What is reverse balayage? We take a close look at the trendy hairstyle for blondes

By now we can say with great certainty that every woman has heard of the term “Balayage” or “French Balayage” or even tried it on her own hair. No wonder too! It is a well-known dyeing technique from the 70’s that is still extremely popular and trendy today. Recently, a whole new trend has emerged, but it is not yet widespread. Not many barbers offer it either, at least not under its current name. The fresh trend is called “reverse balayage” and, as you can probably guess, completely turns the classic French technique on its head. If you want to learn more about it, then just read on! In today’s article we take a closer look at the trend hairstyle “reverse balayage” and answer all your questions.

Natural looking and chic

French Balayage vs Reverse Balayage – What’s the Difference?

Balayage is a French freehand hair coloring technique in which the hairstylist applies bleach or color to individual strands using sweeping motions of the brush. He first forms a feathery V with just a little product, then increases the amount as he runs down the strand of hair. This way, the ends of the hair are the most saturated with bleach or color and absorb it the most. Once worked, the strand of hair must not touch another strand, so a strip is usually placed in between to keep them separate.

Is this perhaps the difference between French Balayage and Reverse Balayage? No, actually not! Both hair coloring techniques do not differ from each other in the procedure. If a hairdresser can master traditional balayage, then they can master reverse balayage in no time. The real difference between the two trends is to be found elsewhere, namely in the colors chosen.

This hair coloring technique provides lots of extra volume

The lowlights look particularly pretty with naturally wavy hair or beach waves

Reverse balayage – a natural solution for blonde women

With a traditional balayage, the stylist first analyzes your current or natural hair color, then creates a custom color blend that’s just a shade or two lighter. keyword “lighter”. If your natural hair is already blond, then it can hardly benefit from additional lightening. The most important main goal of the balayage technique is to achieve a natural-looking end effect. While blonde hair with white, silver, or platinum highlights looks pretty, it doesn’t look particularly authentic or natural.

This is where reverse balayage comes into play. Instead of painting highlights in the already light hair, your hairstylist then uses lowlights. He mixes colors that are just a shade or two darker than your natural blonde. Warm tones such as strawberry blonde, amber, honey, caramel, nude and even copper blonde are popular. The right choice depends entirely on your natural hair color.

Blonde without contrast? Try reverse balayage!

Advantages of the new trend hairstyle for blondes

The best thing about reverse balayage is that it retains all the benefits of traditional balayage. It ensures a natural-looking color gradient and gives you a new, fresh look that is not overwhelming. The darker lowlights also bring a lot of dimension and depth, which immediately make the hair appear more voluminous. Reverse balayage is therefore also ideal for blondes with thin hair.

Another great benefit of reverse balayage is that it is just as durable as the classic French technique. As your natural hair color gradually grows back, you won’t see a clear color dividing line with this trendy hairstyle. The color gradient looks very authentic and can even resemble an ombre from a certain point on. Exactly this phenomenon was also discovered by the official inventor of the reverse balayage coloring technique.

It all started with an Instagram post from Deryn Daniels, hairstylist at Chrome Salon in Evergreen, Colorado. Pictured is a blonde client with the world’s first official reverse balayage. The headline “In a world full of blonde balayage, be a reverse” then quickly began circulating in the hair trend world.

The post became trending almost overnight

The trend hairstyle can also be used on gray hair

Maintaining reverse balayage properly

Traditional balayage uses bleach to lighten darker hair and create highlights. This procedure can be very damaging to the hair follicles, especially if your hair is naturally thin or dry. After bleaching, hair does not hold up well to new colors and requires extensive maintenance to look healthy again.

Since reverse balayage uses darker shades, the bleaching procedure is skipped entirely. Therefore, your hair care routine will also look much easier. All you have to do is use a good Color Protectant Shampoo and Conditioner instead of your usual products. Make sure they don’t contain sulfates, parabens, or silicones.

Hairstylists also advise against using hot styling tools as they can cause your colors to fade faster. If you still want to curl and wave your hair, try alternative methods. You can read more about gentle, no-heat techniques in our dedicated article on the subject here.

Reverse balayage is the latest trend aimed specifically at blondes. If you want to freshen up your hairstyle in a gentle way, then try lowlights.