Eva Scrivo, of Eva Scrivo Salons, is known as the “Master of Balayage.” In addition to training numerous hair color and cutting experts within her own company, she has served as an elite educator and consultant for the industry's top color companies. Scrivo’s Advanced Academy color classes, held at her downtown NYC location, are regularly sold out and offer balayage certification, as well as an opportunity to join the Eva Scrivo Balayage Network – a community of hairstylists and colorists who are passionate about education and their careers. This network is not only a platform where industry professionals can continue to communicate with and learn from Academy educators including Scrivo herself, it also serves as a referral base for clients across the country to find experts who are certified in balayage by the Eva Scrivo Advanced Academy. (go to http://evascrivo.com/academy/)

MODERN caught up with Scrivo recently and learned that there are several misconceptions about hair painting that she is forced to regularly debunk.

Here she offers her response to the top 3 myths:

MYTH 1: BALAYAGE IS A “HOT NEW TREND":
“Balayage is a classic technique that originated in France and has been used by European colorists for decades. It’s translation from French is 'to sweep' and it was introduced to the U.S. around the 1970s and 80s by French hairdressers who began to open salons on Madison Avenue. Applications in highlighting have evolved in the range of effects that can be created, to where, in most cases, balayage can completely replace foils. With these expanded applications for balayage, as well as its beautiful effects and minimal stress on the hair, it has been recently gaining in popularity to where clients are now asking for it and seeking out colorists who are proficient with it. So while balayage is our preferred method for creating some of the latest trends in hair color, the technique itself has a rich history.”   

MYTH 2: YOU CAN'T GET A BRIGHT, CLEAR, COOL BLONDE WITH BALAYAGE:
“Oh yes you can! The key is to learn the science of removing pigment from the hair. It has to do with many factors: the product, the application, timing and rinsing, just to name a few. We teach 'blonde theory' in all of our classes and break down the chemistry of this classic French highlighting technique. In fact, 90% of your foil clients can be replaced with balayage. The results can range from a double process blonde with gentle root shading and sun-kissed natural highlights, to bright ‘Power Blondes,’ which is one of our most popular classes in the academy."

MYTH 3: BALAYAGE IS SIMPLY PAINTING THE HAIR WITH LIGHTENER:
“It takes YEARS to master this art form. There are so many nuances to balayage and by simply painting the hair without fully understanding the chemistry and the technical aspects behind factors such as placement, sectioning, processing time, and much more, can lead to marbleization, bleeding, spotting, or just getting stuck in the dreaded 'gold' range.
Many tend to underestimate its complexity and what can be achieved with balayage. It’s actually very versatile. You can produce an array of colors and tones without relying on glazing."