If you want your hair to look a little different this summer and you’re considering techniques that add layers and dimension, then you can’t go wrong with balayage and foilyage. But what are these two? What is the difference between foilyage and balayage hair highlights? Here is everything you need to know.

What Is Balayage?

If you want to go for highlights in your hair, but you don’t want the results to be super clean and prim, rather you want the whole mane to have that very underdone and hand-painted look, then you’re in luck, because balayage is here to save the day.

Balayage is a hair coloring technique in which the hair colorist will hand-paint streaks of color onto your hair. The main focus will be on the strands that stand out and the pieces that frame your face. It is going to look stunning, and the hand-painted look gives the hair that very sleek, yet rugged finish, which might sound weird, but it is to die for.

The strands of colored hair will blend in with the natural hair, and the whole look will be unique, cohesive but still stand out at the same time. If you want, you can go for a lighter or darker balayage. There is no right or wrong way to do balayage on the hair.

What’s Recommended?

The best trick that you can follow is to go a couple of shades up or down, depending on your natural hair color. For instance, if you have naturally lighter hair, then add a bit more shade and depth to your mane by going for a slightly darker color as your balayage color. The same goes for darker hair, because adding that light streak will really enhance the look of your hair and it is going to look amazing in the end.

How Is Balayage Done?

If you want to get balayage on your hair, then here is a step by step guide on how to achieve that very unique look on your hair.

1. First, you will start off with washed and dried hair. This is key if you want the color to look potent for a long time to come. This also leads to a smoother hair color application.
2. Next, you want to choose the color. If you want to go for a super unique color, then you can mix a couple of shades to get your desired color and it will be amazing.
3. Now, this is the application part and this is where things get interesting. The color can be applied freehanded or even with a brush, but the technique – if you can even call it that – is very random and sporadic. There is no rhythm for the application of the color. It is applied like you’re painting on a canvas and that is what gives the hair that very beautiful and blended look that you just don’t see in traditional highlights.
4. Once that is done, the color is left to develop, and then the hair is washed off and styled, and that is pretty much how you turn your hair into a work of art.

What Is Foilyage?

Foilyage is also a very celebrated hair coloring technique and even though the results might be similar to highlights, there is still quite a bit of difference when it comes to the technique.

Foilyage is a technique in which the hair strands are also painted free handedly or with no specific technique, but in the end, once the hair color is on the hair, the strands are wrapped in foil and left to develop.

A Hybrid Of Traditional Highlights And Balayage

Foilyage gives the look of slightly messy highlights, but unlike balayage, which looks blended and almost natural, there is a peek of traditional highlights in foilyage. That is just how this hair coloring technique differs from others. So, foilyage is perfect for those who want the look of highlights, but they don’t want the super harsh demarcation of the colored hair all throughout the mane.

This is kind of like a more closed off balayage since the use of foil localizes the hair color in one place and the strands and the roots are what get the most color on the mane. Also, foilyage leads to highlights that cover the roots too, so if that is something that you really like, then foilyage is the one to go for. If you’re not sure, you can always ask a hair color correction specialist Rockville for advice.

Better Root Coverage

Usually, with balayage, the cold starts off at the mid-length of the hair and it does not cover the roots. This might be fine for most people, but some want full coverage balayage that also takes care of their roots.

What foilyage does is encases the color in a foil and this leads to root coverage too, which is basically what everyone wants, especially if they’re trying to get their color to look more even and long lasting.

So, foilyage is literally perfect for those who don’t want an open and blended balayage look, and still want something more structured but not as structured as traditional highlights. To put it simply, foilyage is the liaison between balayage and regular highlights, and the results lead to somewhat distinct highlights and strands of hair that stand out among the base color of the hair, but it is still playful and not very harsh.

How Is Foilyage Done?

The application technique of foilyage is literally the same as balayage. You start out with washed hair and then select the color you want as your foilyage color. The color is also applied in a similar free-handed way as balayage, but in the end, before the color is left to develop in the hair, the strands that have just been saturated in color are encased in foil. This keeps everything clean and crisp, but it doesn’t create harsh lines that you get with traditional chunky highlights.

Once that is done, the foil is removed, the hair is washed and styled, and you have beautiful hair that is now rocking foilyage. Isn’t that amazing?

Which Hair Dyeing Technique Is Better?

This might be a question that everyone has and they want a straight and no-fuss answer about it. The question is: Is balayage better or foilyage? Well, to put it simply, the answer literally depends on the person getting their hair done.

These two techniques vary slightly in results, and they both have different followings. Some prefer the look of messy and open and blended hair strands, so they tend to go for balayage, and some like the structure of highlights with a bit of playfulness, so they tend to gravitate towards foilyage.

All of this is very unique and poles apart, so what you want to do is choose the hair coloring technique that you think will look good on you. You want to ask yourself which coloring technique looks good on you, because only you can answer this question better.

If you want, you can also get a consultation with a hair specialist at a Balayage hair salon Rockville, and they will be able to help you reach a better decision based on your hair color, texture, and the way your hair looks. Ultimately, the answer to the question of which hair technique looks better depends on you and your hair preferences.