40 Balayage Hair Color Inspiration to Lighten Up Your Look
You'll look sun-kissed without even stepping on the beach.
Whether you want your highlights to be subtle or strong, balayage hair color is a timeless technique that delivers gorgeous results. It's not featured in Merriam-Webster, but we do know that it's French for "to sweep or paint." More specifically, it describes the trendy method in which professional hairstylists weave in highlights. Forget the old school method of foils and stripey highlights. With balayage, your hairstylist will freehand strokes for a more natural, sun-kissed result. So you can say that the sun's rays did all the work for you, because is looks that effortless.
These are subtle, so if you're hoping for a more severe change, this might not be the proper hair dyeing method for you. The balayage hair color is typically seen on brunettes who want to lighten up their look, but blondes and redheads have joined in on the trend too. Perfect for summer, or really any time of the year, you'll feel lighter and even more radiant with these beautiful hairstyles. Take inspiration from famous beauties like Beyoncé, Gina Rodriguez, and more before heading to the salon to lighten up your hair color. And then, go forth and live your best French girl life with your balayage hair color.
Blonde "Money Piece"
All over Instagram and Pinterest, the "money piece" (gorgeously worn on the inimitable Beyoncé, is widely-known as a face-framing highlight placed at the front of your hairstyle.
Specks of Gold
Gina Rodriguez's latest hairstyle change has us wanting to book our balayage appointments ASAP. You'll notice how her stylist made bright blonde highlights look oh-so-subtle by painting them in thin strokes toward the front and ends of her hair.
Hot Chocolate
The lob is so on-trend right now, and so are Selena Gomez's soft dark brown highlights. You can hardly see them, but when it hits the light, you can spot the natural perfection.
Brilliant Blonde
Even the Duggars are getting in on the trend! People are loving Jinger Duggar Vuolo's major hair color change, and her brunette-to-blonde transition happened with the help of balayage.
Burnt Caramel
Always a hair inspiration, Lea Michele opted for a balayage hair color that made her highlights just a shade lighter and warmer than her dark brown hair.
Honey
Gisele Bundchen's luscious supermodel waves are packed with highlights, lowlights, ombré, and basically every other balayage technique. The result? A stunning caramel hue.
Painted Red and Brown
Actress Mindy Kaling followed a more subtle approach by lightening her dark brown locks with crimson and light brown highlights.
Bronde
See? Even people with lighter hair colors can follow this technique. To add depth to her blonde look, January Jones has a blend of light brown and light blonde streaks throughout her hair.
Darker Underneath
For an edgy yet subtle contrast, ask your colorist to not only give you warm highlights on your top layers, but to darken your bottom layers, like Mandy Moore has done.
Sun-Kissed Blonde
For the most natural-looking dirty blonde shade á la Jen Aniston, ask your stylist for highlights and lowlights throughout your hair.
Flashes of Brightness
Even hair as dark as Vanessa Williams's can benefit from a few well-placed highlights. Don't be afraid to ask for a noticeably lighter color!
Delicate Sombré
A slight graduation from deep brown to golden brown gives your hair a natural-looking lightness like Lucy Hale's.
Buttery Blonde
Painting streaks of golden and buttery hues throughout the hair offers blondes a Blake Lively-inspired look.
Color-Melted Caramel
Kathryn Hahn's varying shades of medium brown are so seamless, it was likely done via color-melting, a technique used on top of balayage.
Revved Up Red
A realistic red color looks even more dimensional with the addition of strawberry blonde highlights, like those on Bryce Dallas Howard.
Toffee Ombré
To add radiance to deep brown locks, copy Jessica Biel and ask your stylist for toffee streaks throughout your hair, focusing on the ends.
Peek-a-Boo Streaks
Jenna Dewan's sporadic and significantly lighter strands let her maintain her intense dark brown while enjoying the dimension highlighting creates.
Skin-Brightening Blonde
Catherine O'Hara's flattering mix of blonde shades not only helps her complexion glow, they're the perfect hues for intentionally growing in some gray.
Auburn Lob
Kat Graham's hair is the perfect example of just how subtle yet impactful balayage can be. Her highlights are a deep auburn that's only a teensy bit lighter than her dark brown base color, but it makes her lob even more interesting.
Subtle Chestnut
The beauty of balayage is that it can be so subtle, you barely see shift in shades between the highlights and the base color, as seen here on Alexis Bledel.
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