4 Freehand-Painting Tips From @larisadoll

Blonding: 4 Of @larisadoll’s Fave Freehand-Painting Tips

Do you ever feel like your blondes could be brighter, more dimensional and/or better blended? If you struggle to achieve any of these, we’ve got four freehand-painting tips from Larisa Love (@larisadoll) that’ll help you control brightness and dimension in your sections while avoiding splotchy, uneven results. Keep reading for the deets!

Products Used

Haircare

Defy Damage Pro-Series 1

Joico

Balayage

FreePlay Clay Lightener

Joico

1. Protect Her Strands Before Coloring

Shield the hair and provide greater lift when lightening with the new Defy Damage Pro-Series 1 from Joico. Larisa likes to prep her clients with this bond-protecting color optimizer, spraying it on section by section as she works.

2. Control Your Lightener

When freehand-painting, does it feel like your results are inconsistent and splotchy? Here’s what you can do differently to achieve a blend that is oh-so-seamless from roots to ends: Apply lightener (Larisa’s go-to is Joico FreePlay Clay Lightener) on your wrist first to give yourself full control of how much is applied to the hair. Then, be sure to hold each section with tension to give yourself a smooth palette to paint.

Note: The more lightener you apply, the brighter the hair will be.

3. Grab A Wide-Tooth Comb

Yep, you read that right. After she paints each section, Larisa uses a wide-tooth comb to wipe away some of the lightener and create babylights, manipulating the amount of brightness and dimension in each section. But don’t run the comb all the way through the ends. Instead, comb lower in the back for dimension and higher in the front for face-framing brightness. (See how it’s done in the slideshow above AND peep the results!)

4. Saturate Well & Leave It Alone

Larisa has two rules to ensure her freehand blondes get an all-over even lift: Saturate each section really well and then don’t touch the hair once you’re done applying lightener. Let it process, then wash it out once the desired lift is achieved. 

Get Larisa’s 3 Key Tips For Her Diamond Balayage Technique!