How To Formulate For Smoky Mushroom Balayage Without Bleach

How To Use Hair Extensions To Build A Dimensional Mushroom Bronde 

A friendly reminder, you don’t need bowls of bleach and demis to transition your routine-blonde clients deeper for the fall and winter seasons. Jesse Marriott (@hairbyjesseray), Hotheads® Master Educator and Premium Weft Ambassador, is teaching you how to get the job done with extensions. Watch the full tutorial to see a step-by-step and follow these steps to “formulate” a smoky mushroom balayage that builds fullness, length and dimensional color—no bleach required. 

How To “Formulate” for Smoky Mushroom 

The desired end goal, a smoky mushroom balayage, that requires a mixture of warm and cool tones without leaning too cool to ash-out the hair using Premium Machine Weft Extensions. 

• Natural #18 (Beige Blonde): “This is my favorite chameleon shade”, said Jesse. “If I can never clock what tone I necessarily need to go with my blondes, I gravitate toward #18 because it can reflect whatever you want it to. When paired with a cooler shade, it looks cooler [and vice versa with warm shades].”

Natural #18 (Beige Blonde)

• Work Off of the Natural Base: Hold the weft up to the client’s money piece. For Jesse’s model, “She is that beige/ash and will be a perfect color match. It won’t be too warm/brassy, but not too cool that it ashes her out too much and pulls something out of her skin tone that I don’t necessarily want to see,” he shared.   

• Pair with Natural #4/5 for Depth: Consider your client’s long-term hair goal. Because Hotheads® Premium Wefts last up to 8 to 10 weeks, Jesse knew his client wanted to transition deeper for winter next. “When we look at our 4 and 5, it’s not necessarily a Level 4 and 5—it’s warm and it is cool,” Jesse shared. This will create an in-between shade with an opulent finish. 

Natural #4

Natural #5

Pro Tip: Hotheads® Premium Wefts can be reused from 3 to 4 times depending on at-home care. “If you take care of this hair, it will take care of you,” he tells his clients. Use that timeframe to plan out their next appointment goals and an opportunity to shift shades or length. 

• When to Add Hand-Tied Extensions: Hotheads® Premium Hand-Tied Extensions = a thinner veil of color. They are 2 to 3x finer than Machine Wefts, so you have the opportunity to layer them between Machine Wefts to customize color. 

Sewn by hand or machine 🪡, see every Premium Weft shade!

Color Matching Around The Hairline

Throughout your application, pull the nape up to the front to expose the full hairline. Work off of the natural shades underneath and play to the hair that’s already light vs. dark to neutralize and enhance. Jesse decided to keep the lighter shade on the bottom half of the underneath sections, because her natural hair has a balayage finish.

Here’s why: Jesse’s client had enough natural depth to blend, so his placement goal was to enhance the brightness underneath. If she had a darker finish on the underneath, Jesse suggests flipping the placement. 

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Photo Credit: Instagram via @hairbyjesseray

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