41 Beautiful Low Maintenance Balayage Ideas

beautiful low maintenance balayage ideas

If you’re looking for a low maintenance way to lighten your hair while preserving your natural hair color that blends seamlessly into your roots with a less obvious grow-out period, balayage is where it’s at.

What Is Balayage?

Balayage is an application technique, rather than a specific color, that creates a soft, multidimensional highlight. Unlike traditional foil highlights, balayage involves painting lighteners freehand onto the hair with a brush. Colorists use brushes to paint sweeps of vertical highlights onto the hair, usually layered with strips of cotton between each section. The balayage technique isn’t just for blonde hair as it can also be used on all hair types to create shades of caramel, espresso, pastel dg — really any tone — strands. Read ahead for everything you need to know about maintaining balayage.

A beautiful and chic dark brown long bob with messy waves and delicate caramel balayage that gives much dimension to the hair.

A beautiful and chic dark brown long bob with messy waves and delicate caramel balayage that gives much dimension to the hair.

A black bob done with caramel balayage, with a lot of volume, waves is a lovely idea to rock.

A black bob done with caramel balayage, with a lot of volume, waves is a lovely idea to rock.

A black bob with caramel balayage and waves is a beautiful and eye-catchy idea with plenty of contrast.

A black bob with caramel balayage and waves is a beautiful and eye-catchy idea with plenty of contrast.

A brown bob with darker root and caramel and gold balayage, with irregular parting and slight waves.

A brown bob with darker root and caramel and gold balayage, with irregular parting and slight waves.

A cool long bob with a mousy brown shade and blonde babylights, with messy waves and bangs is great for a delicate and sophisticated look.

A cool long bob with a mousy brown shade and blonde babylights, with messy waves and bangs is great for a delicate and sophisticated look.

A dark brown bob with a darker root and caramel balayage is a chic and flattering idea to try right now.

A dark brown bob with a darker root and caramel balayage is a chic and flattering idea to try right now.

A dark brown long bob with caramel and blonde balayage, with waves and volume is a beautiful solution.

A dark brown long bob with caramel and blonde balayage, with waves and volume is a beautiful solution.

A dark textural bob with caramel balayage and babylights looks dimensional, voluminous and very chic.

A dark textural bob with caramel balayage and babylights looks dimensional, voluminous and very chic.

A gorgeous dark brown bob with a black root, chestnut balayage and blonde money piece to highlight the look.

A gorgeous dark brown bob with a black root, chestnut balayage and blonde money piece to highlight the look.

Add a bit of dimension to your dark hair with such chocolate brown face-framing highlights on brunette balayage hair.

Add a bit of dimension to your dark hair with such chocolate brown face-framing highlights on brunette balayage hair.

Almost black wavy long bob with super delicate and subtle caramel highlights including face-framing ones for a bolder look.

Almost black wavy long bob with super delicate and subtle caramel highlights including face-framing ones for a bolder look.

Is It Hard To Maintain A Balayage?

Typically, balayage requires far less maintenance than traditional color. It grows out naturally with no obvious regrowth line, making it one of the most low-maintenance ways to color your hair.

Almost black wavy long bob with super delicate and subtle caramel highlights including face-framing ones for a bolder look.

Almost black wavy long bob with super delicate and subtle caramel highlights including face-framing ones for a bolder look.

Beautiful long dark brown hair with rich caramel highlights and waves for a more eye-catchy and cool look.

Beautiful long dark brown hair with rich caramel highlights and waves for a more eye-catchy and cool look.

Black hair with gorgeous caramel highlights that give eye-catchiness and a bold touch to the look with this contrast.

Black hair with gorgeous caramel highlights that give eye-catchiness and a bold touch to the look with this contrast.

Black hair with lovely caramel and brunette balayage and babylights for maximal visual dimension and volume.

Black hair with lovely caramel and brunette balayage and babylights for maximal visual dimension and volume.

Black wavy dimensional hair with slight caramel balayage and a side part is a cool and chic idea.

Black wavy dimensional hair with slight caramel balayage and a side part is a cool and chic idea.

Brown hair with a pop of honey blonde placed to frame the face and with an angled scheme looks very sunkissed.

Brown hair with a pop of honey blonde placed to frame the face and with an angled scheme looks very sunkissed.

Chocolate brown wavy hair with very subtle touches of caramel balayage is a beautiful solution to rock.

Chocolate brown wavy hair with very subtle touches of caramel balayage is a beautiful solution to rock.

Dark auburn hair with waves and lovely bold caramel balayage for a catchy and chic look just wows.

Dark auburn hair with waves and lovely bold caramel balayage for a catchy and chic look just wows.

Dark brown hair with caramel balayage and some babylights for a beautiful and contrasting look that brings interest.

Dark brown hair with caramel balayage and some babylights for a beautiful and contrasting look that brings interest.

Dark brown wavy hair with caramel balayage and central parting looks gogeous and is easy to maintain.

Dark brown wavy hair with caramel balayage and central parting looks gogeous and is easy to maintain.

Dark brunette hair with beautiful caramel balayage and babylights is a beautiful idea that makes you look eye-catchy.

Dark brunette hair with beautiful caramel balayage and babylights is a beautiful idea that makes you look eye-catchy.

Dark brunette hair with caramel balayage is always a low-maintenance idea to go for, it looks very chic and cool.

Dark brunette hair with caramel balayage is always a low-maintenance idea to go for, it looks very chic and cool.

How To Maintain A Balayage?

After getting balayage, it’s a good idea to wait at least 48 hours to wash your hair. Go for an extra moisturizing and nourishing mask for color-treated hair. It deeply hydrates your highlights, making them soft and bright, while reinforcing the hair’s structure.

In addition to using it as a styling product to smooth flyaways and frizz, you can also use an anti-frizz oil as a weekly treatment to maintain hydration. Saturate your mid-lengths and ends, and throw it up in a bun to let the product work its magic. A weekly hair gloss or glaze is the perfect treatment to keep your balayage highlights shiny and bright. Environmental aggressor like ultraviolet light is known to damage hair. Not only does it dry out your strands making them dull and brittle, but it can alter the color of your balayage. Save your strands from the sun’s damaging rays by using UV protective products and wearing a hat anytime you plan to spend several hours outside. Because balayage highlights require less maintenance than traditional hair color, it’s not necessary to go for touch-ups every month or 6 weeks. Depending on the style you go for, you can usually wait up to 4 months in between salon appointments.

Dark brunette hair with subtle bayalage highlights and medium length.

Dark brunette hair with subtle bayalage highlights and medium length.

Dark brunette hair with waves and gorgeous caramel balayage is a bold and cool idea to rock, it looks dimensional.

Dark brunette hair with waves and gorgeous caramel balayage is a bold and cool idea to rock, it looks dimensional.

Dark chestnut brown hair with waves and with delicate and subtle caramel balayage that highlights the chestnut shade and makes it bolder.

Dark chestnut brown hair with waves and with delicate and subtle caramel balayage that highlights the chestnut shade and makes it bolder.

Dark chestnut hair with waves and a knot and with caramel balayage to give the hair more dimension and texture.

Dark chestnut hair with waves and a knot and with caramel balayage to give the hair more dimension and texture.

Dimensional beach blonde balayage on bronde hair and beach waves is a great idea to look awesome.

Dimensional beach blonde balayage on bronde hair and beach waves is a great idea to look awesome.

Fabulous long and wavy dark brown hair with caramel and honey blonde highlights is a beautiful idea that always works.

Fabulous long and wavy dark brown hair with caramel and honey blonde highlights is a beautiful idea that always works.

Fantastic dark wavy hair with delicate caramel balayage to give it a bit of dimension and interest is a gorgeous idea.

Fantastic dark wavy hair with delicate caramel balayage to give it a bit of dimension and interest is a gorgeous idea.

Hailey Bieber’s mousy brunette roots make for another amazing take on this cool color trend, with her subtle light ends.

Hailey Bieber’s mousy brunette roots make for another amazing take on this cool color trend, with her subtle light ends.

Long and wavy dark hair with a volume and super delicate and neutral caramel balayage is a gorgeous idea to rock.

Long and wavy dark hair with a volume and super delicate and neutral caramel balayage is a gorgeous idea to rock.

Long dark brown hair with delicate caramel babylights and mathing ends for a dimensional and eye-catchylook.

Long dark brown hair with delicate caramel babylights and mathing ends for a dimensional and eye-catchylook.

Long dark brown hair with delicate honey and caramel babylights that help long strands look dimensional and bold.

Long dark brown hair with delicate honey and caramel babylights that help long strands look dimensional and bold.

Long dark brown, almost black hair with caramel highlights including a money piece looks very beachy and relaxed.

Long dark brown, almost black hair with caramel highlights including a money piece looks very beachy and relaxed.

Long dark wavy hair with a delicate caramel balayage is a lovely idea that doesn't require much maintenance.

Long dark wavy hair with a delicate caramel balayage is a lovely idea that doesn't require much maintenance.

Long wavy brown hair with delicate caramel and honey balayage is a gorgeous idea for a chic and romantic look.

Long wavy brown hair with delicate caramel and honey balayage is a gorgeous idea for a chic and romantic look.

Long wavy brunette hair with sunkissed balayage is a pretty idea for summer that doesn't require much maintenance.

Long wavy brunette hair with sunkissed balayage is a pretty idea for summer that doesn't require much maintenance.

Long wavy dark brunette hair with a subtle caramel balayage is a lovely and chic idea for any girl.

Long wavy dark brunette hair with a subtle caramel balayage is a lovely and chic idea for any girl.

Lovely brunette hair with honey and ashy blonde babylights and highlights is an amazing idea to highlight your face.

Lovely brunette hair with honey and ashy blonde babylights and highlights is an amazing idea to highlight your face.

Medium length dark brunette hair with caramel balayage and waves looks amazing and very chic.

Medium length dark brunette hair with caramel balayage and waves looks amazing and very chic.

Update a plain brown base with caramel babylights to make your hair feel like fall.

Update a plain brown base with caramel babylights to make your hair feel like fall.