Balayage vs Ombre: What’s the Difference?

Balayage and ombre are two hair styles that are very popular these days. On the surface, both options can seem very similar. 

In many cases, balayage places color on your hair lower down than traditional highlights. Similarly, ombre hair focuses on adding an effect to the lower portion of your mane. There are other similarities too. Both options are trending hair styles that are extremely popular worldwide. 

They’re also both popular choices for people who want a new look with less maintenance, as they allow for more time to pass (and more hair to grow) between necessary touch-up sessions. 

Both options can even help to give you a more “natural” appearance than simply dying all of your hair or opting for highlights. But there are some key differences.

Here’s everything you need to know about balayage and ombre hair, and how you can make the right choice for yourself.

Balayage vs Ombre: What is a Balayage?

Balayage is a specialist hair coloring technique in which a stylist “hand paints” lightener or color directly onto your hair, leading to a more natural and blended result. The term “balayage” comes from the French term for “to sweep”. Stylists generally focus on the top layer of the hair to create a semi-gradient look, enabling longer, more natural transitions from darker to lighter colors. 

Compared to traditional highlights, balayage gives a much softer effect, and since the colors usually aren’t applied very close to the scalp, your new hair blends in seamlessly. That’s why balayage styles generally last much longer than traditional hair colors. 

Balayage is also highly customizable. With the right stylist you can use the technique to blend out unwanted hair colors (like greys), add points of light to darker or duller areas, or add volume. 

The biggest challenge with balayage is that it takes a true expert to ensure it’s done right. Simply applying color and lightener at random won’t deliver the right results. That means you’ll need to expect to spend a little longer in the salon, and a bit more money on a balayage treatment than you would with traditional highlights.

Balayage Pros and Cons

Pros

• Subtlety: Balayage usually allows for a more subtle look than ombre hair. 
• Low maintenance: As your hair grows out, it will blend naturally with your color, allowing for less maintenance. 
• Customization: Balayage can be easily customized to suit any hair goals. It’s also suitable for all kinds of hair colors and textures. 

Cons

• Cost: Balayage hair can be more expensive than some traditional highlighting and coloring options.
• Skill: You’ll need an expert with a lot of experience to get the right results.

Balayage vs Ombre: What is Ombre?

Ombre is more of an effect than a technique. It’s all about applying color to your hair that creates the illusion that your hair is gradually getting darker, or lighter. Usually, ombre hair starts with a dark shade at the roots, blended expertly into a mid-level shade in the middle, and a lighter shade at the end. However, you can also go in the opposite direction with a “reverse ombre” style. 

The focus with ombre hair is creating a dramatic contrast between the roots and the ends of your hair, without making your tresses look like they’re divided into specific “color blocks”. Again, this requires a significant level of skill – don’t expect to be able to achieve the same results at home. 

The effect is fantastic on people with any kind of skin tone and hair, and can be customized to suit your preferences. For instance, you could stick with your natural colors at your roots, if you want to avoid ongoing and expensive maintenance, or you could experiment with a rainbow of colors. It also works great for curly, wavy, or straight hair. 

Similar to balayage, Ombre requires a lot of work. It’s a fairly lengthy process, and usually requires more color than a standard set of highlights, so you can typically expect to pay a little more. It’s also more advisable for people with virgin or previously lightened hair. If you have existing permanent color on your hair already, this can cause issues with the effect.

Ombre Pros and Cons

Pros

• Unique look: An Ombre style creates a unique look with a lot of contrast, giving your hair amazing dimension.
• Flexibility: You can experiment with as many colors as you like, provided you have the right stylist and budget. 
• Maintenance: If you stick with natural colors at the roots, then you won’t need too many regular touch-ups. 

Cons

• Cost: Ombre hair can sometimes be even more expensive than balayage, depending on the number of colors. 
• Skill: You’ll still need a stylist with a lot of expertise to 
• Hair issues: If you have damaged hair, or you’ve used permanent dyes in the past, it might be harder to get the right effect.

Balayage vs Ombre Hair: Explaining the Differences

So, what’s the difference between balayage and ombre hair? Overall, the main difference is that balayage is all about giving your hair a naturally blended, highlighted look. Alternatively, ombre hair creates a lot more contrast between the roots and the ends of your hair. 

Both options give you an opportunity to add new colors and texture to your hair. However, balayage is more of a highlighting technique, whereas ombre is a coloring effect. 

Here’s a quick side by side comparison:

How to Choose Between Balayage and Ombre

So, how do you make the right choice? It all depends on what you’re looking for in the perfect hairstyle. If you’re struggling to make a decision, a stylist will be able to walk you through your options, and give you advice, so don’t be afraid to reach out. 

In the meantime, here are our top recommendations. 

Choose Balayage if…

You want a subtler, more natural look with lots of dimension and compelling dark and light areas. Balayage is great for all hair types, including curly hair, and wavy hair, but it might not be the right pick if you have very short hair, as it can be difficult to add a lot of dimension. 

Balayage is also a great pick if you want to blend out greys, and you’re interested in keeping your hair as healthy as possible. You can expose your hair to a lot less dye and chemicals if you work with the right stylist, making it a good pick for those with dry and damaged tresses. 

Choose Ombre if…

You want a dramatic, high-contrast look that might not seem quite as “natural”, but still looks fantastic. If you want something bold, but you don’t necessarily want to color your entire head of hair, or you want to experiment with a range of colors, Ombre is a good choice. 

If you do want to enjoy the low-maintenance benefits of ombre however, we recommend maintaining your “natural” color towards your roots, so everything looks a lot subtler when your hair starts to naturally grow out. 

Caring for Balayage and Ombre Hair

As mentioned above, both ombre and balayage hair can require less maintenance than other forms of coloring and highlighting. However, it’s still important to look after your hair. Make sure you ask your stylist for tips on how to keep your style looking fantastic for longer. 

Most of the time, they’ll apply a good treatment to your hair that helps to protect the structure of your hair during the coloring process, or give you tips on moisturizing treatments. If you choose specific tones (particularly lighter colors), then they may recommend using certain shampoos to preserve them. In most cases, you should avoid sulphates in shampoos as these can harm your color. 

Additionally, make sure you pay attention to your stylist’s recommendations during your initial consultation. If they don’t think balayage or ombre are right for your hair, then they can offer advice on other services to consider, such as traditional highlights and lowlights. 

The Final Verdict: Balayage and Ombre

So, balayage or ombre? Which will you pick for your next hair style? Both options are fantastic for giving your hair new life, depth, and dimension. Plus, with an expert stylist from PERFECT X HAIR, you can guarantee you’ll be able to customize your look to achieve exactly what you want. 

If you’re still struggling to make the right choice, contact our team for an initial consultation. All you need to do is share a few ideas with us, and we’ll be able to guide you the rest of the way.