What Does Balayage Mean? A Guide to Balayage Highlights

What does balayage mean?

Balayage comes from the French verb balayer, which means ‘to sweep’ – the style originated in 1970s France and has made a big comeback in 2021. Balayage is a way of colouring hair that creates natural, flowing highlights throughout the hair to make it look sun-kissed, making it perfect as the weather begins to warm up.

On natural hair, it can be achieved with bleach and lightening agents that are carefully painted freehand – or ‘swept’– through different places in the hair. Some wigs offer balayage colour options as well, which means that anyone can rock this fabulous look.

Highlights and Ombré

Balayage differs from highlights primarily because it is much less uniform and doesn’t need to be so close to the root. Highlights are usually more pronounced and tonal than balayage. Balayage highlights tend to stay within a few tones of the natural hair colour to be more subtle.

By comparison, ombré is when the hair starts one tone towards the root and blends out into a different tone by the ends. Typically, ombré hair starts off dark at the root and blends into a much lighter tone by the tips, as you can see in the Touch wig from the Changes collection by Ellen Wille – the pictured colour is Candy Blonde Rooted. The hair is much darker towards the root, but the tips are a light, warm blonde.

How to Style Balayage Hair

With balayage highlights, you can never go wrong with gorgeously casual beachy waves to show off the different tones and movement.

Alternatively, a French braid is great for showing off the different shades while keeping all your hair in one place. If you’re wearing a wig, we recommend styling the braid in a way that doesn’t leave the hairline exposed as this may not look natural. 

If you aren’t sure how to style your balayage hair or you’d like to have your wig styled into an updo and aren’t sure how to go about it, you can always contact a wig stylist or hairdresser who has experience working with wigs. Or, if you’re looking to enhance your natural hair, using a pre-styled hairpiece is a great option.

Do Balayage Highlights Look Natural?

The short answer is yes! Balayage colours are designed to blend into the hair and subtly lift the colour without being too overt. Balayage highlights are perfect for wigs – the lack of uniformity (especially towards the root) means that this style gives the illusion that it’s in the process of growing out even when it’s not.

If you’re looking for an ideal balayage wig, our favourite is the Balayage Remy human hair wig by Gisela Mayer. It has a double monofilament and lace front for luxurious comfort and completely natural movement and is available in a range of blonde and brown balayage colours.

We hope you feel more confident in what balayage hair colour is and how balayage highlights can lift your look. For more style tips, why not check out our date night hairstyle ideas or some of our favourite short hair looks for summer?