Balayage at home - Garnier Balayage at home - Garnier

How to Balayage Hair at Home

It wasn’t long ago that people began flocking to salons for balayage highlights. Not only did they look natural and carefree, but it was also a low-maintenance option for stylish yet hectic lifestyles. As with many highlight styles, its popularity took another leap when DIY kits came out that made balayage hair at home an easy weeknight activity with striking salon-worthy results.

For anyone who has gotten balayage hair color done and/or wants to try it at home, here’s the ultimate step-by-step guide complete with product recommendations and pro tips. Also consult our complementary hair color techniques guide to brush up on best at-home color practices.

What is Balayage?

Parlez-vous balayage? Originally a French highlighting technique, the name means to give your hair “a sweep” of light. More literally, it’s a freehand application method where you randomly brush highlights onto your hair so they look totally natural. The ultimate in personal expression, balayage at home works for all hair types and colors, plus you get to decide the amount and intensity of your own blonde streaks.

Bonus points: unlike clearly defined foil highlights, you can never apply too much lightener with DIY balayage, plus dark roots won’t show as it grows out. That means the endless root re-highlighting cycle is over!

What Does Balayage Look Like?

What does balayage look like - Garnier

Balayage highlights softly flow with your hair because they seamlessly blend from the mid-lengths to the ends of your locks. Since these highlights create a low contrast with your base color, they add subtle depth and dimension that grows out gracefully. Speaking of colors, you don’t have to use a shade designated as a highlight. Some of the most popular shades for balayage hair are regular at-home hair dye colors like caramel, honey, and toffee that create different levels of contrast depending on the base color.

Garnier Balayage Hair Color

Our at-home kit for balayage highlights is formulated for base colors ranging from dark blonde to dark brown. For hair outside that scope, try nourishing Olia Highlights for Blondes if your hair is lighter or Olia Highlights for Brunettes on darker shades. For very dark brown or black hair, especially if it’s thick and/or coily, check out the three Caramelo Blondes. They can all be applied using the balayage technique.

Try an All-Over Base Color Before You Balayage

If your current hair color is uneven, faded or needs gray coverage, you can apply an all-over base color to create a consistent undertone. For best results, we recommend doing this one or two weeks before applying balayage hair color. Try our Shade Selector Tool to find the best Garnier shade for you.
Shade Selector Quiz

Shade Selector Quiz

Take our quiz to discover the perfect Garnier hair shades for you!

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What You Need for Balayage Hair at Home

Doing balayage at home is pretty simple, and you don’t need a ton of supplies. Here’s your checklist for prepping your DIY balayage:

  • Balayage kit: Nutrisse Ultra Color BY1 Ultra Balayage Kit (or other box color kit, see the Garnier Balayage Hair Color section above)
  • Inside the box: gloves, instructions, developer, dye, conditioner
  • Hair clips: plastic is the best option
  • Old towel or shirt you don’t mind staining
  • Mirror
  • Timer
  • Waterproof Micellar Water to remove any stains from skin

What you need for balayage hair at home - Garnier

How to DIY Balayage Your Hair

Balayage hair looks so great that many people think it’s a complicated process. But with the right tools and a little patience, even beginners find it a snap.

How to Maintain Balayage Hair

Maintaining your new highlights calls for regular use of balayage hair products to keep your highlights vibrant. They should be color-safe and free of sulfates that can dry out your hair and fade results.

Balayage hair care routine

Color Shield shampoo and conditioner are a specially formulated combo that protect and moisturize your new balayage for long-lasting shine. Our Whole Blends Argan Cranberry Color Care range also offers expert color care with Argan Cranberry shampoo and conditioner that revitalizes color-treated hair.

Balayage hair care routine - Garnier
Moisture for balayage hair - Garnier

Moisture boosts

Color-treated hair really benefits from the extra moisture of a leave-in conditioner like 10-in-1 Miracle Nectar or a weekly Honey Treasures mask to help maintain color after lightening.

Touching up your balayage hair

By design, balayage hair color is a carefree style that keeps looking good as it grows out. If you want to touch it up, we recommend redoing your DIY balayage every 8 to 12 weeks, depending on how natural the grow-out looks.

Touching up your balayage hair - Garnier
Balayage at Home FAQ
  • Yes, you can do balayage hair without bleaching first if you're only lifting your color one or two shades lighter, or if you’re hair has already been lightened. A relatively new and highly effective alternative to bleach is high-lift color that gives you subtle yet noticeable lightening.
  • DIY balayage hair typically lasts 3 to 4 months. This is longer than foil highlights because regrowth is less noticeable with this style. After about 6 weeks, you may want to revive the original shine, so try a gloss or toner refresh.
  • To choose the right balayage shade for your hair, consider your base color and then select a shade for balayage hair color that’s 2 to 3 levels lighter. Your best bet is to use our Shade Selector Tool to find your shade, and then see how it looks with the Garnier Virtual Try-On Tool.
  • The difference between balayage and highlights is mostly about the process and the look. Balayage hair uses a freehand application technique that’s blended and feathered for a low-maintenance look as it grows out. Traditional highlights are more structured because each lightened section is wrapped in individual pieces of foil for processing.
  • Balayage hair works best on all lengths, but you can achieve more dimension on medium and long hair. If you have a short cut or layers, try balayage at the tips or framing the lines of the cut itself.
  • A partial balayage is a technique of framing the face with a lighter shade painted on pieces flanking the head or just the top layer. It’s a great option for low-maintenance refreshes or when trying balayage for the first time.

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