Your Color History: Notes to Bring Before a Color Consultation
Create a clear record of previous salon and at-home color, approximate dates, concern areas, unknown details, and useful reference photos.
Read the guide →Hair colour
Balayage in Montrose
Colour painted on by hand instead of packed into foils, so it lightens where the sun would and grows out without a line across your head. Three hours, one appointment, and a plan for the next four months before we start.
- from $350Starting price
- 3 hoursChair time
- IzaYour colourist
- 4.9from 46 client reviews
Real work by this salon, published by the salon itself — real work, with no filters added by us. More in the gallery.
What balayage actually is
Balayage is a technique, not a colour. The lightener is swept on by hand — balayer is French for to sweep — in freehand strokes that start soft near the root and get heavier toward the ends. Nothing is packed into foil, so each piece lifts a slightly different amount, and the result reads as hair that has been in the sun rather than hair that has been to a salon.
The practical difference shows up two months later. Foiled highlights start at a fixed distance from the scalp, so the regrowth arrives as a visible line. Balayage is painted with a diffused root, which means the grow-out has no edge to it. Most of our balayage clients come back for a gloss rather than a full re-do, and stretch the appointment out to three or four months.
What happens in the three hours
We start dry, in daylight, looking at what is already on your hair — old colour, box dye, previous highlights, how much natural depth is left. That conversation decides everything else, and it is the part people skip when they book colour by app.
Then the painting, which is the slow bit: section by section, checking the lift as it develops rather than by the clock. After the rinse comes the toner or gloss that sets the actual shade — the difference between beige, ash and honey is decided here, not in the lightener. We finish with a blow-dry, because you cannot judge balayage on wet hair.
Why the price starts where it does and what moves it
Balayage starts at $350 and the number moves with three things: how long and how thick the hair is, how far it has to travel from where it is now to where you want it, and whether it needs more than one session to get there safely. Dark box dye lifting to a cool blonde is not a one-sitting job on most heads, and we would rather say so at the consultation than half-way through.
You will be told the number before we mix anything. Nobody at this salon starts a colour and discusses the price at the till.
Who does it
The chair you are booking
Stylist · all services
Armen
Cuts, blow-dries, colour, highlights, hair styling and creative cuts, and men's cuts too. Armen takes on everything on the menu.
Stylist · colour
Iza
Balayage, ombré, highlights, AirTouch and bleaching. She takes all other services as well, except men's.
- Balayage180 min$350and up
- Highlights, medium to long hair180 min$400and up
- Full colour, long hair150 min$100and up
- Conditioning treatment30 min$50
Where a price says “and up”, that is the starting figure for the service as listed — very long or very thick hair needs more product and more time. You are told the number at the chair, before anything is mixed or applied, not afterwards.
Before you book
Questions we get asked
Anything not answered here — call the salon and ask. Someone who does this every day will pick up.
How much is balayage at Young Styles?
It starts at $350. What moves it up is length, density and how far your hair has to lift — long thick hair going several levels lighter takes more product and more time. You get the exact figure at the start of the appointment, before any colour is mixed.
How long does a balayage appointment take?
We hold the chair for three hours. That covers the consultation, the painting, developing time, the toner and a blow-dry. Very long or very dark hair can run longer, and we will tell you that up front rather than rushing the last section.
Balayage or highlights — which do I want?
Highlights are foiled, so they lift more evenly, cover grey more reliably and give you a brighter, more uniform blonde. Balayage is softer and lower-maintenance, because the regrowth has no line. If you want maximum lift or grey coverage, ask about highlights; if you want to come in three times a year instead of six, ask about balayage.
How often does it need redoing?
Most clients stretch it to three or four months, with a gloss in between at around eight to twelve weeks to keep the tone from going brassy. That is the whole point of the technique — it is built to grow out well.
Can I get balayage on dark hair?
Yes, and it is some of the best work the technique does — caramel and bronde through a dark base sit beautifully. What matters is how much lift you are asking for in one sitting. Going from black to platinum is a plan across sessions, not a single afternoon.
Will it damage my hair?
Lightener does open the cuticle — that is how it works, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Because balayage leaves the root area alone and is not saturated to the scalp, it is gentler than a full head of bleach. We check the strand as it develops and stop where the hair says stop. A conditioning treatment at $50 afterwards is worth it.
Also worth reading
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A little preparation goes a long way
A Consultation Checklist for Dimensional Color and Balayage
Prepare for a color consultation with clear photo references, a hair history, and questions about placement, upkeep, scope, and your next appointment.
Read the guide →Ready when you are
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