How to Integrate Melted Lowlights and Balayage

Connecticut-based colorist Megan Moran is known for her beautiful blending techniques. When a recent client came in with overly processed hair and a harsh grow out, Moran knew she had to give the client a blend that was easier to maintain.

She turned to Schwarzkopf Professional's first multidimensional permanent hair color line, tbh—true, beautiful, honest, to get the job done.

“Not only is the line super easy to use, but the coverage is also impeccable,” Moran says. “My guests leave with hair that is so shiny and naturallooking that when they come back five weeks later, it still looks as good as when they left my chair.”

The line was inspired by the natural beauty, no-makeup “makeup” trend. The 26 shades are designed to illuminate hair’s natural highlights and lowlights and create shimmering powdery tones. The formula contains naturally derived grapeseed oil and has up to 50% less ammonia versus the Igora Royal line. Each shade works with Schwarzkopf’s Igora developer and can be used with the line-specific tone softener to refresh mid-lengths and ends without any perceivable color shift. The resultis color with the longevity of a permanent and the lived-in look of a demi.

"For this client, I knew I wanted to make her growout a little easier for her," she says. "I also knew I had to make her overall tone complement her skin complexion."

In this video, Moran demos how she used the line to give her client a more natural look:

 

 

How-To:

• Moran used tbh—true, beautiful, honest equal parts 8-06N & 8-56W with a 1:1 ratio using 6 volume to create lowlights and melt away her client's old foil lines.
• She wanted to lift those gold pieces a tad bit more, so she balayaged using the BlondeMe clay lightener with 20 volume.
• She started in the back, using a bricklay pattern to create a whole new placement. Ensuring her client's lowlights were complementary to her highlights and vice versa.
• She balayaged around her client's face to ensure she still felt like a blonde! She then created depth by utilizing the melt behind her accent piece so it would really stand out.
• Once everything processed for about 20 minutes, Moran rinsed her client's hair and then glossed her all over with equal parts 9-56w and 9-06N using a 1:1:1 ratio with the tone softener and 6 volume. She then left that on for about 6 minutes.