Beauty Haul: How To Maintain Balayage for Sun Kissed Hair

“I love brass… in my house, not your hair,” says celebrity hair stylist Kristin Ess.

Preach! I’ve struggled to fight off brassy hair for years, especially after balayage treatments.

Bala-what?

Balayage is a French word that means ‘to sweep.’ In the popular technique, the dye is swept or painted onto sections of your hair in a freehand manner. Sections are separated with cellophane, rather than foil.

This particular method of hair coloring yields very gradual, natural looking highlights. And, once your hair grows out, the contrast between the roots and dye is much more subtle. Win-win.

I like balayage because it mimics the sun kissed hair from days spent in the sun during my childhood. However, the downside is that if I’m not careful, my hair will turn rather brassy. Yikes!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with brassy hair, it’s that dreaded orange tone that appears after the hair has been dyed, processed, and highlighted.

Why does this happen? Hair color is made up of balanced molecules and when they are not in balance, the warm undertones will begin to show. This holds true for all hair colors, see the chart below!

I range between light brown and lightest brown, meaning the primary contributing pigment is red-orange or orange.

My hair tends to get brassy when:
– I use a shampoo full of sulfates and other harmful chemicals
– I spend a day at the beach without a hat or hair protection (which is why I have hair SPF, see below!)
– The dye begins to fade

Even if my hair gets brassy, I know I can count on purple shampoo to correct the hair color.

Why purple shampoo!?
Purple is opposite of yellow on the color wheel, so the longer you leave it in your hair, the more it will balance out the warm tones.

If you’ve never used purple shampoo before, I would start with once a week and increase use as needed. It is highly drying, so you’ll also want a good conditioner or mask to follow the treatment.

I’ve tried a ton of different purple shampoos and it’s been difficult to settle on one that meets the following criteria:
– Affordable
– Accessible
– No sulfates, parabens, or chemical smell

FINALLY, Kristin Ess came out with a purple shampoo and it did not disappoint. It’s only $12, which is under half the cost of other varieties I’ve tried. Also, it has no sulfates, parabens, or aluminum. There is no chemical smell AND, lastly, it’s available at Target. Easy peasy.

Below, I included Kristin Ess’ purple shampoo, as well as the other products I swear by! A couple standouts include Klorane’s non-aerosol dry shampoo and a great hair SPF by SunBum! I hope you try these products and love them as much as I do!