Why Is Balayage So Expensive? (Top 7 Reasons)

Life is way too short to have boring, colorless hair.

They say, if you can’t change your surroundings, change your hair color to bring some rhythm! 

A lot of people love to play with the colors of their hair, demanding it somehow changes their state of mind as well.

From ancient Egypt to modern-day European countries, hair color has been a persistent element of the beauty industry.

With the growth of history, its methods have been furnished and updated a lot but the interest of people in it hasn’t diminished a bit. 

In the world of hair dyeing which might feel like a tinderbox today, we’ll be covering Balayage.

Taken from the French word for “sweeping” Balayage is a freehand dyeing procedure, created by Dessange Paris in France in the early 1970s. 

Reasons for being expensive

Debatably, Balayage is one of the most-requested color services accessible and in vogue for quite a long time.

This is quite a pricey method as well.

On account of manifold factors, the price seems to be very ridiculous.

We are going to find out the factors:

Uniqueness

A unique way of hair dyeing that requires freehand expertise without any meche or foil being used to create highlights.

Balayage involves the use of brushes in coloring hair by hand-painting sections against a backing board.

It is totally different from other forms of hair painting.

The way it is done has become very popular among common people along with celebrities more than ever mostly in 2017 with many more options than before. 

The balayage method is employed with extreme care and gives a perfect look to your hair, unlike highlights or ombre.

This procedure is expensive for its remarkable individuality in the first place. 

Experienced Colorist

Another reason for balayage to be high priced is, the kind of proficiency and experience this procedure requires.

Salon masters who are quite adept and have deep knowledge in balayage are always more in demand.

Some might have attended courses and earned certificates from famous hair color academies or worked under experts as apprentices.

So, it’s natural that they are going to charge more depending on their skills and assignments.

Also, this technique comes out best when done with proper professional care.

As a result, expert colorists ultimately raise the cost more than ever. 

One more thing to consider here is that salons or parlors in different places charge according to the living standards of local people.

Hair Benefits

As much as balayage is protective of the hair, it is worth the price.

Customers often return after a few months to give their feedback on balayage and stylists find it amusing how their hair grows naturally mimicking the pattern of lightness with reduced damage and low maintenance. 

The traditional foil technique of applying color often leaves the hair in unsteady health which applies heat to set the color.

On the contrary, because of less procedure on the scalp, Balayage offers silkier and less dry, brassy, over-processed hair.

This also helps pregnant women and people with allergies to do their favorite hair color safely. 

Natural Look

Another remarkable thing is balayage offers sun-kissed, innate-looking hair color, with smooth, less-evident regrowth, unlike other techniques.

It gives the hair such a lively look creating a natural finish that it has become the hottest trend irrespective of its high price.

Your hair’s going to look like you have been living a life of comfort, relaxing throughout the way while playing in the sun.

This method helps someone develop an outstanding look bringing what’s exciting about them to the forefront. 

Variation

In this French hair painting method, the highlights are painted on by colorists instead of using foils that don’t involve completely saturating your hair in bleach.

As per your wish, you can create a fancy ombre look because balayage highlights can be made soft or strong according to your choice. 

There’s always space for creativity to play with color shades.

If the color is feathered slightly at the root and the finishes are drenched with color, it gives you a posh and shiny look.

With “ponytail lights”, Balayage is placed underneath the hair in a way that when they wear it up in a pony, gives a one-dimensional color.

Colorists often aim to give a natural look so they place highlights that fit your face, praise your normal hair color adding depth to your look, outlining more focus there. 

With balayage, you can avoid the harsh contrast between colors.

Be it multi-tonal, a few small highlights, or layered balayage babylights, you can rest your hair for longer periods until your next appointment.

Less Maintenance

As balayage is made to stay for a while, it needs comparatively less maintenance than the typical coloring methods.

Varying from person to person some clients explored that they needed to come to the colorist only two times a year.

Especially if you are up for adding a touch of extra warmth you wouldn’t need much to do for the maintenance part.

The color grows out majestically without any strong regrowth lines.

Colorists’ advice, going for a baby light helps to make your balayage last as long as possible. 

Dateless

Last but not the least, Balayage is timeless which makes it a very costly hair dyeing technique.

Its growing popularity among youth to old people creates a massive demand among hair stylists. 

People want to have customized looks that shift from regular color placement procedures.

This claims more creativity, effort, and thought on individual placements.

The capacity to tailor the color effect makes it undying.

From random models to A-listers, the red carpets and catwalks are loaded with women nailing their hair with balayage highlights.

This has to be an expensive one, right? 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Balayage worth it?

Though balayage might seem like an Instagram trend its origin can be traced back to the ’70s.

Over the years this technique has been perfected that can assist all kinds of hair and features quite safe when done by a professional.

Furthermore, unlike the highlights, balayage doesn’t demand hundreds of dollars for the proper maintenance.

So balayage is worth the expenses.

How much should I pay for a balayage? 

Depending on hair growth and length, the cost for balayage also varies.

The regular range of normal balayage highlights for short hair starts from $70 for slight coverage on short hair.

Coloring a full head of long hair in numerous shades might cost around $150 to $200.

Based on the expertise of individual hairstylists, their voluptuous salons, and other factors the cost might increase to around $250. 

How long does a balayage last?

The good news here, laggers! Keeping a vivid look of sun-kissed natural hair, balayage goes a long way, highlights tend to last around 3.5 to 4 months before going through any touch-ups.

Unlike foils, with balayage you need not visit your colorist every six weeks, rather you can double the time. 

How to save money on balayage?

As the balayage hair coloring technique is quite pricey, enthusiasts with a lower budget go for partial balayage which is a similar process of full balayage but here highlights are added onto only one area of your hair.

Basically, it’s applied around the face or on the higher coating of your mane focusing on the ends.

People who don’t want an extreme change of hair color often choose partial balayage.

This is also a way to save money as a full one needs more visits to the stylists and a partial one will cost $120 at best. 

Why is balayage more expensive than highlights? 

Highlights don’t look as natural as balayage looks.

With highlights, regrowth lines are more noticeable, less delicate.

Moreover, foil-made highlights leave a rustic and rough line within natural hair color and the color of your creativity, while they grow out. 

Top of all, balayage is something that needs highly skilled colorists to do the job nicely.

It is a much more visual technique leaving an option for the colorists to customize your patterns that too quickly from traditional foils.

It’s not the same for highlights.

Hence, balayage is more expensive. 

What lasts longer highlights or balayage? 

According to experts, using highlights means you need to come back to your salon between 6-8 weeks.

On the other hand, balayage requires a touch-up not before 3 to 4 months.

So, it lasts longer than highlights.

What lasts longer ombre or balayage? 

The French word ombre means “to shade”.

It refers to a dip-dye effect in which hair perfectly promotes from gloomiest to light. 

Balayage and ombre are frequently used as alternates and their major difference is that one is a technique while the other is a gradient of color.

To be precise, while balayage can give different shades throughout the hair on its own, ombre needs balayage technique in order to create a color contrast.

 As a result, ombre lasts longer than balayage, which is about 4 to 5 months.

If you don’t overwash your hair and use sulfate-free shampoos, it might last longer. 

What lasts longer foils or balayage? 

Like balayage foil is another way of hair dyeing that involves thicker or thinner sectioning of the hair before using the product.

Then the hair is absorbed in foil for further processing. 

This whole procedure takes longer than balayage but lasts less than that.

While balayage stays ravishing for 4 months, clients with foiled hair need to come to their stylists within 6 to 8 weeks to preserve their look.  

Balayage Alternatives

There are alternative ways to do hair painting other than applying balayage.

The most common ones are-  Foils, Highlights, and Ombre. 

Conclusion

Different shades of colors, no matter wherever you decide to put them on, are always fun to experiment with.

Those who love hair dyeing try to break away from classic colors for a brand new look.

Based on people’s skin tone, comfort and personality, there is room available for everyone to blend the combinations of various shades.

For creative results, nothing can be as good as balayage. 

This article attempted to explore the reason behind balayage being so expensive along with its worth.

If lately, your eyes are on flaunting something new with the long, smooth hair you own, go for it if your wallet permits!