- Balayage lasts 4 months, approximately.
- The exact duration will depend on the color you choose for your balayage and aftercare and products you use on your hair.
- If you want your balayage to last as long as possible, you should reduce the frequency of washing your hair, use sulfate-free and mattifying shampoos, don’t abuse heat tools, and avoid chlorinated or salty water.
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Every hair process has an estimated duration. What does this mean?
Once you’ve had your balayage done, its duration will be entirely up to you: the care and effort you put into your hair.
It’s like it happens with almost everything in life: the more you take care of it, the longer it lasts.
I’ll explain it to you with an example that has nothing to do with hair.
Recently, I started looking at options for changing the floors in my salon.
I love floating floors, and I was informed that they would last 10 to 15 years.
However, when the installer visited me, I was a bit disappointed. Do you know why?
Because floating floors care includes not dragging furniture on it, avoiding liquids, and washing it every two weeks with a slightly damp cloth.
So, I realized that floating floors were not the best option for my salon. It’s impossible to ask every client not to drag the chairs around, liquids are spilled every two or three days, and obviously, we clean the floors every day.
The same thing happens with balayage. It lasts four months, but if you don’t take care of it, you´ll most likely have to return to the salon in less than two months.
Are you about to get a balayage, or have you just got one?
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Then, stay right there because I´ll tell you:
- How long balayage lasts
- 5 professional tips to make your balayage last longer
It´s your decision: that your balayage lasts at least four months or to return to the salon crying after two months.
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How long does balayage last?
Balayage is a coloring technique that mimics the natural wear and tear of hair. So, your roots will be darker, and the lengths and ends will be lighter.
To achieve it, you bleach your hair in the middle and ends without touching the roots, and that’s why it lasts so long. It’s a permanent change in the hair, meaning that your hair will lose its natural pigmentation because it has to be bleached.
Balayage lasts about 4 months, which will always depend on the color you’ve chosen, the growth of your hair, and how you care for it afterward.
Why does the color you chose impact the duration of the balayage?
Because a platinum balayage is not the same as a caramel balayage.
You see, the balayage technique is achieved by bleaching 75% of the lengths and ends of your hair. So:
- If you decided to get a balayage in chocolate shades, you´ll have to add pigmentation every 2 months.
- If you decided to get a balayage in caramel shades, you should add pigmentation every 3 months.
- If you chose to get balayage in very light shades such as platinum or extra light blonde, you should not go to the salon to have pigmentation added. Instead, you´ll only need to maintain your balayage with a purple shampoo so that the platinum shade does not fade.
In addition to those timings, there is another factor: hair growth speed and where you want the color to start wearing off.
When you get a balayage, the roots are not touched because 5 or 6 centimeters of roots are left out. If a complete touch-up of balayage is done every 4 months, you will have 10 to 15 centimeters of roots when you return to the salon because the hair grows at a rate of 1 and 1/2 centimeters to 2 per month.
- If you like balayage to start below the ears, you won’t need to renew it as often.
- If you prefer your balayage to begin after leaving a root of 3 centimeters, you´ll have to get a touch-up every two months.
Now you know how long a balayage can last according to your hair growth and the color you choose, but what about aftercare?
That’s what I’m talking about next.
5 professional tips to make your balayage last longer
Once you leave the salon with your new balayage, it all comes back to your hair beauty routine to make it last longer.
Take note so that time does not wear out your balayage.
1- Don’t wash your hair every day.
It’s basic! If you wash your hair daily, you´ll be eliminating color and moisture from your hair fiber. This will cause your hair to dry, break, and even fall out.
Hair with balayage should be washed every 48 or 72 hours I repeat: every 48 or 72 hours.
2- Use sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner.
All hair products contain sulfates, which are very corrosive chemicals that remove the color from the hair fiber.
If you want your balayage to last longer, you should use chemical-free shampoos and conditioners that don´t damage your bleached hair or remove color. Want names? Takedown notes!
- L’Oréal Ever Pure Repair
- Herbal Essence Honey & Vitamin B Set
- Love Beauty and Planet Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower Set [/su_list]
These are just a few examples, you can choose any shampoo and conditioner, as long as they are sulfate-free. Depending on where you live, you´ll probably get one or the other brand.
3- Don’t abuse the heat tools.
Both the flat iron and the curling iron, and even the hairdryer at very high temperatures, can damage the color of your balayage.
If you like to shape your hair in different ways, you should use coconut oil to protect your ends and lengths from heat. If you’re going to straighten or curl your hair, you can use serum or heat protection oils so that your hair doesn’t suffer as much.
Also, use these tools twice a week, at most.
4- Don’t expose your balayage to the pool or seawater.
Summer is the worst time for hair because of the sun, heat, and sea or swimming pool water wreak havoc on your balayage color and hair health.
If you plan to go to the beach, wear a hat or scarf to prevent your hair from being exposed to the sun for too many hours.
And if you’re swimming in a pool, protect your balayage with a swim cap so that the chlorine in the water doesn’t degrade the color.If your hair contacts seawater or pool water, rinse it with tap water or apply micellar water so that it doesn’t dry out and lose color.
5- Use shampoo to keep your blonde balayage away from unwanted colors.
You must use purple shampoo to avoid your hair to turn chicken yellow or orange. This will prevent your balayage from getting ruined. You should only use it two or three times a week.
I give you a list of some shampoos for blonde balayage::
- No Yellow Fanola
- Joico Balance Purple Shampoo
- Redken Color Extend Blondage
Conclusions
If you want your balayage to last a maximum of four months, it’s important that you use sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners, wash your hair less frequently, and don’t abuse heat tools.
And remember, if your balayage is done in platinum or blonde tones, it’s important to add a purple shampoo into your hair routine.