Balayage vs. Ombre: Are They Different?

If you experiment with your hair quite often, you may have certainly stumbled across the terms ‘balayage’ and ‘ombre’. Both trends have emerged as game-changers in the hair-styling industry. From Selena Gomez and Natalie Portman, to Jessica Alba and Rihanna, many Hollywood celebs have flaunted their tresses after giving a shot to these trends. As the world goes gaga over balayage and ombre, there’s still a large segment of gorgeous women who find it difficult to differentiate between the two. And why not? After all, both these styles look oddly similar.

So, if you are looking to style your hair and are confused between balayage and ombre, don’t worry, we’re here to help you out. Here’s everything you would want to know about these hair trends as well as the difference between balayage and ombre.

What is Balayage?

Balayage is a hair colouring technique that helps you achieve that dreamy, sun-kissed hair you’ve always longed for. The word ‘balayage’ is derived from the French word that means ‘to sweep’ or ‘to paint’. Balayage is all about how the hair colour is applied to your hair. The hair colour is painted onto sections of your hair to give it highlights that are a few shades lighter than your natural hair colour. With balayage, the same colour is swept along the lengths of the hair, allowing it to fade in saturation gradually. Therefore, the transition between dark and light will be more natural-looking.

What is Ombre?

Unlike balayage, ombre is a gradient of colour and not a technique. The balayage hair dye technique is used to achieve ombre. Ombre is the French word for ‘shadow’. In case of ombre, the transition from deeper roots to light ends is sharper. If you opt for ombre, all your ends will be lightened, and the colour will begin lower on the hair shaft. Ombre results are more obvious as compared to natural-looking balayage hair.

Read on to know what’s the difference between ombre and balayage:

Balayage vs. Ombre

• Balayage is a hair dye technique, whereas ombre is more of a colour gradient.
• With ombre, the lightener is placed horizontally with full saturation and then blended upward to the roots of the hair. On the other hand, balayage is done by taking smaller sections and colour is painted onto the surface of the hair in a vertical fashion.
• Depending upon the look you want, you can either opt for balayage or ombre. Moreover, both balayage and ombre can be used together on any hair colour. The good news is that both results are pretty low maintenance.

When you colour your hair, you must take extra precaution to ensure that it remains healthy and its colour is maintained. Moving ahead, we’ll have a look at a few tips that can help you take care of your coloured hair in a better way.

Tips To Take Care of Coloured Hair

• Do not over-wash your hair. The more you wash your hair, the quicker your hair colour may fade away.
• Keep your hair protected from pollution and avoid prolonged exposure to the sun.
• Refrain from using hot water to wash your hair.
• Avoid using chemical-laden haircare products. It is best to use sulphate-free shampoos and conditioners that are safe for colour-treated hair.

You can consider using the following sulphate-free and colour-safe shampoos and conditioners from Godrej Professional to keep your hair healthy and glossy.

• Keracare Repair Shampoo
• Keracare Recharge Shampoo
• Keracare Repair Mask
• Keracare Recharge Conditioner

Also, to protect the sheen of your hair, you can use Godrej Professional Protect Shine Serum, Acai Oil, and Nourish Shine Argan Oil. Lastly, make sure that your hair is protected as it is essential for achieving and maintaining the colour.

We hope that this article has helped you get a fair understanding of ombre vs balayage and how to care for your colour-treated hair.