘to paint’ or ‘to sweep’, and that’s exactly what your Vivo Balayage Specialist will be doing with their brush when you’re seated comfortably in your salon chair. It’s quite different from highlights as it is a freehand technique, and isn’t used all over your hair.

Much of the balayage colour trend is about face-framing highlights, or adding them to various sections of your hair to create a ‘sun-kissed’ look (minus the sun damage).

Vivo Balayage Specialists can even work their magic to help create the illusion of volume on thinner hair. And because it is completely customisable, you can work with your hairdresser to decide on the best tones just for you!  

What’s the difference between Balayage and Ombre?

Sometimes balayage gets confused with ombre, however the latter is more of a full saturation of horizontal highlights, with a blend upwards to blur the straight line.  

Get the best hair care products for Balayage hair colour

To maintain your balayage after your trip to the salon, it’s a good idea to have the right shampoo and conditioner for maintaining your colour. What you need depends on the colours you have in your hair. If you have blonde highlights, then you’ll need to consider a purple shampoo and conditioner, as they help to maintain the best hair condition and, when necessary, keep brassiness out of blonde hair.

If you have a caramel-coloured balayage, then a blue shampoo will stop orange tones from making an appearance.

Keep your hair as healthy as possible

Any kind of colouring requires a regular treatment to keep your hair well nourished. And by doing a weekly mask/treatment, the moisture will help your colour stay vibrant and minimise fading - as a healthy cuticle will retain the salon toner for longer (it’ll also feel amazing too!). Try to not use hot water when you’re washing too.

Add a serum and heat protectant to your regime after washing, to ensure your lengths can stand strong against blow drying and styling.  

Regularly refresh the ‘money piece’

What is a money piece? We know it’s a bit of a funny name, but it is actually a well known term in the world of hairdressing. It simply means the hair around the face, but is a very important part of the balayage look - it carries a lot of the weight in terms of flattering your skin tone and opening up the face.

The money piece is typically placed higher on the hair and as such, is the most noticeable. So you may find that this is one part that you’d like refreshed a little more often than the rest, perhaps when you go in for your regular haircut.    

Protect it from the environment

Summer is fun. But it also wreaks havoc on our hair.

From the heat, to UV rays, chlorine, saltwater, sand and everything else that we throw at ourselves for months on end, it also does all kinds of wild stuff to our hair. And not in a good way. So what’s key to keeping your balayage looking great is to protect it wherever possible from whatever is going on around you.

Hats are great for keeping your roots and mid lengths out of the glare of the sun but also consider a protective, leave-in conditioner to minimise any of those other environmental elements getting their damaging hands on your hair. And here’s a neat tip - you could apply conditioner or a hair mask before you dive into the pool or spa, to slow the penetration of any of those chlorinated nasties.

Balayage is beautiful. And if your hair is kept in the right condition, you’ll be able to enjoy it for longer, with hair that feels good (and looks amazing too!). And of course, when you have your balayage hair colour at a Vivo salon, your stylist will always be able to help you with any questions you have about maintenance for balayage hair colour.