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Bowlayage: What Is It and When to Use It

Why these colorists head to the shampoo bowl to get the results they want in less time.

Anne Moratto
Anne MorattoDirector of Brand Content Strategy, MODERN SALON and NAILS
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October 16, 2019
Bowlayage: What Is It and When to Use It

#processingporn

@meg.rey

2 min to read




Balayage at the bowl equals “bowlayage” and these colorists think spending that time at the bowl is super for many reasons. 

Daniel Mason Jones, a L’Oreal Professionnel Pro Artist and owner of Muse Salon, had a client who wanted a single process retouch.  At the end of her service, when she'd already been dried and styled, she asked for some highlights. Not one to say, “No”, Jones asked his associate to do a gentle cleanse and remove color and product. Then he painted highlights on her wet hair, at the bowl (using Multi-Techniques Lightener by L’Oreal Professionnel and 40 volume plus 5 milliliters of Smart Bond). “Why do I paint damp hair?” Jones says in the video above. “Because when damp, the hair swells and that makes it easier and faster for the color to absorb.” Bowlayage helped him get to blonde, faster.

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These colorists would agree that it's both a time-saver and also creatively, a lot of fun!

@yaradoeshair “It’s a perfect way to refresh your client's balayage, in half of the time... until their next balay appointment! Pro tip: Add a little conditioner to the ends of each one of your balay sections to make sure it sticks to your shampoo bowl.”

@kristen.adalia “There’s something so artistic about ‘Bowl-ayage’ 😍 It's one of my favorite techniques for many reasons. It's the perfect way to gently ‘push’ your already balayaged pieces, brighten up pre-lightened pieces from previous sessions, and obviously, to feel like an artistic genius when you have your tentacle-like blonde locks strategically fanned out across the sink.”

@sussyxos “Do you want to be more blonde?😏There are many techniques to approach blondes. In this case I chose to apply 10VOL on her ends on wet hair. She was already a level 8/9. It was a little dull so all she really needed was a little push🤗 I NEVER use more than 10vol. Why? Because peroxide will lift no matter what volume is used, just at their own pace. The lower the developer, the better the ends will feel, the less hair they will lose. I also don't have to worry about the lightener drying out or reapplying since the hair is wet it will continue to lift🙃.”

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