Balay-what?

Even if you’ve never heard of balayage, you’ve probably seen it on your favorite celebrity and not realized it. Balayage (it rhymes with “massage”) is a certain way of highlighting hair. Unlike foil highlights, balayage highlights are painted on free-form. Color is darker near the roots and gradually brightens toward the ends, mimicking the way hair lightens in the sun. It’s a quick technique that can take about half as long as traditional highlights. It may be applied to a whole head or just a few strategically placed strands. And the results are so natural, no one has to know they came from your salon colorist. Need proof? Check out Amy. Her warm brown color was flat and one-dimensional until Regis Artistic Director Renee Herskovitz worked balayage magic, painting highlights through Amy’s collarbone length locks. And the result? “Color with a soft, flowing, natural look,” Herskovitz says. No wonder balayage is so popular.

Before

An overgrown cut had left Amy’s fine hair limp and lifeless. Regis Artistic Director Kat Carey gave Amy a trim, then worked a quarter-size drop of Regis DESIGNLINE Soft Sculpting Glaze through damp locks for light, non-sticky hold. After blow-drying, Carey curled sections of hair vertically with a curling iron. For a more modern-looking result, Carey started curling at the center of each section, not at the roots, and left the ends uncurled.

Balayage All-Stars

Three Ways to Do It

SHYLIGHTS – Penelope Cruz
Even when it’s dramatic, balayage still looks natural. The Spanish star’s coppery streaks are subtle, not stripey.

HALO EFFECT – Victoria Beckham
“Posh” spices up her dark pixie with a face framing auburn glow that makes her hair appear to be lit from above.

SHORE THING – Gisele
With her artfully blended blond, the supermodel looks as if she’s been frolicking by the sea, not in the salon chair.

CREDITS, LEFT: WARDROBE STYLIST: SARAH SHIRLEY; MAKEUP ARTIST: ANGIE PARKER/RAY BROWN PRODUCTIONS; MANICURIST: NAUSIL ZAHEER/MARK EDWARD INC.; INSET PHOTOS: BEFORE, DAMON LARSEN; GETTY IMAGES(3)