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SEARCHGet ready—there’s a new hair color technique that’s taking the beauty industry by storm and it’s called “babylights.”The term can be added to the ongoing list of highlighting techniques like splashlights, ...
Get ready—there’s a new hair color technique that’s taking the beauty industry by storm and it’s called “babylights.”
The term can be added to the ongoing list of highlighting techniques like splashlights, balayage, ombre and sombre, but this one differs dramatically from the rest.
Babylights are delicate highlights created using a very fine hair color technique to mimic the subtle, dimensional hair color seen on children’s hair. "My clients often bring in photos of their children for inspiration, asking me to make their color look that fresh and natural. The result is subtle but beautiful,” says Warren-Tricomi Salon’s Joel Warren, master colorist and co-founder.
The application process: According to Warren, “The application process is very similar to highlights, the difference is the amount of hair in each foil and the separation between. For babylights, you use just a little bit of hair and create small sperarations between foils so the highlights blend with the base color.”
Babylights are low-maintenance: Just like the ombre hair color trend, babylights are low-maintenance for clients. Since the highlights are so fine, as the hair grows out the overall style looks softer, more subtle, and there is no heavy line of demarcation. “Maintenance for babylighting is similar to any highlighting system,” says Tomy Biton, owner of Tomy B Salon. “A full head should be touched up every eight weeks and sporadic pieces can be touched up 12-14 weeks.”
Babylights can be applied to any haircolor or hair type: “The process can be done in any shade to match any skin tone,” says Biton. “While the effects on blondes are fabulous, brunettes and redheads can have fun with highlighting and babylighting as well.”
The service itself is very time-consuming: Hair colorists watch out—this service takes a lot of time so you may want to re-evaluate your prices. “The process is simple, but it’s time-consuming,” says Hair Salon Camarillo.” You are separating hair into itsy-bitsy sections, then applying hair color to small groups of strands for more than an hour.” It’s not necessarily a new technique, but it involves only painting a few strands at a time – which takes time."
Pricing: Jack Howard of London’s Neville Hair & Beauty Salon justifies his salon’s price at £340 (about $550) based upon application time. For a full head, he says, it takes him approximately an hour and 15 minutes.
We want to know! Do you have the babylights service at your salon? Are you seeing a lot of people requesting this trend? Let us know on MODERN's Facebook!
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