Balayage was made for curls—the hand-crafting technique allows you to enhance the movement of this hair texture with the eye of a painter. Here, balayage expert and L'Oréal Professionnel Artist, Nancy Braun, demonstrates her technique for adding lively balayage highlights to naturally curly hair.
STEPS
The model's hair before the balayage service.
Smooth the curls in preparation for the balayage service.
Create a radial parting ear to ear to divide the front from the back section.
Take large, triangular balayage sections of hair to create movement and drama on medium to thick curly textures. Hold the hair with tension to control flyaways. Keep in mind that curly hair requires more space between highlighted pieces.
TIP: If the hair is fine, take smaller sections and use a larger brush for better saturation.
Sweep Formula A along the length of the strand. Working from the occipital bone to the control point, create triple point or W-shaped balayage highlights in the first section; double point or V-shaped highlights in the second section and single point highlight pieces up until reaching the crown.
Use a brick layer placement to create a "staircase" effect. Fill in the empty spaces at your discretion, according to your artistic instincts.
TIP: Saturate the last 20 percent of each balayaged section on both sides for a brilliant splash of color through the mid-lengths and ends.
Work with bigger pieces around the face for maximum face-framing dimension. Process, remove and tone with Formula B.
The finished look. Balayage is an excellent technique for enhancing naturally curly hair.
