Hair Colour Explained: Highlights or Balayage?
Highlights and balayage are two of the most popular ways to lighten and add dimension to hair — and they’re often confused. They can even look similar in the end result, but the techniques behind them are quite different, and so is the upkeep. Here’s an honest guide from the team at Wisteria Avenue in Abingdon to help you tell them apart and choose what suits you.
What highlights are
Highlights involve lightening selected sections of hair to add brightness, contrast and dimension. The stylist works through the hair in sections, usually using foils to separate and process the lightened pieces. This gives a precise, controlled result — and highlights are versatile: they can be fine and subtle, or bolder and more striking, depending on what you want. Because the colour is worked closer to the root, highlights give an even brightness throughout the hair.
What balayage is
Balayage is a colouring technique where lightness is painted through the hair in soft, sweeping sections — the word itself comes from the French for “to sweep”. Rather than starting at the root, the colour is concentrated more towards the mid-lengths and ends, creating a graduated, sun-kissed effect. It often doesn’t rely on foils in the same way highlights do. The defining feature of balayage is how naturally it’s blended.
The real difference: regrowth and upkeep
The most useful way to choose between them isn’t “subtle versus bold” — both can be either. It’s about regrowth and maintenance.
Because highlights are worked closer to the roots, regrowth becomes visible sooner, so highlights generally need refreshing more often to stay looking their best. Balayage, with its lightness concentrated lower down, grows out far more softly — there’s no obvious line of regrowth, which means longer gaps between appointments. So if low maintenance is a priority, balayage tends to win; if you love an all-over, consistently bright result and don’t mind more regular visits, highlights are a great choice.
Which should you choose?
It really comes down to the look you want and how much upkeep suits your life. Both can be tailored to your hair and skin tone, and both are lovely options — there’s no universally “better” one. If you’re also weighing up ombre, our post on the difference between balayage and ombre covers that comparison. And the honest best answer is always a consultation, where a stylist can look at your hair and tell you which technique will give you what you’re after.
Book a colour consultation in Abingdon
If you’d like help deciding between highlights and balayage, come and talk to us. Book in for a free, no-obligation colour consultation, read more about our highlights and balayage services, or see our price list for what’s involved.
