Pronounced bah-lee-ahge or bah-lay-ahge, this technique means “to paint” in French and is beloved by celebrities like Jamie Chung for its sun-kissed, natural look with less noticeable regrowth lines. 

“Hair is carefully sectioned, following the line of your natural parting. Then, highlights are applied on selected sections by hand and brush, creating soft lines of colours from roots to ends for a most natural blend, dimension and texture,” explains Hairloom’s stylist Bosco Eng. “Balayage is best suited to medium and long hair, because that’s when the effect is most clearly seen.”

Trendy Colours: Beige brown, natural blonde and silver.

If you want a slimmer or more oval-shaped face, get an ombre. “It means ‘shaded’ or ‘shading’, and features dark roots that gradually get lighter from mid-shaft to the ends,” says Director John Tham of Salon Vim. 

“To get this ombre effect, opt for lighter hues from cheek down to create movement and elongate the face,” says John.

Trendy colours: Golden Blonde/Bronde

READ MORE: 10 Flattering Hairstyles And Cuts That Give You A Slimmer Face

Basically an updated ombre, “colour melting is a technique that blends highlights with a base color to reduce harsh lines [between the colours],” says John. “Multiple shades are used to create the ‘melted’ effect which helps to enhance your facial features.” 

Deeper tones are applied at the roots and gradually overlapped with lighter and lighter highlights to achieve a more seamless blend, as seen on celebs like Giant Pink and Hilary Duff.

Trendy colours: Ranging from dark silver to platinum shades of rose gold, soft pink and copper blonde.

Inspired by the face-sculpting makeup trend, hair colour contouring is the technique du jour. “It’s customised to define the individual’s face shape and enhance skin tone via a combination of various techniques, including the ones mentioned before,” notes John.

Colour contouring suits all hair lengths and face shapes, and the colours chosen vary depending on each person’s skin tone and face shape which will first be determined by a skilled stylist.

“This delicate highlighting process uses a very fine technique to mimic the subtle multi-dimensional hair colour seen in children’s hair,” says Bosco.  “To achieve this look, small sections of hair are wrapped in foil with minimal separations between each one, so that the highlight blends in more seamlessly with the base colour.”

They can be achieved in any shade that matches the skin tone, and it’s worn by many celebs including Jessica Alba.

Trendy colours:  golden blonde and natural ash brown.

READ MORE:
15 Low-Maintenance Balayage Hair Colour Ideas Perfect For The Office
The Gorgeous New Rainbow Hair Trend You Could Wear To The Office
9 Secrets To Make Your New Hair Colour Last Longer

Text: Elizabeth Liew
Photo: TPGNews