The Braided Balyage is a creative coloring and highlighting technique that Samantha “Bee Sam” Borenheim, a master colorist out of Vancouver, WA, says offers a clients a unique way to experience a color service while also mixing it up a little for colorists.
Performing the Braided Balayage produces a melted colored hair look that appears blended with no visible lines of demarcation. Instead of highlighting and lowlighting the whole head, section by section, with color and lightener, with this technique the colorist is weaving first, then applying color and lightener after a root base color is applied.
The Braided Balayage can also be combined with other hair coloring techniques for an even more customized hair look. One example of this may be combining the Braided Balayage technique with face framing highlights, for instance.
“With the braided balayage, unique placement of intertwining hair mimics a woven basket which makes the outcome a flawless blended melting of colors that is multi-dimensional.” says Borenheim, owner of Bee Sam Beauty. “With the braided balayage it grows out beautifully and naturally which means you don’t get a regrowth lines and you can wear it for longer between salon visits."
"I always give a thorough consultation with clients before each Braided Balayage journey begins," Borenheim says. "I explain to them that with a regular balayage, you are going to get a sun-kissed look, but with a braided balayage, the process is a bit flipped, creating the opposite effect of contrast and depth.”
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