What is foilayage? The colour technique that’s the best of both worlds
The hybrid method allows ample lift and precise placement.
What happens when you combine balayage and highlights? You get foilayage, the brilliant colour technique that involves backcombing and foils to creates what senior colourist Steven Kamara describes as “seamless, beautiful, intricate hair.”
“The roots are a lot softer than if you’d used a highlighting technique because they're not coming directly from the scalp, so it’s more of a blended kind of feel,” says Steven, who has been doing mutitonal foilayage on his blonde clients in the salon a lot recently. “I've been doing all different types, from really, soft, sunkissed, natural work to some quite full-on ashy kind of blondes.”
But why choose this method over balayage or traditional highlights? Here, Steven explains everything you need to know about foilayage…
WHAT IS FOILAYAGE?
Similar to balayage, where lightener is painted freehand onto the hair and either left to air-dry or separated with plastic sheets, with foilayage the colourist uses the end of a pin comb to carefully weave and gently backcomb each section before applying the lightener with a brush and wrapping the hair in foil to develop.
“The reason why you backcomb is to create a soft, seamless transition from the roots – you don't get a harsh line,” Steven explains. As with Airtouch, where a hairdryer is used to blow the shorter hairs away, backcombing pushes back these strands, allowing for a similarly diffused transition and a gorgeous multidimensional effect when the coloured strands sit on top of the untreated hair underneath.
The foils are used to intensify the lightener, Stephen says. “With balayage you can only get a certain level of lift because you only paint the surface of the hair, but foilayage will give a higher lift because the hair is completely saturated and the foil actually creates more heat than plastic.”
He usually complements foilayage colour with a root tap (using dye to create the illusion of a root) followed by a shine-enhancing glaze. The end result is natural-looking colour and, Stephen adds, “the grow-out is much more seamless than with highlights, it's much softer.”
WHICH HAIR TYPES SUIT THE FOILAYAGE TECHNIQUE?
The beauty of foilyage is that it can be used on any hair type as long as there’s enough length to backcomb the sections.
“It's good on all types of hair,” Steven says. “Thick, fine, dark, light, curly, wavy, straight. But we would always check the hair condition first and use a bonding treatment.” At a consultation, your colourist will check the elasticity of your hair and assess whether it is strong enough for the lightening process.
While Stephen has been doing lots of blonde foilayage looks during the summer, he says this is “not just a technique for people who want to be really blonde. You can create really seamless, natural looks on all levels of bases, whereas balayage predominantly works best on light brown to dark blonde bases and above.” With the extra intensity caused by the foil wraps, it’s possible to create “beautiful cool blondes even on very dark hair. You can also do reds and coppers with it.”
Whatever a client’s desired outcome, our colourists will always offer their expert advice on how best to tailor the placement and shades used for a flattering finish, Stephen says. “Instead of just doing a classic foilayage, we work with the client and we bespoke it to each person – we don't just do one look.”
HOW TO MAINTAIN A FOILAYAGE COLOUR LOOK
Because the foilayage technique creates a diffused root that grows out naturally, you can wait up to three months before having it redone.
“In between appointments, I recommend coming in for a root tap and glaze, which will maintain the colour and the tone,” Stephen says. “You could do that around eight weeks after your original foilayage.”
As for keeping the colour fresh, Stephen says, ”if the hair is taken to a really high level of blonde, then the home haircare would need to be a bit more intense.” He highlights the Oribe Hair Alchemy range as his go-to for colour treated hair and stresses the importance of using a heat protection spray when blow drying or using heat tools and a serum to hydrate dry ends.
For brighter blonde looks, try the Shu Uemura Yubi Blonde shampoo and conditioner, while for keeping rich red or brunette tones looking vibrant, the Davines Alchemic range is formulated with pigments designed for different shades from copper to chocolate.
Lift your look
If you love the seamless transition of multitonal balayage but want a more dramatic transformation, foilayage is a fantastic solution.
This versatile colour technique can be used for everything from deep brunettes to brightest blondes, giving you lasting lift and beautifully bespoke colour.
Wonder if foilayage is right for you? Book a consultation at Paul Edmonds London.
