Balayage Highlights via Style Weekly
The last time I colored my hair I was fourteen and misguided. I bought a box (read: one – I have long hair!) Herbal Essences Bold ‘N Brilliant 44 Radiant Ruby. It wasn’t one of my best life choices.
Difficult to maintain (the nature of the redheaded beast) and more costly than my jobless teenage self could manage, I gave it up. I then made other great life choices such as trying to strip it, then covering it with a brunette semi-permanent dye to help it be less…stark (less like Sansa, more like jarring and unpleasant). All in all, it didn’t grow out gracefully, but after three long years, I celebrated trimming the last bits of it away. My hair has been natural (except for the occasional DIY glossing treatment) ever since.
After the better part of another decade, I’m bored.
I think my natural haircolor suits me. I don’t dislike it, I just want an enhanced version of it. “My hair but better,” sort of thing. I admire a lot of exciting hair (like K’s!) and have fleetingly considered pursuing it, but I know I’m too lazy to maintain it properly. After all, exciting hair is a commitment; kind of an all-or-nothing thing. Half-assed maintenance on hair that requires attention is not a good look on anyone.
Knowing that, I’m looking into balayage highlights. Painted on free-hand, these highlights grow out more gracefully than traditional foils. This means that lazy people like me have lower maintenance. Touch ups every 6-8 weeks? There isn’t a universe in which I subscribe to the notion (for my own hair, that is. Not criticizing the practice, it’s just something I will not make time for or spend money on). For me, the effortlessness of it is worth it; for you, it might not be. Additionally, since they’ll grow out with a bit more grace, there’s a bit of an, “insurance policy,” feel to it – if I hate it, growing it out won’t be as bad.
Balayage highlights cost a bit more than standard foils – of course this will vary with your market, but in my area foils start at $60 and Balayage highlights start at $115. This doesn’t bother me – yes, foils are less costly but the trade off (in my eyes) is that foils to look too, “obvious,” and chunky.
Do you color your hair at all? Have you given Balayage highlights a try? Would you?