3 Mistakes That Will Ruin Your Balayage

When your balayage has unexpectedly gone bad, there’s nothing more frustrating than not knowing what went wrong. Jamie Sea, aka @prettylittleombre, is always sharing her best balayage education on Insta, so we’re sharing three common balayage mistakes you might be making, PLUS her solution to each one. Check ’em out below, then click here for solutions to three more balayage mistakes!

1. Heavy-Handed At The Start
The most common mistake people make when they first start to balayage is applying way too much product at the root. Try applying less product initially, and start the application at the midlengths and feather upwards.

2. Coloring Before You Cut
Once you understand the direction and look you want to achieve during the consultation, create a “foundational cut.” Jamie suggests dry-cutting to establish the idea of the look you’re going for. Then, build your color on the foundational cut and fine-tune afterward.

3. Uneven Saturation
After you’ve applied your paint, step back and evaluate your work. Everything should look clean and cohesive. If you see any areas that have uneven saturation, this will result in what Jamie calls “marbleizing”—when you have darker and lighter uneven areas throughout your section!

Want more balayage help from Jamie? Check out her seven golden rules for painting beautiful balayage!