3 Brunette Blending Hacks To Try On Any Level Client
3 Placement Tips & Formulas For Seamless Brunettes
We focus so much on blending out our blonde clients—what about the brunettes?! For something more than just a caramel money piece, read through these three unique tips on how to formulate, apply and place the right shades for a gorgeous balayage on any level of client.
1. 4-Step Hazelnut Dark Roast Formula
This four-step formula can be altered with your favorite techniques to create custom brunette blends for every client from balayage educator Melissa Maloney (@live_love_dohair).
Try Melissa’s dimensional formula:
- Root retouch: GK Hair Juvexin Cream Color 4 + 20-volume Juvexin Cream Developer
- Foilayge: Here’s where you can get creative! Use this second step as your creative freedom to add brightness where your client needs it.
- Root smudge: Juvexin Cream Color 4.01 + 8-volume Juvexin Cream Developer
- Gloss: Juvexin Cream Color 8.7, + 7.7 + and 8.12 (equal parts) + 8-volume Juvexin Cream Developer
Look at the blended dimension from Melissa’s formula! Screenshot the bullets above to try this out on your next brunette client:
Looking for brunette inspo? Scroll through this swatch book to find every tone of brunette shades you can play with this season!
2. Avoid Dark Patches Around The Hairline
Blended brunette hairlines are tough—typically, we’re walking the line of over foiling or not creating enough brightness. Lived-in color specialist Ashley Smith (@paintedbyashleymarie) found a quick cheat to add dimension around the face without leaving dark patches across the hairline.
Avoid dark holes around the hairline with this hack:
- Start with two back-to-back weaves at the temple.
- Next, connect the section above the ear to the front hairline with a diagonal parting. This will pick up the outer two pieces that often get skipped, leaving a dark hole behind the fringe.
- Finally, create a pocket of dimension using a triangle section to connect the back and front sections together.
Check out Ashley’s two-step trick here:
@paintedbyashleymarie I want my clients to feel blonde, but I also don’t want them to fall flat. Here’s a way to keep the hairline above the ear connected, but keeping a pocket of depth mixed in! @gkhairprofessional FORMULAS using all @gkhair Lightener | 10 vol Juvexin Lightening Powder 👉🏽always drop your developer along the hairline. The hair is most fragile, and will lift quick 👉🏽 This lightener will give up to nine levels of lift, so no need to blast a cuticle with a high developer!Melt | 5.91Gloss | 9.7 9.99 Both with 8 Vol GK JUVEXIN color is a great choice for your guests,A line that restores and regenerates hair cells! I am loving the shine, and color pay off this line offers!Go to gkhair.com to check out their wide range of shades!@behindthechair_com @thebtcteam #btcxgkhairpartner #gkhair #juvexin #gkcolor #behindthechair #thebtcteam #juvexinv2 #hairtutorial #haireducation #dimensionalblonde@behindthechair.com ♬ damn Right – AUDREY NUNA
3. Light Brunettes: Color Blocking With Sandy Tones
Color blocking doesn’t have to be as drastic as black and white. When you have a client looking to deepen their overall color without committing to a deep brunette, here’s a technique to try.
Placement technique and easy sandy brunette formula from color educator Kendra Alia (@iamkendraalia):
- Start with a zigzag part, separating the entire head into two sections from ear to ear.
- Apply Formula A to the top section from root to end. This will be the lightness in the color blocking technique, creating subtle brightness and dimension around the client’s face.
Formula A: GK Hair Juvexin Cream Color 7.7 + 8.7 (2:1 ratio) + Juvexin 8-volume cream developer - Apply Formula B to the bottom section, creating a deeper base for Formula A to lay on top of for a subtle color block that pops.
Formula B: GK Hair Juvexin Cream Color 9.7 + 10.1 (1:2 ratio) + Juvexin 8-volume cream developer.
Final result: Notice how the subtle level change adds blended contrast to the client’s curls:
Check out Kendra’s full demo here:
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