Today, when we have so many hair styling and coloring options, two of them are still people’s favorites: balayage and highlights. But very often, when people go to the best salons in NYC, they suffer from confusion in choosing between the two. But do not worry as today, we will help you out by differentiating both balayage and highlights.
What is balayage?
On going to the salon known for its best balayage in NYC, you will get a hand painting color on your hair. So eventually if you are someone who is looking for a natural, sun-kissed effect, you can prefer going for balayage. Do you have questions on whether this technique involves use of foils or caps? So, it’s a very big no. The professional freely paints your hair in this technique and you get a gradual and seamless color.
What are highlights?
As the name itself clarifies very well, this process involves highlighting your hair by sectioning off its parts. Unlike balayage, yes, foils and caps are used to give highlights to your hair. Why? Because this technique is somewhat different from free-hand painting. It involves a more precise application, that’s why the professionals prefer using foils or caps to make sure that the highlights go on the desired locations perfectly.
Now let us focus on the major differences between the two techniques so that you can make informed decisions when you step into the hair salon East Village.
Application process: Freehand vs. Structured
First of all, the differences start from the very basic application process of both techniques. In balayage, the hair expert will give a free hand painting on your hair without the use of any foils. The free hand is used to give a natural look to your hair. Ultimately, you get a personalized and less uniform look when you go for the best balayage NYC. You can also understand balayage as something creative being done on your hair that will not alter the natural state of your hair.
On the other hand, the application process of highlights is more about applying the products precisely. Why? Here it is not going to give you a natural look, but the main focus is on highlighting your hair and making sure that the ends get a feathered look. To make sure that everything goes precisely and perfectly, the professionals from the best hair color salon in NYC prefer using foils or caps. In the end, you will get a more uniform and dramatic look by getting highlights on your hair.
Maintenance: High Upkeep vs. Low
If we are differentiating between balayage and highlights, it is very important to consider their maintenance points.
If you ever go to the hair salon East Village, before choosing highlights directly, be informed that they will require you to go for frequent maintenance to the salon. Why? Because the application process has itself been about very precise technique, you need to be very careful with highlights. Especially if you have lightened the root section of your hair, the frequent maintenance is required otherwise the highlights will vanish away. Also, there is one more point to be noted that as your hair grows, the contrast that has been created between your natural hair and highlights will become very much noticeable that might not look good. So overall in the case of highlights, frequent maintenance is necessary.
On the other hand, talking about balayage, they are a lower maintenance option. Because the color has been applied to all the sections of your hair, you can go for less frequent touch-ups in comparison to highlights. The best balayage NYC will blend very seamlessly with your natural hair so that you can easily extend your period between salon visits.
Hair types and suitability
If you want to balayage or highlight from a hair color salon NYC, it is very important to consider your hair type. The former can go perfectly with so many hair types like wavy or curly hair. Because it is more of a hand-painted technique, it will increase the natural texture of your hair. So you can go for it if you have such a hair type.
Most importantly, if you are someone having longer hair, balayage will be a better option for you as compared to highlights because the gradual lightening that your hair will experience from balayage will give depth and dimension to your overall style. So what are you still waiting for? Get a balayage for your long hair today.
While highlights are also a considerable option for many hair types like straight hair or slightly wavy hair. No matter the hair type you have, you can build a striking effect with the help of highlights from the best hair salon in NYC.
Conclusion
In brief, there are noticeable differences between balayage and highlights. And if you ever get to make a decision between the two, make sure that you understand the pros and cons of both sides.