It's no secret that every head of hair that leaves your salon is a walking advertisement for your services. That's why Ryan Weeden, owner of Salon Spruce in La Jolla, California, thinks it's crucial to refresh clients' color in between their regularly-scheduled appointments.
"Balayage continues to look great over time, but most clients never love it as much as they did in the days that follow their first appointment," Weeden says. "It's our job to prolong that feeling by refreshing their look." Salon Spruce offers a touch-up service for balayage clients that they call "The Refresher," and, according to Weeden, it's a quick and easy service that's perfect for a mom on-the-go, a student in college, or anyone on a daily time crunch.
How-To:
- Starting on the sides, brighten up the hairline by adding one to two microlight foils (ultra-fine babylights). Weave the first along the hairline, then take a slice directly behind.
- Next, add one-two microlight foils on the top hairline followed by a third teased and painted foil to create a face frame.
- Process until you reach your desired level of lightness. Pro-tip: These babylight foils tend to lift very quickly, so Weeden recommends using a 10-volume developer or less and adding a bond protector for extra hair insurance.
- Once processed, shampoo out the lightener and apply a root shadow technique to soften any lines of demarcation that may have formed after any previous glazes or toners may have faded. A good rule of thumb for choosing a root shadow is using a Demi-permanent color, which will help to avoid creating lines, as well as picking a shade 1-2 levels lighter than the root. This is because your goal with a root shadow is to provide a middle, blend color for the roots to seamlessly melt into the brighter ends. Also, be sure to leave the front hairline out of your root shadow, for added brightness.
- Once the root shadow has processed, rinse and tone if necessary.
- Rinse, condition and style as desired.